I have been reading many books about the Columbia River. We also have traveled many places along the Columbia River. I keep notes on our travels in Washington and Oregon on both a webpage and in this blog.
Kayaking Alone. By Mike Barenti. Published by the University of Nebraska Press, 2008, 244 pages, bibliography. This book tells about kayaking alone for 900 miles from Idaho's mountains to the Pacific Ocean. He follows the Snake River from the mountains of Idaho until it reaches the confluence with the Columbia at the Tri-Cities Area of Pasco, Richland, and Kennewick. The Yakima River also meets the Columbia in this area. The author was a reporter for the Yakima newspaper for a number of years. Then, he travels down the Columbia through the Gorge and then past Portland, Longview and onto Astoria. He has many comments about the fish situation in the Columbia, the many dams, the dramatic views of the canyons and gorges, and the development of "civilization" along the Columbia. He interviews many people on his solo journey in a kayak. FVRL.
A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia River. By Blaine Harden. W.W. Norton and Co., Revised 2012. 288 pages. ISBN: 978-0393342567. VSCL.
