Friday, June 15 – Before we tell you about our day, we want to send our love and prayers out to our dear friends, Donna and Russ. Donna just lost her sister. She did a wonderful tribute to her sister in her blog. Please keep Donna and the family in your prayers.
We met up with good friends Jeri and Terry Williams today. They are fellow full-timers that lived previously in this area and now spend the spring and summer here. They have family in this area and love to spend time with them. What great tour guides. THANKS Jeri and Terry for taking time out of your busy lives to share the Portland area with us!
We headed down the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area to see all the waterfalls. It's amazing! They come one after another and just keep getting better and better.
We first stopped at Vista House at Crown Point. This overlook gives a beautiful vista of the Columbia River Gorge.The Vista House was built in 1917 as a place for travelers to rest and refresh themselves as they made their way down the magnificent Columbia River Gorge.
The magnificent view.
Our first stop was Shepperds Dell. This Falls has two tiers. The height of the upper falls is 35-50 feet; lower falls 40-60 feet. WOW!
On to Bridal Veil Falls. It is reached by a short 2/3 mile hike. Bridal Veil Falls drops twice. The height: upper falls 60-100 feet; lower falls 40-60 feet. Gorgeous!
Enjoying the view.
The next falls is Wah-kee-na Falls. "Wahkeena" means "most beautiful". The height: 242 feet. This Falls winds through the trees. Beautiful!
The “Granddaddy” of the Falls is Multnomah Falls. Plunging 620' in two sheer sections, it is an awesome beauty and is the most visited attraction in Oregon. Multnomah Falls is the second highest year-round waterfalls in the United States. Spectacular!
We concluded our visit with Horsetail Falls. The height: 176 feet. Impressive!
DO NOT miss this beautiful drive. There are several more falls, but we had so much to do today that we had to moved on.
We then stopped at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. The Hatchery raises 8 million Fall Chinook, 1.2 million Coho, 200 thousand Summer Steelhead, and 60 thousand Winter Steelhead. We have read so much about Hatcheries on Donna and Russ's blog, that we could not pass this one up.
They breed millions of fish here that will be released in area rivers. The incubators are used to raise eggs from the "eyed stage" to the "fry stage." There are 6500 eggs/tray x 2240 trays = almost 15 million fish.
There are so many it looks like a pool of mud.
Not to be missed is Herman. A HUGE Sturgeon, ten feet long, weighing over 450 pounds and over 70 years old. It is so big that we could only get parts of it at a time.
There is so much to see at Bonneville Hatchery. It has a park setting with many trails through the Hatchery to ponds, statues and displays. Put it on your list of things to see when in the Portland area.
We then ventured over to the Bonneville Lock, Dam and Fish Ladder. We really enjoyed the fish viewing windows watching the spawning fish travel up the Fish Ladder to get over the Dam.
One of the many viewing windows. 
Where's the fish ladder? Salmon find their way upstream by swimming against the current. Fish follow this strong current to the face of the dam. There, slots allow them to swim into a fish collection channel, where currents guide them to the ladder entrance.
Fish ladder.
A maze that serves to control water flow in the ladder. It provides passage for migrating fish.
The Dam produces over a million kilowatts of electricity per year, enough to supply the power needs of nearly 500,000 homes.
After a brief stop for lunch at the famous Bridge of the Gods, we headed back toward Portland sneaking the occasional glimpse of Mount Hood.
Our final stop was a drive by of the Officer's Quarters at Fort Vancouver. We need a day just to visit this Fort and all the surrounding buildings.
Grant's house.
After a very long day, we returned to our motorhome parked at the Elks Lodge. Tomorrow we head back out with Jeri and Terry, so stop back as we continue our adventure.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!
