It is September, so that means that kids are back in school all over. This is the time homeschoolers enjoy field trips!
We headed to the WA side of the Bonneville Lock & Dam to learn how the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) is using the Columbia River to generate power for the area. The facility consists of not one, but two powerhouse buildings, plus a separate lock and fish ladder.
It should come as no surprise that my favorite part was the fish ladder and I have definitely passed on that love to at least one of my children. Aleah completed another Junior Ranger program and earned another badge for her wall. Pretty soon I might need to make another display board for her!
The Dam was completed in 1938 and over time has expanded and even forced an entire town to be moved!
The visitor center had a great movie about the history of the dam, wonderful windows and descriptions regarding the power generation and a fun viewing window to watch the fish swimming upstream to spawn. It was Chinook spawning season, so we watched a ton of the giant salmon swim by the window!
