13 August 2006 Other Observations

I am working up out of the Columbia River Gorge into what people here refer to as the plains. I took the opportunity at Maryhill State Park to go into the Columbia River. It was cold. I did not get more than calf deep.

I think about the Columbia "River". I think this should be called the Columbia Lakes Region. (Notice in the photo how it looks more like a lake than a river.) The Columbia has been reduced to a series of reservoirs and the river that Lewis and Clark encoutnered is gone forever. They got to the Columbia and rejoiced because they would now make rapid progress to the Pacific Ocean. They made it from the Bitterroots to the Pacific in one month. I wonder if the Coprs of Discovery II (reenactors) had much trouble on the Columbia.