Columbia River Gorge

After leaving Mount St. Helens, we headed south on I-5 to a small town on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon called Troutdale, which is the "Gateway to the Gorge".  We stayed at an RV park located only a block from the beginning of the Historic Columbia River Highway/U.S. 30.  We drove a 45 mile section of the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and saw the Columbia River from great viewpoints as well as several beautiful waterfalls.  Some were right on the main road and a couple of them we took a short (steep) hike to see. 
Our first stop was at a scenic viewpoint of the river.  Looking across the mountain, we saw a grand old structure called the Vista House at Crown Point.  Vista House was constructed in 1916 as a "comfort station" for motorists traveling the 75 mile highway.  It is located 693 feet above the Columbia River which is the highest spot on the river.  From there, we stopped at many waterfall areas.  Below are some of the pictures of the river and falls.

 

 

 

This information board explained how the Columbia River area has changed and how the waterfalls were created.

 

 

 

Looking at the Vista House on Crown Point across the way from the first viewpoint we stopped at.

 

 

 

 

A closer look showed the wonderful old structure that was built of grey sandstone, glazed green tile roof and rare Alaskan marble floors.

 

 

 

 

View of the river from atop the Visa House.

 

 

 

You get a sense of how high you are when you look down at Interstate 84.

 

 

Above is the Bridal Veil Falls.

 

 

 

 

The Multnomah Falls has an upper and lower fall.  The upper fall is 542 feet and the lower fall is 69 feet.  It is one of the tallest waterfalls in the U.S.

 

 

 We took the short hike up to the footbridge to see the view.

 

 

 A look at the lower falls.

 

This is the view from the footbridge looking down on the visitor center area.

 

Horsetail Falls

There were a few other falls along the way, but they were further than we wanted to hike that day.  We just enjoyed the ones that were easier to access.



As we headed back to Troutdale, we crossed over the river on the Washington side and took Hwy 14.  It was also very scenic and curvy. 

We went through several of these tunnels.  There is a tunnel on left for trains and the right tunnel for cars/trucks.

 

 

Views of the river from different viewpoints along the route.  It was cloudy the day we toured the river and the falls, so the pictures really don't do them justice.

 

 

 

  

Below are a few noteworthy mentions: 

 

 

Our only view of Mt. Hood the day we arrived in Troutdale.  It was in the clouds the rest of the time we were there.

 

 

 

 Alan got a kick out of this little RV.  Called it the wiener mobile.  Maybe our next ride? 

 

This Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler churns up the river giving sightseeing cruises.

Bonneville Fish Hatchery:

On our way back to Troutdale we stopped at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery which turned out to be one of the highlights of the drive.  It is one of the states oldest fish hatcheries at 100years old.
The hatchery raises salmon and steelhead trout for sport, commercial and tribal fisheries in the lower Columbia River and along the northern Oregon Coast. 
Each year, Bonneville raises 1.2 million coho salmon, 8.5 million fall Chinook salmon, 215,000 summer steelhead trout and 60,000 winter steelhead trout.
There is an enclosed Sturgeon viewing center as well as several rearing ponds.  There was a pond for adult Rainbow Trout and one for  White Sturgeon.  The grounds were beautifully landscaped and there was even a gift shop of the premises.  :)

 

When you walk down a few steps inside the viewing center, there is a large glass wall that allows you to see the HUGE sturgeon fish swimming in the pond outside.  Some were over 8 foot long. 

  

This is the outside of the viewing center.  The pond surrounding this side of the building is where the large fish live.

 

 

Viewing the fish from inside the building.

 

 

You can't tell from this picture, but this fish was the 8 footer!

 

 

The rearing ponds below are very long troughs filled with water.  The fish are transferred here when they are very small. 

 

We saw the fish jumping  in the turbulent water and finally got a picture of one them.  We assumed they were salmon since they were trying to jump upstream????  Can you see him?

 

These is one of the many groups of  rearing ponds at the hatchery.

 

 

 Trout Ponds

 

There were machines where you could buy fish food and feed the trout.  It reminded me of feeding shrimp to the Snook at Stump Pass Marina in Englewood.  These trout were really big and they fought for the food just like the Snook.  Some of the trout reach 45 inches long.

 

 

Sturgeon Pond