Palouse River
Short columns of fog sprouted from the meeting of the cool morning air and the river waters. We reached the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers this morning just before breakfast. Our first lockage, through Ice Harbor, was almost as chilly as its name. A few hours later at Lower Monumental, with clear skies above and barely a breath of wind, the sun seekers emerged on deck and basked in the sun as our day began to warm. For our viewing pleasure, a parade of columnar basalts standing in fractured attention lined the river canyon.
Later in the afternoon on the Palouse River, the crisp bite of fall returned to chill our noses and put color in our cheeks. The essence of willow and sage stimulated us to gulp deep breaths of this delectable fall perfume. Duet and soloist kayakers designed their own explorations up the river and through the cattail and reed mazes.
A brilliant yellow school bus was our transportation for a short jaunt up to Palouse Falls. The afternoon lighting created an optical illusion of the falls emerging from a spring; a short walk around the hilltop verified the presence of the river that feeds a continuous ribbon of water into the emerald plunge pool.
A few taps on the side of your Zodiac with a cattail seed head and you can disappear in a cloud of fluff. Such were the fun and games of our Zodiac excursions exploring the Palouse River.
A bald eagle made an unexpected appearance and then flew away and up the canyon. In the late afternoon light, the sunset tinted the thin cloud layer in an embarrassed blush pink. Keen eyes in the lead Zodiac spied a beaver paddling along the grassy shoreline, we watched and spoke in hushed voices. Apparently, we weren't hushed enough as the beaver gave a slap of its tail and dove out of sight. We already knew there was beaver here, as evidenced by earlier findings of chewed willow poles. It was an unexpected bonus to actually see the toothy little carpenter.
Later still, we drank warm chai latte tea in our Zodiacs, as the last sunset hues faded from the sky. We headed back homeward to the Sea Lion only to stop for one last sighting. A pair of mule deer bookends stood silhouetted atop the basalt ledge. Their enormous ears were easily visible and looked like a pair of thin, rotating, ping-pong paddles sticking out the sides of their heads.
Our vehicles of exploration have been as diverse as our sightings today and we look forward to tomorrow's expeditions and discoveries in the wake of Lewis and Clark.
Short columns of fog sprouted from the meeting of the cool morning air and the river waters. We reached the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers this morning just before breakfast. Our first lockage, through Ice Harbor, was almost as chilly as its name. A few hours later at Lower Monumental, with clear skies above and barely a breath of wind, the sun seekers emerged on deck and basked in the sun as our day began to warm. For our viewing pleasure, a parade of columnar basalts standing in fractured attention lined the river canyon.
Later in the afternoon on the Palouse River, the crisp bite of fall returned to chill our noses and put color in our cheeks. The essence of willow and sage stimulated us to gulp deep breaths of this delectable fall perfume. Duet and soloist kayakers designed their own explorations up the river and through the cattail and reed mazes.
A brilliant yellow school bus was our transportation for a short jaunt up to Palouse Falls. The afternoon lighting created an optical illusion of the falls emerging from a spring; a short walk around the hilltop verified the presence of the river that feeds a continuous ribbon of water into the emerald plunge pool.
A few taps on the side of your Zodiac with a cattail seed head and you can disappear in a cloud of fluff. Such were the fun and games of our Zodiac excursions exploring the Palouse River.
A bald eagle made an unexpected appearance and then flew away and up the canyon. In the late afternoon light, the sunset tinted the thin cloud layer in an embarrassed blush pink. Keen eyes in the lead Zodiac spied a beaver paddling along the grassy shoreline, we watched and spoke in hushed voices. Apparently, we weren't hushed enough as the beaver gave a slap of its tail and dove out of sight. We already knew there was beaver here, as evidenced by earlier findings of chewed willow poles. It was an unexpected bonus to actually see the toothy little carpenter.
Later still, we drank warm chai latte tea in our Zodiacs, as the last sunset hues faded from the sky. We headed back homeward to the Sea Lion only to stop for one last sighting. A pair of mule deer bookends stood silhouetted atop the basalt ledge. Their enormous ears were easily visible and looked like a pair of thin, rotating, ping-pong paddles sticking out the sides of their heads.
Our vehicles of exploration have been as diverse as our sightings today and we look forward to tomorrow's expeditions and discoveries in the wake of Lewis and Clark.
