After the end of World War II when my father was discharged from the Army Air-Corps, he went home to Nebraska, married my mother, packed up his 1937 Oldsmobile and they headed for a new life in Oregon. They chose The Dalles in part because it had a river to match the Missouri my father had grown up with, fishing its murky waters and hunting and trapping along its banks. The Columbia River more than filled the bill.
I remember stories of locals driving their cars out on the frozen Columbia in the winter of 1950, and of watching River People dipnetting spring salmon at Celilo Falls. I have always felt fortunate to have grown up here.
Remarkably, while nearly 60% of the world’s population lives within a couple miles of a freshwater source (river, stream or lake), only 6.5% of the world’s population lives near a major river. And most of that 6.5% is typically in very high density urban areas. Here in the Gorge we are exceedingly fortunate to live so close to the largest river in the Western United States without the impact and compromises of a large urban center.
Averaging a flow of 7,400 cubic meters per second, the Columbia is still easily taken for granted. Over its 1,243 mile length, countless tributaries flow into the main stem. The cumulative flow is then partially countered by the massive amounts of water taken from the river for irrigation and other uses, but onward it flows to the sea.
There is a small and little-known tributary west of The Dalles that flows into Taylor Lake and eventually its waters reach the Columbia River. The tributary originates near the Riverfront Trail’s tubular railroad tunnel and, in spite of efforts at diversion, some of its waters are now flowing right through the trail tunnel — so proceed with caution on the wet pavement.
The tributary’s origin is called Taylor Spring and is marked by an old cement block springhouse in the middle of a dense locust grove. Year round water has kept the blackberry vines in robust health and they surround and nearly cover the springhouse. The spring’s flow is much greater than usual for this time of year.
Riverfront Trail crosses four named tributaries (Three Mile Creek, Mill Creek, Chenoweth Creek, and Taylor Spring). I encourage walking the Riverfront Trail in this season for the wildflowers, birdlife and the views of the swollen Columbia. There is a sense of abundance and tranquility that is reassuring in these times.
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.” — Rumi
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