Everything that has been around for some time has a story, from artifacts to the hills themselves. Hood River, originally called Dog River for a rather unsavory reason, is a place full of stories, some of them probably true. Taking to shore for the morning, the allure of living history beckoned. Our first stop, the Mosier Tunnels certainly seems like the sort of setting you would read about in a book. Built in the early 1920s they are now part of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. These expansive maws are bored right out of the basalt outcropping which tells a tale any geologist worth their rock hammer will be keen to tell you about. The Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum is so packed with memorabilia that it would take a lifetime to learn all the anecdotes it holds inside its multiple hangars. Every plane and car on display is kept in functioning condition, which is difficult to comprehend given the magnitude and variety of vehicles. Rows of cars, older than even our most veteran shipmates, gleam and practically shine with their own light due to the pristine care that they are given. Each model has made its way here after an assuredly convoluted route, the majority of which remains a delectable mystery.
A pre-lunch visit to a local brewery seemed like a fine way to welcome in the afternoon. Sampling several of the sumptuous selections and then seeing the sights of the stacks and stacks of stock in the storeroom was scintillating. A brief interlude back on the ship to satiate our more solid hunger and we were back out to explore Bonneville Lock and Dam on foot before passing through it later that evening. This impressive feat of engineering is 145 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River and the first of a set of dams that play an important role in the current state of this region. While providing a substantial amount of energy through hydroelectricity it does hamper the natural migration of the multitude of anadromous fish that have no innate way to clear the hundreds of feet of concrete. There has been a staggering degree of infrastructure put into place to aid the salmon in circumventing this obstacle and ensuring that their story too shall continue on.
