This is the eighth installment of my travelogues of our summer trip in 2022 when we travelled from Los Angeles to Anacortes and back. You can find the prior installments by scrolling down from the home page of the blog or by going to the Road Trip tag in the side bar. At this point in the trip we are heading home, traveling south from Anacortes.

Our destination the day we stopped at Tahoma National Cemetery was Hood River, Oregon. Hood River is a nice little town on the Columbia River, 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Portland. We’ve stopped here on previous trips as it is a convenient distance from Anacortes. We stayed at the Best Western Plus Hood River Inn and had a nice dinner at a real find of a ramen restaurant called Mugen Noodle. I highly recommend it if you are passing through Hood River. This panorama was taken from the path by the hotel and you can see that the view is excellent (click on any picture to get a full sized image).

The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge, commonly called the Hood River Bridge, is also right by the hotel. Opening in 1924, the bridge has narrow lanes, no shoulder, and is reaching the end of its serviceable life. A replacement was proposed in 2023 and construction should begin in 2025.

We planned to stay two nights in Hood River because we wanted to visit the Bonneville Dam. The dam is 24 miles (39 kilometers) west of Hood River. The dam consists of two powerhouses and a spillway, with one powerhouse on the Oregon side and one on the Washington side. There are visitor centers on both sides of the river, with the Oregon one located on Bradford Island in the Columbia River. Water thunders through the spillway, seen from the Bradford Island Visitor Center.

A 1929 US Army Corps of Engineers study proposed 10 dams along the Columbia River for flood control, navigation, irrigation, and power generation. No action was taken until 1934 when construction was started as a Public Works Administration project. The spillway, Powerhouse One on the Oregon side of the river, and a navigation lock opened in 1937. The spillway is a very impressive feature, even from a distance.

The Columbia River is a major fish migration route, with native salmon and steelhead heading out to see as youth and then returning to spawn later in their lives. To accommodate the passage of fish, there are several fish ladders around the dam.

On the lower floors of the visitor centers, there are windows into the fish ladders and you can watch the fish swim by. The fish are also counted by fish counters to better understand trends in fish population. Fish counts are available on-line. Here is a salmon pausing by the window.

Lampreys also travel up and down the river and make their way through the fish ladders. Here they latched themselves in a mass to the window. Yes, it is a little creepy.

Walking over to Powerhouse One, we could see the fish in the fish ladder.

There are multiple paths for the fish to go downstream and upstream so no fish is left behind.

The Last Quarter Moon was out as we walked to Powerhouse One. Don’t forget to click on the picture for a full-sized view.

As you enter the powerhouse, you are reminded that you are under water.

Powerhouse One was built in three phases from 1933 through 1943. It can generate 592,000 kilowatts (KW), enough to supply 250,000 homes with electricity. Combined with Powerhouse Two, the dam can power 500,000 homes. Each of the 11 turbines discharge an average of 97,000 gallons per second which would fill an average three bedroom house in one second.

The turbines at the Bonneville Dam use Kaplan turbines. This propeller-like turbine has adjustable blades and is well suited for high-flow, low head power generation.

We wrapped up our visit to the Oregon side with a stop at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery, the largest fish hatchery in Oregon. Sturgeon live in the lower Columbia and the hatchery maintains a Sturgeon pond for these large fish. Herman the Sturgeon, one of the sturgeon living at the hatchery, is 10 feet long and over 80 years old. I’m not sure if this is Herman, but it’s a sturgeon.

On our way to the Washington Shore Visitor Center (and Powerhouse Two!) we stopped for lunch at Gorges Beer Company for lunch. It was a pleasant day to sit outside for a meal. We then crossed the Bridge of the Gods and drove a couple of miles west, passed the dam, and entered the road to drive back to the visitor center entrance. There was a great view back at the spillway.

The many power lines put some scale to the amount of electricity produced at the dam.

The dam and associated Powerhouse Two on the Washington side were built from 1974 to 1982. Building the additional dam required moving the town of North Bonneville. Started as the construction town next to the building of the dam in the 1930s, it was the site for the new dam in the 1970s. A new town was constructed down river for the 1,000 or so residents.

Powerhouse Two has 10 turbines and a capacity of 635,000 KW. Each turbine discharges an average of 231,000 gallons per second, more than twice as much as in Powerhouse One.

There are upgraded fish ladders on the Washington side, giving the fish a better trip through the dam.

There is a tunnel for the fish along the dam so they can go down either side.

There is a large gallery in the basement of the visitors center where you can see the shadowy fish pass by.

Driving east, we stopped at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center and Museum. The exhibits were excellent and it was well worth the time spent there. We had a pleasant dinner at the hotel and left the next morning. It was another beautiful day as we headed south and as we came around a curve, there was Mount Hood.

As we came around the south side of the mountain near Government Camp, there was a great close view of the mountain.

That wraps up the posts for this road trip. We stopped at Klamath Falls after passing Mt. Hood, with our next stop in Mammoth Lakes, and home the next day. Up next on the road trip series: Death Valley.