Bonneville Dam, Hood River, 10/3/2017, National Geographic Sea Lion
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Lion
Pacific Northwest
Our second day on the mighty Columbia River found us traversing the Bonneville Dam and Lock at 7 a.m., just before a late breakfast. From there, it was a two hour cruise up river to the town of Hood River, the area for our day’s activities. There was a walk on the Old Scenic Highway, exploring town, going to a farm, or antique plane and car museum, or tasting a “cold one” at the Full Sail Brewery.
Rich Kirchner has worked as a naturalist in Antarctica, Alaska, the Bering Sea, Baja and the High Arctic, including Svalbard, Greenland, the Canadian Arctic and Iceland, along with other destinations. His 33 years as a professional wildlife photograp...
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Guests aboard National Geographic Sea Bird traveling downstream along the Columbia and Snake Rivers, went ashore for a delicious day in the Walla Walla Valley. Most guests chose to spend the morning taking a tour of the Whitman Mission National Historic Site, a mid-19th century Christian mission that helped many who traveled the Oregon Territory. Another bus took guests to The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, Oregon to learn about grapevines planted 40 years ago in the unique soil by the founders of Seven Hills Winery. Just before lunch, both buses took guests to downtown Walla Walla for a tour and tasting of Seven Hills wines, and a meal catered by TMACS. Next came a walking tour of downtown led by Nancy Helms-Lovell of Destination, Walla Walla. Stops included the century-old Marcus Whitman Hotel, Bright’s Candies, and tasting rooms for Spring Valley Vineyard, Mercer Wine Estates, and Mark Ryan Winery. Nearly every guest walked back to the bus stop having stopped at the Pine Cone Creamery for a scoop of ice cream. Dinner aboard National Geographic Sea Bird included chef Alan Griffith’s honey-glazed Pacific sablefish, a dish that featured Walla Walla sweet onions.
Our day began with heavy rain, but luckily it cleared up in time for us to enjoy a wonderful morning at Palouse River. First, we journeyed to Palouse Falls to see the official waterfall of Washington state, and then we returned to Lyons Ferry State Park to hike along the shore or go for a Zodiac tour up Palouse River. After lunch we lifted our anchor to continue our journey down the Snake River toward the ColumMayerbia. We went through our first daytime lock at Lower Monumental Dam. As our afternoon aboard continued, we had presentations on geology and wine from our expedition staff before another delicious dinner onboard. Tomorrow, we look forward to spending the day in the town of Walla Walla!
The first full day of our trip was one with gorgeous weather and beautiful landscapes. In the morning, we took off on jetboats to explore Hells Canyon, where we saw an amazing variety of birds and many bighorn sheep. After lunch overlooking the river at Heller Bar, we headed back to National Geographic Sea Bird. Our afternoon was spent onboard with a presentation by James Spencer, a Nez Perce storyteller, and a wine tasting with Coco Umiker from Clearwater Canyon Cellars. We left the dock at Clarkston behind during cocktail hour and began our journey toward the Pacific Ocean.
