Here’s a special cruising story from an area not often visited.
Cameron McIntyre has been cruising on the Columbia River that separates Oregon from Washinton with his father all his life. His father, 90, is still capable or managing the family’s 48-foot cruiser Lady Ann but does need help with fenders, dock lines and heavy boat chores.
The Lady Ann has cruised the Pacific Northwest extensively so the planned father-son cruise from Portland up the Columbia to the Hood River below the majestic Mount Hood, a distance of 60 miles each way, was a mini cruise. But it still took them up the mighty river and by such sights as the 120-foot tall Bridal Veil Falls and other famous landmarks.
Cameron is a history buff, so he was fully aware that in 1805 the Columbia River led Lewis and Clarke from the mountains to the Pacific Ocean opening up the Pacific Northwest for rapid expansion from the east. They were followed by trappers, missionaries, gold seekers, the rail road and then civilization.
