Longview, WA

 We set out to tour the facilities at Bonneville and Cascade Locks before we head north into Washington again.  First up was the fishery....very nicely done!

 

We got to see the underwater viewing tank for sturgeon fish - they are cool but creepy looking fish that haven't evolved much for millennia.  They hardly even look real!

Outside they had various tanks for different species of fish.  This was a pond area with lovely, fat rainbow trout!

We saw a sign for a "live lamprey discussion".  We were given a nice tour by a Native American lady showing the importance of the Pacific Lamprey eel.  Cool but weird looking!

Next we went over to the Corps of Engineers visitor center.

 

After watching an intro film, we got to see the "fish ladder".  It helps the returning salmon/steelhead and shad bypass the locks and power plants so that they can safely return to their upstream spawning grounds. 

 

Neat to watch the fish swim and jump from one step to the next.

 

Inside the visitor center, we went to the lowest level and could see the fish swimming upstream .  Mostly shad and a few Steelheads.  The salmon won't be running until the fall.

The next area to tour was the hydro-electric power plant.

 

As many as 8 turbines run at a time, enough power generated (with no greenhouse gases emitted!) to power a city the size of Portland.  For size comparison, there is a worker in the lower left hand side of this photo.

Huge structures - this is the spillway where "excess water" is routed.  Was nice to stand in the mist since it's turned off rather warm here now.

Unfortunately for us, there were no boats going thru the lock while we were there. 

 

Going on to Cascade Locks, there is a cute tour boat.

Old lock structure with Native American fishing gear/platforms.

Time to head north - crossing one of the only 2 bridges closeby.  The Bridge of the Gods.  It was built in 1926 so it's 100 years old!

 

Cost $3 to cross!

We headed north on the National Forest Service roads in order to enjoy the scenery.  Stopped by a lovely creek.

 

And took in the beauty of a few mountain lakes during the couple of hour drive.

 

And found a beautiful overlook to view Mt. St. Helens. 

We're staying at an AirBnB in Longview just for the night.  Will explore Mt. St. Helens in depth tomorrow.