Cruising up the Columbia River
Most of us awoke to a crisp new day during our passage through John Day Lock and Dam, which we completed just before sunrise. During the night we had passed quietly from the wet to the dry side of Pacific Northwest by way of the Columbia Gorge, the river’s dramatic breach of the Cascade Mountains and a highly scenic area we plan to explore on our return journey down river. All day long we continued up the Great River of the West, entering its tributary, the Snake River, just before sunset.
For the most part today’s river scenery could be described as understated and subtle, although the constricted and uplifted area known as Wallula Gap provided a spectacular exception to the gently rolling hills farther down river. The narrowness of the river and the lofty layers of basalt testify to the violent episodes of fire and flood that did so much to form the landscape of eastern Washington. An oddly shaped basaltic plug on the east bank of the river, which Lewis and Clark observed, is today called the Twin Captains or the Twin Sisters. Today’s illustration is of that unusual formation located in western Walla Walla County near the border between Washington and Oregon.
The full day of cruising provided an opportunity for two lectures by shipboard naturalists, one offering an overview of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the other discussing the edible foods they found along the way. In addition, we viewed a documentary on the Nez Perce Indians, the people of the region we will be visiting tomorrow, and we had a chance to sample many delicious Pacific Northwest foods and wines.
Most of us awoke to a crisp new day during our passage through John Day Lock and Dam, which we completed just before sunrise. During the night we had passed quietly from the wet to the dry side of Pacific Northwest by way of the Columbia Gorge, the river’s dramatic breach of the Cascade Mountains and a highly scenic area we plan to explore on our return journey down river. All day long we continued up the Great River of the West, entering its tributary, the Snake River, just before sunset.
For the most part today’s river scenery could be described as understated and subtle, although the constricted and uplifted area known as Wallula Gap provided a spectacular exception to the gently rolling hills farther down river. The narrowness of the river and the lofty layers of basalt testify to the violent episodes of fire and flood that did so much to form the landscape of eastern Washington. An oddly shaped basaltic plug on the east bank of the river, which Lewis and Clark observed, is today called the Twin Captains or the Twin Sisters. Today’s illustration is of that unusual formation located in western Walla Walla County near the border between Washington and Oregon.
The full day of cruising provided an opportunity for two lectures by shipboard naturalists, one offering an overview of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the other discussing the edible foods they found along the way. In addition, we viewed a documentary on the Nez Perce Indians, the people of the region we will be visiting tomorrow, and we had a chance to sample many delicious Pacific Northwest foods and wines.
