It's A Very Fishy Story

On Saturday it was rainy so we decided to head east on I-84 through the Gorge and to Bonneville Dam and Fish Hatchery. It is only about an hour east of Portland so not a bad drive. We went to the visitors center first and they talked about how and when the dam was built. It was during the Great Depression and was built to produce power for the Pacific Northwest. It is pretty impressive. They also talked about Salmon spawning. When the dam was put into place, it created a problem for the salmon as they swam upstream on the Columbia River to get back to where they were born. They have a "fish ladder" in place that allows them to get back upstream. There were quite a few fish working their way up the ladder. You can go to the observatory and see them from underwater. Pretty cool.

We then went to the fish hatchery and saw how they breed and hatch the salmon and put them into the river in bigger numbers. We also saw the ponds with the giant sturgeon. The big one in the tank is 9' long and over 1,000 pounds. You can't see it very well in the picture.

We went across the Columbia and into Stevenson, Washington so Hannah could say she has been to another state. We didn't get a picture taken.

On Wednesday, Mom and Hannah head back to the Midwest. We have enjoyed having Hannah here but she misses her family and it is time to go back. We will miss her.

The house is coming along nicely. The floor in the garage is poured and the guttering is on. The sheetrock has been delivered and will go up on Monday.