Snake River, Hells Canyon, Washington, Idaho, and a bit of Oregon
The day dawned crisp and clear in Clarkston, Washington. Part of our group signed up for a jet boat excursion up the Snake River, which here is the border between Washington and Idaho. Our journey took us into the lower reaches of Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in North America. Magnificent views met us at each bend of the river…layer upon layer of dark basalt spectacularly jointed into thousands of columns. Fiery patches scarlet sumac dotting slopes of golden grass while occasional bighorn sheep including handsome rams browsed, undisturbed by our noisy passing
As our jet boat driver Pat pushed on the throttle, the 800-horse-power engine growled, and our metal craft leapt to life, practically flying up the rapids. He pointed out historic sites along the way, such as where a ship sank in the 1800s attempting to negotiate a rapid. Not far upstream from the confluence with the Grande Ronde River, we saw cliffs of marine limestone, incongruous with this igneous landscape. But then we learned about exotic terranes, pieces of ancient islands and reefs that have been rafted across the Pacific over the eons and then smashing into western Idaho, which was the west coast of North America 200 million years ago. Such geologic events were unthinkable until the acceptance of plate tectonics only four decades ago.
Throughout the day, we passed many smaller boats transporting fishermen who were trying their luck to snag a steelhead trout or white sturgeon or perhaps a salmon. But it appeared that the fish were doing a good job of avoiding being caught.
Near a quiet spot in the river called Buffalo Eddy, Pat nosed in the boat so that we could see prehistoric petroglyphs carved into the rocks. The glyphs consisted of faint renderings of humans, bighorn sheep, and circles and lines…their exact meanings lost in time.
In the late afternoon, we were off the river and joined the rest of our compatriots at the Nez Perce National Historic Park Visitor Center, just a few miles east of Lewiston, Idaho. They had spent most of their day exploring along the Clearwater River, tracing the route followed by Lewis and Clark in 1805 and 1806. Their local guide also taught them about the Nez Pearce people and showed them a number of the places where Lewis and Clark camped or met with the natives. At the Heart of the Monster, the place where the Nez Perce believe they originated, Lee Hamilton, a survivalist, demonstrated traditional ways to make fire and craft rope from cattail fibers.
To cap off the day, we watched a fascinating DVD explaining and illustrating the Bretz Floods that ravaged eastern Washington and Oregon some 15,000 years ago.
