Columbia River Gorge

We had been invited for dinner to the house of Oscar's former DP from Waldport, Pat who is now teaching at the University of Portland. Also invited was Pat's charming 91 year old father ( who seemed to know more about the nuances of internet speed than anyone else there). We had a lovely meal sitting in Pat's backyard under a sequoia tree, but not a drive- thru one thankfully. The next day we headed east along the gorge of the impressive Columbia River, making the Yarra look like a mere trickle. The road was built in 1914 by a very progressive engineer who started out by trying to build a road to highlight the area's natural beauty, not at the expense of it. The road also apparently covers the most concentrated collection of waterfalls in the world, not sure if this is true but they are certainly beautiful.

 Bonneville Dam made for an educational stop at which Ruby found herself part of a demonstration about how electricity is made. A group of people were handed objects and had to line themselves up in order of what comes first. Luckily she was given the light switch so she didn't need any help working out she was at the end of the line. Even more impressive than how electricity is made, which I clearly don't get or I would find it more fascinating, is how those salmon get through the dam and swim upstream all that way only to spawn then die. This is salmon country so we are keen to sample some, particularly the Chinook, although I'll feel bad thinking they may have made it 3/4 of the way through their masssive journey only to end up on my plate and never fulfil the ancient call of their instinct. Really tasty though!