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!