Where the Columbia and Snake Rivers Meet

Location: Hood Park CoE Campground; near Kennewick, Washington (elev 375 feet)

all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 cell phone

Thru Stop #12

I just realized I'm at about the same elevation that I was when I started this trip back in Louisiana. Somewhere in between I hit 11,000+ feet, I think. 

The main reason for stopping here was to see the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. I've been to the confluences of the Mississippi with the Missouri, Ohio and Red Rivers. All three visits are here in the blog somewhere. Now there will be another one. This one was a little anti-climaxic in that both the Columbia and Snake appeared to be barely flowing. Yes, they were as wide as I remember, but this time there were stationary. Maybe the Columbia picks up speed as it gets closer to the coast. I remember it to be flowing really good when I saw it last. Oh well, I came, I saw, I left. Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be heading farther north to the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho area.

This is the Sacajawea Museum. It sits in the Sacajawea State Park at the confluence of the the Snake and Columbia Rivers. The admission fee is $10.00. All of the other confluences have been free, but without a nice museum like this one. The two ladies that work there were very friendly and helpful. 

This is the confluence. Wider than the others, but not nearly as well defined. Oh well.

They have a replica of a dugout canoe near the museum. There was one like this found along the Red River last year. It had been buried for a very long time and looked eerily similar to this one.

As it happens so often, I was the only one in the park. The other two cars belong to the two ladies who work in the museum. Some other people showed up as I was leaving. 

While driving along the Columbia River, I found a nice Veterans Memorial. Job, well done to whoever is responsible.

City street on the left, Columbia River on the right. There are no levees along the river which makes it appear "more intimate" than any of the levee'ed river back east.

This is a U.S. highway that runs south of the campground and alongside the combined Columbia/Snake (now just called the Columbia. It's a very nice drive with good scenery. I had a video call with my granddaughter, Olivia, at this spot so she could see the river and the hills. It was a good drive.

Looking the other direction, downstream, at the Columbia.

I also went to the Visitors Center at the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam. It is the last dam on the Snake River before it empties into the Columbia. That thing in the front left that looks like a handicap ramp is a fish ladder. There is water flowing inside with blocks of concrete every so often so the fish can rest before jumping to the next level. Again, I was the only one there so I struck up a conversation with one of the guys in the visitors center. I mentioned I was a Civil Engineer and he said well grab a hardhat and I'll give you a tour. No cameras allowed, so not pictures. I saw where they were removing one of the turbines that had been in operation since 1962. It had been producing electricity on a regular basis for nearly 60 years. Hydroelectricity is where it's at man. 

The water pump in Liberty sounds like it is going out. I replaced it about 3 years ago when I thought the original one was going out. If I remember right, after replacing it, I realized the original one may not have actually been going out, so I kept it as a spare. But, my memory is not as good as it once was, so instead of relying on the original one, I got online and lucky me, Camping World had it one sale for 35% off. Also lucky for me, there was a Camping World just 15 miles away. So, I now have a new water pump and will install it at the next campground which should be a little cooler temperature-wise. I'm not surprised my pump is going out since I use it everyday. I always use my fresh water tank and water pump instead of hooking up to city water. I've done this since the beginning. The reasons are,,, I want to always be cycling my fresh water so it doesn't sit still and get stagnant. So many RV'ers hook up to city water and keep a little bit in their fresh water tank. When they come to a campground like I'm at now that doesn't have water at the campsite they have to use their fresh water tank and just hope it is still fresh. Second reason; when traveling, the RV bounces around so water connections can get loose. If you hook up to city water and pressurize your water lines, the water will find that leak if it exists. Hopefully, you will be in the RV when it does but it may be after lots of water has gotten everywhere. I've seen people return to their RV after being out for the day and water is just running out from underneath it. For me, all I have to do is flip the switch for my water pump and if it comes on without a faucet open, then there is a leak somewhere. I've gotten in the habit of turning it on only when I need water but there are other times when I will leave it on while I'm in the RV to check for a slow leak. I don't drink water from my fresh water tank. I use it for showering and in the kitchen sink. I chlorinate about every third tank full by adding one cup of Clorox when I fill the fresh water tank.

Well this has been a long post than I had intended. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.