I had an amazing day with my son today. We drove to Camas Washington to get a Cub 123 and also ended up with a Bolen 1050 and a Simplicity(?) plow. The round trip was a little under 400 miles and the sky was blue and sunny for the first time in a while. We took lots of picture to show people what the Columbia River Gorge looks like and of coarse we have pictures of our purchase so sit back and enjoy the story and pictures of our trip.
We left this morning at about 8:30 with our 5th wheel flat bed trailer that I purchase during December. This was the first time using this trailer to haul some tractors and I was anxious to see how it would perform.
We headed South out of Kennewick on Interstate 82 (I82). You have to climb several hundred feet to get out of town. The hills are called the Horse Heaven Hills. I don't know why they are called that but there is a lot of sage brush and wheat field for a far as the eye can see in all directions.
At about 23 miles you hit the might Columbia River. The first hydroelectric dam that we get to see is McNary Dam. This is next to a town called Hermiston Oregon. We crossover the river here because Interstate 84(I84) heads West down the gorge towards Camas.
They have been lowering the water behind the dams in expectation of the all of the runoff from the snow pack in the mountains.
At the point where I82 joints the I84 you start to come across a bunch of concrete and dirt bunkers on the Umatilla Army Depot. These bunkers were once filled with biological weapons of war such as mustard gas and other deadly creations. Over the last ten years the army has been incinerating the active agents of the weapons in custom built incinerators right next to the depot. They finished about 1 year ago. Thankfully the job was safely and thoroughly completed without any harm to the public.
As you drive further West on I84 you come across the first of 3 volcanoes. Mt. Hood(Oregon) is dormant with an elevation of 11,240 ft.. Here is what she looks like from the road.
As you get closer to Mt. Hood you come across a small Native American village at Celilo Falls. The falls is now underwater after John Day dam was built. Here is what is used to look like.
The village is mostly modern houses on a small flat area next to the river separated by the I84. Here is a picture of their long house.
Followed by John Day dam
The next dam is The Dalles at the town of Dalles.
You notice that Mt. Hood now has cloud on it which is a common occurrence when moist air comes in contact with the cold air from the snow pack.
Further down the gorge the water was calm and you could see the reflection of the Washington side on the surface of the river.
This picture for some reason is appearing upside down. Can't seem to change it.
This is not very common because the wind is funneled along the gorge at great speeds. As a result, the gorge is an ideal spot for giant wind turbines. There a several hundreds found on both sides. Here are just a couple.
At the town of Hood River you can a glimpse of the 2nd Volcano called Mt. Adams(Washington). It too is dormant and makes a great place to go camping. It is one of our favorites place to go during the hot days of summer. Elevation 12,281 ft.
See what happens in part 2
We left this morning at about 8:30 with our 5th wheel flat bed trailer that I purchase during December. This was the first time using this trailer to haul some tractors and I was anxious to see how it would perform.
We headed South out of Kennewick on Interstate 82 (I82). You have to climb several hundred feet to get out of town. The hills are called the Horse Heaven Hills. I don't know why they are called that but there is a lot of sage brush and wheat field for a far as the eye can see in all directions.
At about 23 miles you hit the might Columbia River. The first hydroelectric dam that we get to see is McNary Dam. This is next to a town called Hermiston Oregon. We crossover the river here because Interstate 84(I84) heads West down the gorge towards Camas.
They have been lowering the water behind the dams in expectation of the all of the runoff from the snow pack in the mountains.
At the point where I82 joints the I84 you start to come across a bunch of concrete and dirt bunkers on the Umatilla Army Depot. These bunkers were once filled with biological weapons of war such as mustard gas and other deadly creations. Over the last ten years the army has been incinerating the active agents of the weapons in custom built incinerators right next to the depot. They finished about 1 year ago. Thankfully the job was safely and thoroughly completed without any harm to the public.
As you drive further West on I84 you come across the first of 3 volcanoes. Mt. Hood(Oregon) is dormant with an elevation of 11,240 ft.. Here is what she looks like from the road.
As you get closer to Mt. Hood you come across a small Native American village at Celilo Falls. The falls is now underwater after John Day dam was built. Here is what is used to look like.
The village is mostly modern houses on a small flat area next to the river separated by the I84. Here is a picture of their long house.
Followed by John Day dam
The next dam is The Dalles at the town of Dalles.
You notice that Mt. Hood now has cloud on it which is a common occurrence when moist air comes in contact with the cold air from the snow pack.
Further down the gorge the water was calm and you could see the reflection of the Washington side on the surface of the river.
This picture for some reason is appearing upside down. Can't seem to change it.
This is not very common because the wind is funneled along the gorge at great speeds. As a result, the gorge is an ideal spot for giant wind turbines. There a several hundreds found on both sides. Here are just a couple.
At the town of Hood River you can a glimpse of the 2nd Volcano called Mt. Adams(Washington). It too is dormant and makes a great place to go camping. It is one of our favorites place to go during the hot days of summer. Elevation 12,281 ft.
See what happens in part 2