September 20 – Cruising the Columbia River Gorge

Today we are cruising all day.  Photos of the American Empress.

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Video 1 of Paddle wheel
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Video 2 of Paddle Wheel
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Video 3 of Paddle Wheel
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Once we got to Portland the boat took a detour up the Willamette River.  It isn’t a huge river so we didn’t go too far in. 

Cruising the river was relaxing and enjoyable. 

We passed a number of unnamed falls...

and we had good views of the Multnomah Falls.  

We sailed through the Columbia River Gorge.  This area was very difficult for early explorers and settlers to navigate as it was the site of the Columbia River Cascades, a particularly brutal set of rapids.  While the gorge is lovely it was probably more dramatic before the river was dammed by the Bonneville dam.  Now this stretch is more of a reservoir/lake. 

Some sights we saw were the Vista House,

Beacon Rock.

Basalt rock formations,

and the burned trees from forest fires. 

The mountains come right to the river’s edge so parts of the main road hang right from the side of the mountain.

We passed through the locks of the Bonneville dam near the end of the day and there was lovely, soft, orange light illuminating the scenery.