America's Great Western Waterway

The Columbia and Snake rivers deliver a rich feast for the eyes and lens.

- George Sass, SR

Flashes of bright colors crisscross the river far ahead of us, some high in the sky, others on the water’s surface, and all moving like crazed butterflies escaping the lepidopterist’s net. As we approach this chaos of color, we see some humans attached to high-flying kites while others stand on rocket-fast boardsurfers, each trying to outdo the other with heroic, acrobatic stunts.

I am with boatbuilder Tony Fleming aboard Venture, his personal Fleming 65, for an exploration of the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia and Snake rivers, and we have just arrived in Hood River, Oregon, known as the boardsurfing capital of the world. Strong prevailing westerlies are the norm in the Columbia River Gorge, and the swift, opposing river currents create conditions that attract wind worshipping surfers from around the world. Fleming’s captain, Chris Conklin, has to dodge and weave Venture through this maze of color, being careful not to get tangled in all the airborne rigging that is zigzagging from one riverbank to the other.

As we enter the small harbor of Hood River, magnificent, snowcapped Mount Hood breaks through the low, fast-moving clouds, protectively looking down upon this little town on the hillside. After securing a spot along the town dock, we borrow a car from a friendly local and go exploring. First on our list is a quick drive back to the Bonneville Lock and Dam, which we had passed through the day before. Taking a fascinating tour of the dam’s inner workings, we walk atop one of the massive, 60,000-kilowatt turbine generators, part of the dam’s 1,200-megawatt hydroelectric power plant. The sophisticated control room reminds me of the movie “The China Syndrome.”