On our way up the Columbia River today, we stopped for the afternoon just below McNary Dam, outside the town of Umatilla, Oregon. A short ride on buses brought us to a pleasant wildlife area where the Corps of Engineers has created plantings and water channels to mitigate the habitat lost during the dam's construction. Strolling along the shady, bark-strewn paths, we saw Wood Ducks with ducklings in tow, Red-winged Blackbirds displaying their bright crimson epaulets and jack rabbits bounding through the sagebrush. While we were enjoying our walk, the Sea Bird moved up river to the dam and into the lock chamber, where we then rejoined her. We arrived just as the enormous chamber was beginning to fill, giving us a new perspective on the operations of the locks, which we had already witnessed from within. While our ship slowly rose toward us, we had a chance to walk around the superstructure of the dam, examine the fish ladder and marvel at the power of the torrents of water pouring through the spillway gates. When the Sea Bird reached the top of the chamber, the crew quickly rigged a gangway and we walked right on, just in time for a complementary wine tasting, featuring local Northwestern vintages.