We really think that the Lower Columbia River
which divides Oregon and Washington, is really
one of the most beautiful places around.
So when Melissa was out on a little trip of
her own, I decided to jump in the RV, head
south and do a little dry camping and explore
the Lower Columbia dams, and the bridges and
all the sights and scenery along the Washington
side, which I believe is the less traveled
and more scenic side along the Lewis and Clark
Highway.
We what are we waiting for, cue the intro!
Hey guys!
Today I'm parked along the Columbia River
in Southern Washington and actually if you
look across the river, that's Oregon.
So, I'm out on a 2 to 3 day trek to explore
the Columbia River. I'm really interested
in learning more about the dams and how the
salmon get through and all that stuff.
I'm gonna go ahead and get this started. I'm
gonna go check out the Bonneville Power Dam.
Did you know that hydro-electric power and
these dams provide up to two thirds to three
quarters of the Northwest's power needs? Uh
huh!
So here we area the Bonneville Power Dam.
What you may not know is that both sides can
be visited. This is the Washington side of
the dam and there's the Oregon side which
has a big visitor's center as well.
That one is alot more visited than this, but
I've heard that this one is really good.
When the dam was originally built there was
this giant spillway on the Washington side.
They realized that they could be getting more
power out of this spillway. So starting in
the 60s and ending in the 80s they constructed
this second power plant.
So this is taking the water from the spillway
and actually generating more power and increasing
the power capacity of the dam.
So what did the salmon say when he ran into
a wall?
Dam!
Well actually, they do what we would do. They
use a ladder....well not just any ladder.
Yeah that's right. In addition to providing
power and irrigation, the dams also have to
provide a way for spawning salmon and other
fish species to get upstream and downstream.
So these fish ladders are a real important
part to making that happen.
Now at the Bonneville Dam, they have a pretty
cool fish viewing area where you can actually
watch the salmon swim through the fish ladder.
So we're right above the viewing station and
looking down on the fish ladder where we were
actually watching them through the window
where they are counted.
You can kinda see how the whole thing kind
of meanders through
So the salmon have to make their way all the
way through this maze all the way up the upper
part of the dam.
It's pretty cool how this is all setup.
Alright. Gonna head on out and check out something
new.
Just about three miles from the dam was a
great little spot that I'd heard about where
I could get a bird's eye view of the entire
area. I had to check it out.
So up in the distance is Beacon Rock. It's
a state park, a washington state park and
I'm going to go ahead and check that out.
You can see it straight ahead there...sticking
up into the sky
Ok. I'm at the Beacon Rock trail. I'm gonna
go straight up there...
Let's start going.
Alright. Up here at the summit of Beacon Rock
and getting ready to head down now. Beautiful
day! See you guys.
Alright almost down to street level. I had
to say that was really cool man. If you're
ever down in Southern Washington along Hwy
14, check this out. Beacon Rock.
It's about a mile hike up but take your time
it's not bad.
It was time now to say good bye to the Bonneville
Dam and head East towards Hood River, Oregon.
But not before making a quick stop at the
Bridge Of The Gods.
So if you've read that book "Wild" or watched
the recent movie "Wild"with Reece Witherspoon.
THis is that bridge...the end of her journey.
The Bridge Of The Gods.
I'm not sure how she walked across in the
end because there isn't a whole lot of room
to walk. No pedestrian lane.
Now if you're into windsurfing or kite surfing
you definitely know about Hood River, Oregon.
It gets a little windy there which explains
why everyone is out on the water
I decided to take the Hood River Bridge and
drive up the Oregon side on my way up to The
Dalles Dam.
But as I found out, taking an RV across the
Hood River Bridge is a pretty tight squeeze.
But I made it.
I've made it to The Dalles. It's a little
late. I don't know if I'll be able to get
in a tour or anything like that. But we'll
see what we can see.
By the time I reached The Dalles Dam it was
getting a little late and that's ok because
they weren't open for visitors
I was getting a little tired and it was time
to find a quiet place to rest for the night.
It had been a long day.
I'm heading to Maryhill State Park to see
if I can find a place to park or maybe even
get a campsite.
Perched up on a hill near Maryhill is something
you might just do a "double-take" on if you
didn't know about it.
So here's a little Washington fun fact for
you. Did you know that Washington State has
its version of STONEHENGE? Yeah. See.
"Stonehenge music"
"Perched up on the hillside"
"It's not the real Stonehenge, but I think
it's cool"
So you might be thinking...WHAT?
Actually this Stonehenge monument was built
as a memorial to those who lost their lives
in World War 1
And it sits overlooking the Columbia River
in Maryhill, Washington
Beautiful. Vineyards, farmland, wind power,
Stonehenge. Yup.
Well it was time to say goodbye to Stonehenge
and head on up the road to the John Day Dam
But as I was leaving I was just kind of struck
by the number of wind turbines I saw all over
the hillside along the way
You know if you've driven around enough you've
seen more and more of these wind farms or
wind turbines popping up all over the place
like those up on the ridge
Here's a fun fact. Did you know that in the
Northwest, wind power now provides about one
percent of the Northwests energy needs. One
percent.
Go wind!
When I reached the John Day Dam the first
thing I saw got me pretty excited.
There are dry camping spots all up and down
the Washington and Oregon side of this property.
All the way about mile down the Oregon side
and about a mile down the Washington side.
Right on the river.
So I tried to get into the John Day Dam complex.
There's a gate and it apparently says "Closed
to Visitors" and they wouldn't let me in.
I'm gonna go check out some of these dry camping
sites.
I found one and it's awesome.
So I don't know if I'm going to be continuing
on up into the Northern part of the state
or just hanging out here
We will make a decision on what happens...tomorrow.
Well, I decided to stay and see what other
interesting things I could learn about this
place
I moved the RV in a little closer to the dam
and started to ponder some very interesting
things
Ok here you go. I'm about to blow your mind.
So here's a fact about the John Day Dam.
So the John Day Dam put's out 2.2 million
killowatts, which is enough to power two cities
the size of Seattle.
But it's only a Gigawatt more than it takes
to go Back To The Future. Yeah! Mind blown.
1.21 GIGAWATTS!!
Well one of the really cool things about my
new boondocking spot is I could watch the
barges go by right by the RV as they entered
and left the locks, you know heading up and
down river. That was really cool.
Time to eat!
Got these spicy sausages plus some smoked
salmon and veggies.
Smells pretty good!
Pretty good. Mmm. Tasty.
What I found a bit interesting was that all
the dams I visited, you hear fireworks or
gunshot noises going off and you just wonder
"What is that?"
Is there someone goofing around or is it a
new method of fishing. Huh?
So everyday there's a boat that patrols back
and forth below the dam. "What is he doing
out there?"
He's shooting of exploding fireworks and the
reason he's doing that is to deter or scare
away California sea lions that have made it
all the way up here from the Pacific Ocean
to chow down on some salmon and steelhead
and actually sturgeon
They're using non lethal techniques to try
and deter these uh sea lions, but they keep
coming back
You know I figure if a sea lion makes it all
the way up here.
They have to get through a couple of dams
to get to this point
They deserve a reward. Maybe a meal. "Here's
a salmon"
Yeah. Maybe I'll write a song about it.
"Sea lion fireworks song"
Ok. So
that needs a little bit of work.
Well after a few days alone in the RV, things
were getting just a little bit....weird.
"I've been talkin to a camera, for the last
three days"
So the next morning I decided to leave John
Day and start the six hour drive home. It
was time.
Well this has been fun and I hope you enjoyed
this adventure down the Columbia just as much
as I've enjoyed sharing it.
If you liked the video, give it a thumbs up
and let us know what you think in the comments
Also feel free to share it with your friends
and tell them all the cool places you'd like
to visit.
If you've been down in this area we would
love to hear about your favorite places to
visit and why
Take care everybody and I hope you have a
great summer RVing.
We will see you next time!
