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The Dam tour

Stevenson, WA and Bonneville Dam, Oregon – Thursday, August 21, 2025

Today we decided to divide and conquer.  Siri stayed on the boat with her dad, while I took my single bike on the historic scenic highway route 30.  We both had great days.

Siri got to relax on the boat and see the lower Columbia gorge from the water – which few people see, unless they are a kite boarding.  She also went through the first of eight locks at Bonneville Dam. it was also really nice to have the whole boat to herself and just a handful of riders who weren’t riding that day. 

Siri’s Dad stayed on the boat since that is THE reason he is on this trip. “As a kid, my family would drive highway 30 from Portland to Eastern Washington every Thanksgiving and Christmas to visit my grandparents who were farmers.” Since then, he has driven up and down this river multiple times – now on the better interstate 84 – even a few times with the grandkids.  Our son Josiah remembers going on one of these which was billed as the Lewis and Clark adventure, but by the end he nicknamed it “The Dam Trip” because Papa Bob visited every visitor center of the dams along the way.

I started at Multnomah falls and biked up to Vista House at crown point to get the best views of the gorge.  There is an art deco and stained glass restroom building here because the men who designed highway 30 did not think those were necessary.  Fortunately, some forward thinking women demanded a restroom and it was added.  It is supposedly gorgeous inside, but there were no volunteers to open it for us, so we just got to peak inside the main lobby.  Still fabulous.

Then I was able to take old Highway 30 all the way to Bonneville Dam, across the Bridge of the Gods, and into Stevenson – our stop for the night.  Along the way, we got to see some of the many, many falls along this stretch and just enjoy a road that has basically been given over to bicyclists.  And what a view the whole way with the cliffs on both sides, the road, trains, boats, walkers – all along this river corridor.   I can see in a few years that this route will be one of the more popular in the US for multiple day rides.

We end the day at the local brew pub where we get to compare notes with our fellow riders. Siri and I get to catch up with each other at the end of our adventurous day and show each other our daily photos.  We head back to the boat for dinner and the evening performances.

Tomorrow we get to ride from Hood River to The Dalles, part of the same route we did a month ago with my sister Carolyn and her husband John – one of their favorite rides. We really enjoyed the route which is a protected bike route on the historic highway 30 – and it has two tunnels! 

Sunrise with Mt. Hood in distance
Getting ready to ride
Oregon’s iconic Multnomah Falls
Inside Vista House at Crown Point
One of the best views of the Columbia Gorge from Vista House
One of the original tunnels on highway 30
Bonneville Dam – the first major dam on the Columbia built in 1937
Herman the Sturgeon – almost 100 years old
Bridge of the Gods – part of the Pacific Crest Trail linking Oregon to Washington.  We even met a PCT through hiker and her dog at lunch.
A much safer, and shorter bridge to cross than the previous day in Astoria.
A fish wheel – basically a mechanized net created in 1870’s that would catch ALL the salmon coming up stream. Finally banned in the 1920’s.
Dinner on the boat – delicious (and way too much!) food all week long
Evening performances every night – tonight we join the crowd belting out “Sweet Caroline”
Some of Siri’s view of the day – the river boat going into the Bonneville locks – the first of eight on this trip
Just enough room on the sides that you don’t touch
And almost ready to leave the locks
The river is fairly calm behind each of the dams – coming up to the Bridge of the Gods. 
Under the Bridge of Gods – named by Native Americans because of a temporary land bridge that was created by a land side in 1100 AD that blocked the Columbia River and allowed people to literally across the river.
Great views all days
This is the back of the Bonneville Dam after passing through the locks
Barge traffic along the river –
One of the main uses of the locks is to move grain from inland farms to the ocean ports.
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sirianddavid

Siri and David live in Redmond, Washington, and enjoy living, traveling, and learning about different cultures.

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