Palouse River
As dawn illuminated the eastern horizon, the Sea Bird anchored in the mouth of the Palouse River. Overnight, we had traveled 70 miles down the Snake River from our last port of call in Clarkston, Washington. After a hearty breakfast, our guests disembarked by Zodiac for a morning of adventure on the Palouse.
Some guests chose to explore the riverbank in kayaks, while others traveled further up the river by Zodiac as naturalist Dave Olcott, and guest naturalist Michelle Graves, described the Ice Age floods that created the spectacular canyon near the mouth of the river. On the water, we saw some of the wildlife that inhabits the canyon, including mule deer, western grebes, great blue heron, and osprey. In addition to kayaking and Zodiac outtings, we traveled by bus to Palouse Falls State Park where we viewed the dramatic cascade of the Palouse River over a 190 foot waterfall into a semicircular plunge pool.
For lunch, we sat down to a barbeque outside on the rear deck of the Sea Bird. Our afternoon included a dramatic lockage through Lower Monumental Dam. Later, staff historian Ben Schwantes spoke about life in the Pacific Northwest following Lewis and Clark’s expedition in 1804-1806. A dramatic sunset over the lock of Ice Harbor Dam fittingly ended our day of adventure and fun on the Snake River. Tomorrow, we continue our voyage down the Columbia River into the heart of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge.
As dawn illuminated the eastern horizon, the Sea Bird anchored in the mouth of the Palouse River. Overnight, we had traveled 70 miles down the Snake River from our last port of call in Clarkston, Washington. After a hearty breakfast, our guests disembarked by Zodiac for a morning of adventure on the Palouse.
Some guests chose to explore the riverbank in kayaks, while others traveled further up the river by Zodiac as naturalist Dave Olcott, and guest naturalist Michelle Graves, described the Ice Age floods that created the spectacular canyon near the mouth of the river. On the water, we saw some of the wildlife that inhabits the canyon, including mule deer, western grebes, great blue heron, and osprey. In addition to kayaking and Zodiac outtings, we traveled by bus to Palouse Falls State Park where we viewed the dramatic cascade of the Palouse River over a 190 foot waterfall into a semicircular plunge pool.
For lunch, we sat down to a barbeque outside on the rear deck of the Sea Bird. Our afternoon included a dramatic lockage through Lower Monumental Dam. Later, staff historian Ben Schwantes spoke about life in the Pacific Northwest following Lewis and Clark’s expedition in 1804-1806. A dramatic sunset over the lock of Ice Harbor Dam fittingly ended our day of adventure and fun on the Snake River. Tomorrow, we continue our voyage down the Columbia River into the heart of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge.
