Boaterhoming Cascade Locks On the Columbia River with Silas

Boaterhoming Cascade Locks for the First Time! –

Silas didn’t hesitate to leave his Mom and dad, and his cozy home in Portland, Oregon to go boaterhoming Cascade Locks with his Papa and Ana. We’re happy he feels comfortable enough to take off with us like that – Do you think he’s inherited the adventure bug DNA?

We didn’t drive far, that wasn’t the mission. Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, about 25 miles from Portland. The name came from a historic set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. We’d cruised to Cascade Locks last fall and stayed in town at the city marina. So we were familiar with the area and knew about this small campground located in the heart of the town very close to the marina, on the river, and across from the old lock.

We wanted to camp with Silas and take advantage of a learning opportunity at the nearby Bonneville Lock and Dam – a hydroelectric dam built in the 1930s on the Columbia River. It was all fun with only one meltdown over whether to “only” eat the chocolate cookies we made, earlier in the afternoon or a nutritious dinner. LOL!

First Silas helped Papa unhitch the trailer from the truck.

Next, we settled in for snacks and a few planned activities. Silas Facetimed his mom to share details of his adventure thus far.

Early morning chores. Getting ready to explore.

Playground first, then the old locks, and finally the Bonneville Lock and Dam

It turns out Silas is fascinated by electricity, so he was well entertained during the tour, even though he was getting tired. Think the neat thing for us was being able to see something, we often take for granted, through a young person’s eyes and seeing it from a new perspective.

We picked up some reading material at the Bonneville Gift Shop, it made a good nap-time activity.

Silas loves sleeping on the boat, he woke up groggy one morning, with bed-hair and finally… a smile!

Making cookies with Ana was a fun activity. We shared with our neighbors in the park.

With all those cookies stored on the boat, dinner was looking a little suspicious and perhaps considered a not-so-good use of calories. It took a lot of encouragement to get a few healthy bites down. Next time, maybe we’ll make those cookies AFTER dinner.

We all agree – can’t wait to do this again!

Stay Tuned…
We are planning a boating trip with Silas, in late summer, on our new Kismet.

Shortly after we take possession, we’ll get Silas and cruise the south sound of Puget Sound for a week. Silas already knows he will have a special place to sleep on the new boat and he is excited.