Hood River Real Estate Update

Another event this weekend. Sternwheeler Days will be held in Cascade Locks at Marine Park June 26-28, 2009.

This is the annual summer celebration in Cascade Locks welcoming the return of the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler back for the summer season. There will be food, music, art and crafts vendors and Sternwheeler rides on the bank of the Columbia River.

Thunder Island will be filled with Mountain Men who will be camped out and will be giving demonstrations on powder shoots, flint making, cooking over an open fire and more.

The town parade through downtown Cascade Locks will take place on Saturday morning at 11:00 am. 

Plenty of fun for the whole family!

Cascade Locks is a small town located in Hood River County. It is the home of the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler. The Bridge of the gods connects Cascade Locks to the Washington side where the small towns of Stevenson, North Bonneville, and Carson are located in Skamania County. If you are interested in purchasing a home in Cascade Locks there are currently 15 homes listed for sale.  The annual festival Sternwheeler Days will be held in Cascade Locks on June 26-28, 2009. There are always many activities planned on this busy weekend. A parade, arts and crafts booths, music, sternwheeler rides will be some of the things to enjoy in Historic Cascade Locks.

I took this picture recently while crossing The Bridge of the gods from Stevenson, WA to Cascade Locks, OR in the Columbia Gorge. I had to wait till just the right moment when the bridge structure wasn't in the way. My camera is pretty slow. I was surprised and happy it turned out so nice. This is looking west down the Columbia River with the sky and clouds reflected in the water.

Saturday and Sunday, September 27-28, 2008 the 4th Annual Festival of Nations and 10K Salmon Run will be held in Cascade Locks at the Marine Park. Entertainment will include Warm Springs dancers performing ancient dances that few have seen, Korean drummers and dancers, and Hispanic dancers plus more. Learn about Gorge geology and history, cultural exhibits, demonstrations by Warm springs Heritage group-drum making, beadwork. There will be an "Art in the Park" tent with hands-on ethnic art projects for kids. Saturday, Sept. 27 at 8:00 am the 10K Salmon Run on the Historic Highway will be held.  For more information visit www.cascadelocks.net.

Will there be a Warm Springs Casino in Cascade Locks in Hood River County? Learn more about where things are at with this proposal at www.gorgecasinoeis.com  You can also read the Environmental Impact Statement  at the Skamania County Chamber of Commerce located at 167 NW Second St. in Stevenson, WA.

Here's a brief overview of what is being proposed. The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (Tribe) have proposed to develop a resort and casino, with associated transportation system improvements, in the City of Cascade Locks, Hood River County, Oregon.

The eventual size and scope of the facilities may be modified, however the Tribe's current proposal is for a $389 million, 603,000 square foot riverfront destination resort and casino on 60 acres. Initial plans include a 90,000-square-foot gaming casino, 241-room hotel, 26,000 square foot meeting and convention facility, spa and fitness center, retail shops, cultural and interpretive center, daycare facility, and a variety of dining options. Parking would be provided for 3,700 vehicles, including a multi-tiered parking garage and two surface lots.

There will be five public hearings conducted by the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) during the
comment period. This is your opportunity to voice your opinion about the
proposal. The first hearing took place this week in Warm Springs, Oregon. 
Here is the schedule for the remaining public hearings: 

Monday March 10, 2008
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Port of Cascade Locks Gorge Pavilion, Marine Park
355 Wa-Na-Pa Street
Cascade Locks, Oregon

Wednesday March 12, 2008
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Rock Creek Center
710 SW Rock Creek Drive
Stevenson, Washington

Thursday March 13, 2008
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Doubletree Hotel, Lloyd Center
1000 NE Multnomah
Portland, Oregon

Monday March 17, 2008
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Hood River Middle School Auditorium
1602 May Street
Hood River, Oregon



 

The Bonneville Dam is Located in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area 40 miles east of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. The Bonneville Dam was the first of the major dams to be built on the Columbia River. It was one of the northwest's largest Depression-era New Deal projects, built to harness the river for hydroelectric generation and to improve navigation.

Construction of the dam began in 1933, and water began to rise in 1937. In a short time, the impoundment drowned the historic Cascade rapids that had been a treacherous obstacle for Native Americans for generations and for European-American explorers and travelers since the arrival of Lewis and Clark. The dam which is  2,690 feet long and 197 feet high, is about two miles downstream from the Bridge of the Gods located in Cascade Locks, Oregon.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains Bonneville Lock and Dam for hydropower production, fish and wildlife protection, recreation and navigation. There are visitor centers with interpretive programs and tours on both the Oregon and Washington sides.

Since 1938, Bonneville Dam has supplied the region with inexpensive electrical power. Visitors can experience first-hand the operation of two hydroelectric powerhouses and watch migrating fish traveling upstream at the underwater viewing rooms next to the fish ladders. This area is along the Lewis and Clark route.

 AN INDIAN LEGEND

There are many Native American stories of a legendary rock bridge which spanned the Columbia River. This is believed to have happened about 300 years ago during the Bonneville slide. Legend is told about two greedy brothers who quarreled, each wanting more land. The Great Spirit decided to stop the quarrel. He took the brothers to a new land of high mountains with a great river flowing between. Each brother  shot an arrow in opposite directions to mark their land which would be separated by the great river. One brother shot his arrow south into the Willamette Valley. He later became chief of the Multnomah people. The other brother shot his arrow north into Klickitat country and he became the Klickitat Chief. The Great Spirit built a great rock bridge over the river. As time went on the people again became greedy and quarrelsome. They were punished by having the sun not shine on them. The Great Spirit told Loo-wit, an old woman who had remained unselfish, to take fire to the middle of the bridge where people on both sides could get it to warm themselves. As her reward, Loo-wit was given youth and beauty. Two handsome chiefs, Wyeast, from the South and Klickitat,  from the North, now quarreled over Loo-Wit. People fought and many even died. Now The Great Spirit was so angry he broke the Bridge of the Gods and turned the two chiefs into Mountains. Wyeast is known as Mt. Hood and Klickitat as Mt. Adams. According to Indian legend they continued to quarrel and throw fire and hot rocks at each other.  Loo-wit was also changed into a mountain, now known as Mt. St. Helens.  The rocks and rushing water where the Bridge of the Gods fell are known as the Cascades of the Columbia. 

Today a steel truss bridge over the Columbia River links Oregon to Washington. The bridge of the Gods is the 3rd oldest bridge over the Columbia, built in 1926.  It was raised in 1938 when the Columbia River water level was raised by the completion of the Bonneville Dam.

The modern Bridge of the Gods is located in Cascade Locks, Oregon and crosses the Columbia River into Skamania County Washington about 3 miles west of Stevenson, Washington.