The Dalles/ Maryhill State Park
The salmon-colored sun rose this morning shortly before the Captain docked the National Geographic Sea Bird at The Dalles and guests pondered a truly robust menu of morning activities. The day warmed up quickly, but the first stop took the guests into the cool refuge of The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center where they were treated to outstanding exhibits on Lewis and Clark and the history of mid-Columbia River region, including a compelling documentary on the inundation of Celilo Falls, and therefore the traditional fishing site, with the building of The Dalles Dam.
After leaving the Discovery Center, guests divided into different groups: some wandered back into the town of Hood River. Other groups headed toward a four-and-a-half-mile stretch of the Columbia River Scenic Highway that has been closed to vehicular traffic but open to pedestrians and cyclists. Some guests chose to bike the stretch; others chose to walk part of it. The rolling path, heading steadily upward, provided tremendous views over the river, but also evidence of a relatively recent burn on the hillsides – in keeping with the smoke in the air from a nearby wildfire on Mt. Adams.
A delicious lunch of salmon salad niçoise and chocolate cookies (among other things) fortified everyone for an afternoon at Maryhill Musuem in Sam Hill Country. Imagined as a private estate by Quaker visionary, Sam Hill, the estate never housed his family but instead became transformed into a museum and was dedicated, with the help of the Queen of Romania, in November 1926. Guests meandered through the eclectic collection inside and wandered through the sculpture garden outside, with the backdrop of wind turbines on the hills in the distance.
As the National Geographic Sea Bird cruised into place just off Maryhill State Park, guests enjoyed a short taxi ride in Zodiacs back to the ship and soon enough were on their way through the John Day Dam lock. The evening was topped off with Grace Winer’s presentation on Columbia River Gorge geology.
