Clearwater and Snake Rivers
I spent the day in the company of about half our guests on board, and Raymond Bloom, our expert from the Clearwater River area. Lewis and Clark had many important discoveries take place along the banks of this river. There were many dangerous encounters as well, both with people and the river itself, as well as positive incidences, mostly with the generous Nez Perce people. We visited quite a few campsites during our day of discovery, and standing in the very spot where Lewis and Clark stood, surrounded by the rolling hills of the lower western slopes of the Bitterroot Mountains, it wasn't hard to imagine the scraggly scrawny but immensely strong men making their way down to the river and meeting the local residents who later saved their lives time and again. By the end of the day it felt like we knew personally each and every member of the Corps of Discovery, their foibles and strengths, such was the drama of the interpretation.
The Hell's Canyon people got a fast ride in the jet boats, but not so quick that they didn't spot mountain goats, eagles and petrogylphs. We all met inside the Nez Perce Historical Park for an excellent presentation by our Nez Perce hostess, who with great feeling spoke of her people and their lifestyle both in the past and in the present. A full day, it left us with much to ponder and absorb…and fortunately tonight we were to get an extra hour for precisely that, thanks to daylight savings!
I spent the day in the company of about half our guests on board, and Raymond Bloom, our expert from the Clearwater River area. Lewis and Clark had many important discoveries take place along the banks of this river. There were many dangerous encounters as well, both with people and the river itself, as well as positive incidences, mostly with the generous Nez Perce people. We visited quite a few campsites during our day of discovery, and standing in the very spot where Lewis and Clark stood, surrounded by the rolling hills of the lower western slopes of the Bitterroot Mountains, it wasn't hard to imagine the scraggly scrawny but immensely strong men making their way down to the river and meeting the local residents who later saved their lives time and again. By the end of the day it felt like we knew personally each and every member of the Corps of Discovery, their foibles and strengths, such was the drama of the interpretation.
The Hell's Canyon people got a fast ride in the jet boats, but not so quick that they didn't spot mountain goats, eagles and petrogylphs. We all met inside the Nez Perce Historical Park for an excellent presentation by our Nez Perce hostess, who with great feeling spoke of her people and their lifestyle both in the past and in the present. A full day, it left us with much to ponder and absorb…and fortunately tonight we were to get an extra hour for precisely that, thanks to daylight savings!
