Columbia River
Having set sail from the lush, green, city environs of Portland, Oregon the evening before, we awoke to a very different landscape this morning. East of the Cascade Mountains some 150 feet above sea level and 200 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, upstream on the Columbia River, the topology looked forebodingly beautiful.
The full moon setting in the west greeted many guests as they rolled out of bed after their first night aboard ship. Accompanied by a very bright shining Venus, it was a spectacular sight. Adding to the significance of the moment was the fact that below our ship were the historically and culturally significant Celilo Falls, now inundated by the waters of the lake created by the dam downstream at The Dalles. As we passed through Hell’s Gate, the contrast between the celestial bodies and our earthbound basalt cliffs and watery highway was fully evident.
We had already passed through two locks during the night, and just after breakfast the lock at the John Day Dam lifted National Geographic Sea Bird another 106 feet so we could continue our journey east. The mechanical marvel here is the second highest lock lift on the planet and it accomplished its task in less than 25 minutes!
The rest of the day was spent cruising ever eastward, punctuated by staff presentations on both the Corps of Discovery expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, and the fascinating geology of the region that boasts the largest and youngest basalt flows on earth. We even took some time out to do some bird watching along the Blalock islands. When a bald eagle was spotted we were really excited. We also identified Canada geese and snow geese, along with a variety of other feathered friends including mallards, coots, cormorants, blue herons and grebes.
The massive basalt gateway of the Wallula Gap greeted us just before dinner, and we knew that we were in for an exciting day tomorrow as we continue our exploration of the Columbia basin in the wake of Lewis and Clark.
