Bonneville Fish Ladder

Kevin, our host at the Cascade Locks KOA, as we were checking in for our stay on #127, gave us an overview of things to do in the area, what’s currently unavailable due to last year’s fire, what route to take to various places since much of US-30 is now closed. He strongly encouraged us to visit Bonneville Dam and Lock. So we drove a couple of miles west on I-84 to where we saw on of those Brown Signs. On other visits to the area we’d seen the signs for Bonneville Dam and always said,  “We need to go there one of these days!” Well, today is one of these days, we made our way through the security check, across the bridge in front of the navigational locks and the power house, to the Bradford Island Visitors Center and an opportunity to begin learning about the many missions of this facility built beginning in 1933, in earliest days of the FDR administration. It provides hydropower, water recreational opportunities, a massive lock to improve navigation and shipping, and fish ladders. As the salmon born in the Columbia River begin their journey upriver, which may be as far as 900 miles, their first major obstacle is the Bonneville Dam  What the salmon find is a Fish Ladder that allows them to make the sixty foot climb to the other side of the dam. What we found their was an opportunity to view the fish as they made their way through the maze at the end of their ascent to the level of the river on the upstream side of the dam. We arrived too late for the ranger talk but did get to see a great video on the history of the building of the dam and conversation with a couple who are volunteers staffing the visitors center. It seems we need another of these days to follow up on the great opportunities heralded by that Brown Sign on the interstate!