last night we camped at maryhill state park on the washington side across from deschuttes river. the settlers taking the oregon trail had to float their prarie schooners across the deschuttes. lewis and clark came down the washington side. this was a big fishing site for the native americans. lots of salmon.
like the tennessee, the columbia has been neutered. you don't realize it at first. Its huge and the surrounding banks, cliffs, falls, gorge take your attention. but when you see the pictures of natives fishing, you realize that the power, the flow, the wildness are gone. jim and i swam in the river; its weird, there's no current.
power. electrical power, specifically, characterizes the upper reaches of the river. there are the dams. there are the high voltage power lines running from the dams up and along the bluffs. and then there are the wind mills. the gorge through the lush, green cascades is beautiful. when we reached the high desert, east of the dalles, the gorge change to canyon. bare rock carved out by water, dry grass, few trees. i've never seen this before. incredibly beautiful. the colors are browns, tans and dry wheat. the textures and patterns are strong and varied. i know suzi would love this.
but up past maryhill, power takes over. Windmills cover the ridges on both sides, high voltage power lines run from dams up and down and along the slopes, and dams still the waters. along both banks, cars and trucks flow constantly, while railroad trains regularly roar past.
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