Welcome to the Columbia and Snake Rivers! Our cruises of "In the Wake of Lewis and Clark" for the fall season have just begun, and with extraordinary weather to see us off. Blue, practically cloudless skies. Temperatures that start in the early morning at around 54 degrees Fahrenheit rise to around 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the early afternoons. It's hard to believe we have need of air-conditioning on board, in the Pacific Northwest, in late September.
The skill of our officers on the bridge continues to amaze me, despite the number of times I have seen them bring in the ship to dock at Umatilla Marina, Oregon. The marina lies just below McNary Lock and Dam, and was the jump-off site for our visit to McNary Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. The officers gently and precisely tied up a 95-ton ship to a tiny, dinky, floating wooden dock. In the photograph one can see just how close the bow of the ship lies to the gravel shoreline…approximately ten feet. Ten feet! The bow of the ship serenely rests a few inches above the bottom. Inches!! And so I want to mention how part of the fascination in cruising the Columbia and Snake Rivers is seeing our Captains, officers and deck hands "in action". Throughout the cruise care, experience and ability take us serenely and safely into and out of eight locks on the two rivers…twice! Once on our way upriver, and once again as we make our way down, down to the Pacific Ocean (well, almost). Amazing.
