Learning More History of the Area

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Today we ventured into the town of Carson, just a short distance west of our campground and up into the hills a bit.  A small town with a very large sawmill and lots and lots of logs piled up waiting to be processed.  What an avalanche there would be if these logs started to roll down.

Found this interesting tree along one of the street and later learned from friends that it is actually a redwood.  At one time, experimental seedling trees were planted by employees of the mill and there are many other such trees in this area.  This tree is actually two trees planted close together and now appear to be one. 

Also found an interesting, junky antique shop to explore where I found of all things, material to purchase.  Good price for some material I can use to make charity quilts.

From here we explored Stevenson taking a few pictures here and there before heading further west toward the Bonneville Dam and Lock.  A sign which said Fort Cascade Trail caught our attention so we sidetracked to explore.  This a little over a mile trail along the River with sign posts and a brochure lets you experience sights, events and people who helped settle and develop the Pacific Northwest.  While there are no buildings left, the information is very descriptive and gives one a real feel for the area in that time period. 

In 1894 the river flooded removing soil and Fort Cascade and exposing the huge rocks that you now see along the trail shown in the pictures above.  Notice too the lichen growing on the rocks.

This petroglyph rock with meaning unknown serves as a reminder of the people who once lived here.

Further on we came across the area where the Blacksmith shop was located with this old wheel reminding us of just what blacksmiths did during that early time.

The entire walk was not only beautiful and serene, but educational and a reminder of the people and events which took place in this area.  These beautiful flowers growing along the trail just added to our enjoyment.

From here we continued down the same road to the Bonneville Dam and Lock Visitor Center.   Lake Bonneville is a 48 miles long reservoir impounded by the dam and the first in a series of navigable lakes which are part of the Columbia-Snake Inland waterway running 465 miles from the Pacific Ocean to Lewiston, Idaho.  It was built and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was the first Federal lock and dam on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  Construction began in 1933 and was dedicated in 1937.  The present  lock completed in 1993 reduced lockage time to less than 30 minutes with lockage available 24 hours a day.  We did not see the lock as the present lock is located on the Washington side.  However, we toured the building above the dam viewing the waterways below.

One of the most interesting things we saw was the Fish Ladders.  Fish Ladders?  Yes, fish ladders.  The ladders are passageways for adult fish that seasonally migrate upstream.  Pools in the fish ladders form a cross barrier that forms steps, set in a ramp leading up and around the dam.  The cross barriers have openings along the bottom to allow the fish to swim easily from one stairstep to the next.  Very interesting to observe.  If you look closely at the last picture below, you can see a few fish. 

An interesting and educational day for us.