At 0615 hrs National Geographic Sea Bird is making its way upstream on the Snake River, bound for Clarkston, Washington. Mist rises on the river and a few low clouds lie in pale, wraith-like layers along the basalt cliffs that are just emerging in the growing dawn. Clarkston, located at the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater Rivers, is just across the river from Lewiston, Idaho, and the farthest inland port on the West Coast, reachable by some ocean-going ships.
After a hearty breakfast we board the jet boats Canyon Quest and Min Tara II for a Hells Canyon adventure. We pass the mouth of the Clearwater River and head south, and yes, upstream on our Snake River journey that will take us deep into Hells Canyon. We are soon seeing mallards and American coots foraging in shallow water along the river’s edge. Great blue herons stand sentinel-like along the shore waiting for hapless fish to swim by. Small skeins of Canada geese wing by, headed upriver. A mule deer doe and her fawn browse on willows near the shore. Our jet boat captains expertly navigate the rapids as we continue upriver, ever on the lookout for wildlife. We see bald eagles, a pair of red-tailed hawks in a tree, and a golden eagle perches on a rock across the river before it flies, showing off its great wing span.
We stop at Cache Creek in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area for snacks under fruit and nut trees and learn about the black bear sow and her two cubs that come here at night to raid the fruit trees and eat walnuts from an English walnut tree; they crush the nuts and spit out the shells. On we go up the river with the high, dark walls of Hells Canyon rising above us and the wild rapids of the fast flowing river. Hells Canyon, one of the most rugged and remote canyons in the U.S., has been cut by the Snake River through millions of years. He Devil, one of the Seven Devils Mountains, rises more than 8,000 feet above the river making this canyon even deeper than the Grand Canyon.
At the mouth of the Salmon River, once known as “The River of No Return,” we stop for a look at this truly wild river—the longest undammed river in the contiguous United States. Here we turn back downstream and have not gone far when Captain Butch spots a herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, ewes and lambs and one “teenage” ram right down by the river. After many photos we proceed on to Garden Creek Ranch, a Nature Conservancy site, where we enjoy lunch al fresco on a deck overlooking the river. Here is a green, irrigated lawn and a large orchard—a refuge in this parched landscape for the wild turkeys and mule deer that roam on the grounds.
Our final outing of the day is a motor coach trip across the river to the Nez Perce National Historic Park. Here we see a video on the Nez Perce People, their history and their modern lives as they work to keep their culture alive. The museum here has a collection of beautiful Nez Perce artifacts, baskets, beadwork, and more.
Back on “The Bird” we enjoy the camaraderie of social hour and our last dinner aboard our favorite ship and home away from home for the last week.
