Clearwater Country, Hell’s Canyon, & the Nez Perce Historical Park
The day dawned cool but again beautifully clear and the early 35 degree chill gave way to warm and most pleasant conditions. Our remarkable string of fair weather days continues!
We altered our normal plans for this leg of our journey, having experienced unusual delays at the locks as we made our way up the Columbia and Snake. This led to some creative rescheduling by our Captain and our Expedition Leader. Rather than disembarking at our normal Clarkston, Washington dock we anchored 45 miles or so downstream on the Snake River, shuttled via our Zodiacs to shore and boarded buses for Clarkston. This drive, most fortuitously, took us on precisely the same route the Corps of Discovery followed from April 30-May 3, 1806, as they traveled overland toward the Clearwater River. The Corps was anxious to rendezvous with their Nez Perce friends, retrieve the horses and saddles they had entrusted to them over the winter, and then cross the Bitterroots and travel the Missouri prior to the winter freeze.
Our buses parted ways in Clarkston as one proceeded to the Clearwater country for a day at various Lewis and Clark sites with Lin Laughy, the premier authority on the expedition in the Clearwater/Nez Perce area. Putting our feet on the same ground as the Corps of Discovery walked was a thrilling experience and truly made the expedition come alive for us all, 202 years later.
The other bus shuttled to the Clarkston dock where a jet boat was boarded for a trip up the Snake River into the wild and beautiful Hell’s Canyon area. Bighorn sheep, fishermen catching steelhead trout, fascinating geological formations, petroglyphs, and magnificent terrain filled our day as we smoothly ran Class III rapids via the marvel of jet boat technology.
A trip to the Nez Perce National Park museum completed our day on shore. We returned to the Sea Lion for cocktails, dinner, and even time for a stroll around Clarkston prior to leaving for our downstream voyage.
The day dawned cool but again beautifully clear and the early 35 degree chill gave way to warm and most pleasant conditions. Our remarkable string of fair weather days continues!
We altered our normal plans for this leg of our journey, having experienced unusual delays at the locks as we made our way up the Columbia and Snake. This led to some creative rescheduling by our Captain and our Expedition Leader. Rather than disembarking at our normal Clarkston, Washington dock we anchored 45 miles or so downstream on the Snake River, shuttled via our Zodiacs to shore and boarded buses for Clarkston. This drive, most fortuitously, took us on precisely the same route the Corps of Discovery followed from April 30-May 3, 1806, as they traveled overland toward the Clearwater River. The Corps was anxious to rendezvous with their Nez Perce friends, retrieve the horses and saddles they had entrusted to them over the winter, and then cross the Bitterroots and travel the Missouri prior to the winter freeze.
Our buses parted ways in Clarkston as one proceeded to the Clearwater country for a day at various Lewis and Clark sites with Lin Laughy, the premier authority on the expedition in the Clearwater/Nez Perce area. Putting our feet on the same ground as the Corps of Discovery walked was a thrilling experience and truly made the expedition come alive for us all, 202 years later.
The other bus shuttled to the Clarkston dock where a jet boat was boarded for a trip up the Snake River into the wild and beautiful Hell’s Canyon area. Bighorn sheep, fishermen catching steelhead trout, fascinating geological formations, petroglyphs, and magnificent terrain filled our day as we smoothly ran Class III rapids via the marvel of jet boat technology.
A trip to the Nez Perce National Park museum completed our day on shore. We returned to the Sea Lion for cocktails, dinner, and even time for a stroll around Clarkston prior to leaving for our downstream voyage.
