At dawn the National Geographic Sea Bird is steaming up the mighty Columbia River under low clouds, soon kissed with fuchsia by the rising sun. We are beginning our daylong voyage through the magnificent Columbia Gorge—a photographer’s dream. On either side rise steep cliffs formed by layer after layer of basaltic lava flows. Ospreys fly over the river, carrying fish they have caught by plunging feet first into the water. Eagles soar along the dark evergreen-forested slopes. A coyote lopes along the rocky shore.
We steam past the famous monolith, Beacon Rock, named by Lewis & Clark in 1805, and on to the Bonneville Dam. Here we enter the first of the eight locks we will encounter on our journey up the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The great down-river gate closes, water floods in, and we rise 60 feet to the upriver level; the gate opens and we sail away. Next stop: Multnomah Falls, the second highest waterfall in North America plunges whitely over a dark precipice of basalt into a green plunge pool far below.
In the afternoon we dock at Hood River and drive up the Hood River Valley beside orchards and glimpses of the great stratovolcano, Mt. Hood. Mt. Hood wears a cap of clouds, although it is mostly sunny during our visit to Rasmussen Farm. Here the corn is tall and the flower gardens stunning in their beauty. Flocks of Goldfinches feed on the ripening sunflower seeds and the photographers among us are ecstatic among the zinnias and dahlias.
We end our tour with a visit to the charming riverside town of Hood River, voted “the coolest small town” and it is easy to see why.
