Pete
You hit the nail on the head. Winds in the gorge are often in excess of
50 mph and flow with the current direction 90% of the time. It is a
wide river mostly flowing east to west with some pretty steep terrain
on either side. An interstate runs parallel on the south side, and a
major highway of varying 2-4 lanes on the north as well as the
railroad.
I spoke too quickly in landing direction but most of my potential
landing sites were in steep terrain with a lot of rapids and you sure
didn't want to go downstream like a leaky poorly designed canoe!
Most of the time, if there is a current flowing, I've landed seaplanes
upstream to use the idle speed as a brake for sailing and docking.
Probably more important than current is wind direction except in
special circumstances.
Cheers
Rocky