Day 28: Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Lock and Dam, and Paradise Point State Park

Fortunately, we sleep in today. Rene says it was too noisy for him. The proximity to the airport is noticeable. Planes take off regularly and create noise. I sleep well and am not bothered by it. We do some cleaning and then leave Portland. Our path leads to the Columbia River Gorge, a chain of basaltic elevations along the Columbia River. We want to hike at the Multnomah Falls. Originally, we planned to drive on the old highway, but we simply ignore the sign with the closure notice and promptly have to turn around. Unfortunately, we are now driving in the opposite direction again, as there is no entrance to our desired route. There is a large parking lot right on the highway. We walk to the waterfall and learn that a large fire raged last September and destroyed much. It could only be completely extinguished in November. We see the remains of charred trees, nature has recovered remarkably well. The cause of the fire was a firework. Almost all hiking trails are destroyed or not safely accessible. A hike along several waterfalls is no longer possible. The only remaining path is to the Multnomah Falls. There are many visitors on the way and the route is easy. We quickly reach our destination and look at the 170 meter high waterfall. It falls in 2 stages and according to the notice, it is the 3rd largest waterfall in the USA that has water flowing all year round. But as it is with records, can they really be trusted?! The view is nice, there is a bridge further up, but there are too many people on it for Rene, so only Erik and I go. The sun shines directly from the front over the waterfall, so the pictures are very bright. A short time later we are back at the starting point. A few kilometers further, we reach the Bonneville Lock and Dam. It is a dam that is partially accessible to visitors. We are checked for weapons or fireworks, with the security guard briefly looking into our car. Whether he does it or not doesn't matter because who would obviously leave it behind. There is a visitor center with multiple floors. We see a pair of ospreys with a young one through binoculars. Ospreys resemble bald eagles and are often mistaken for them. The river is particularly used by salmon, which swim upstream from the sea and by the small salmon in the opposite direction.
There is a fish ladder in the dam to help them progress. There are glass windows in the visitor center for observing the fish. There are eel-like specimens clinging to the windows, called Pacific Lamprey. There are many of them hanging closely together. They even have teeth, somewhat creepy. We also see salmon, the water is churned up and turbid, making it difficult to make precise identifications. We observe everything from above in the outdoor area. The staircase is long and the path for the animals is certainly not easy. I thought they would also jump, but that was not the case. But at least they count annually 5.6 million shad fish, 270,000 salmon of different species, and 23,000 lampreys. Who knows how many there would be without the dam. In turbine house 1 we are allowed to take a look inside, including a small exhibition. Finally, we visit a fish hatchery with tanks of small farmed salmon and sturgeons. We also admire tanks with larger fish. There is a huge sturgeon living there. The 70-year-old Herman is almost 3 meters long and weighs 75 kg. Very impressive to look at this animal behind a glass pane. Speaking of fish, here in the Northwest of the USA, that's probably the most popular activity. Anglers always appear along the rivers and lakes, many with boats. Almost every supermarket and even gas stations carry fishing supplies. The fish seem to bite particularly well here.

It is already afternoon and we cross the Columbia River via a toll bridge and are now in the state of Washington. The route leads back towards Portland along the river, but on the other side. Shortly before Portland, we drive north along vineyards. At half past 5, we reach Paradise Point State Park. Unfortunately, the park is right next to the interstate and the noises are very distinctive. We barbecue and David devours a whole tomato. He seems to take after my eating habits. Then we play soccer and David watches our game with joy from his high chair. We hear loud bangs nearby repeatedly and cannot assign them. In the evening, fireworks rockets can be seen. And yet, the 4th of July is still 5 days away.