Palouse River
Early this morning the Sea Bird dropped anchor at the mouth of the Palouse River where the air temperature of 18 degrees produced a fog on the water surface, quite appropriate for Halloween. Although Lewis and Clark did not mention any observance of Halloween, the ship’s crew made sure we knew it was the last day of October by both the decorations in the lounge and their costumes. Today we know this river as the Palouse, but Lewis and Clark named it for George Drouillard (Drewyer), the Expedition’s chief hunter and interpreter, perhaps the third most important member of the Corps.
Despite the brisk temperature, some of us elected to explore the Palouse River by kayak while others voyaged up river by Zodiac. The kayakers experienced the solitude of the placid river while those on the Zodiacs learned about the plants, animals, and geology of the area from naturalists. The towering walls of columnar basalt are the remnant of huge flows of magma that spread over the region 16 million years ago.
A luxury motor coach awaited us on the beach and took us up through canyons to the top of the bluffs. Along the way we reviewed the geology of the area and marveled at the power of the repetitive, catastrophic floods of 15,000-13,000 years ago that washed away millions of tons of hard rock and left the highly eroded landscape of today. We viewed the 185-foot high Palouse Falls where the river cuts through the top of the bluffs. Some of use hiked along the bluff upstream of the falls to the view the river and its rapids, and gained a better understanding of the forces that sculpted this landscape. The second group that went to the falls was treated to a view of a coyote bounding over the hills after feeding on a deer carcass.
After thawing out back on the Sea Bird, we enjoyed a buffet lunch; as we continued downriver on the Snake, tried our skill at a Lewis and Clark pumpkin-carving contest. Later in the afternoon we heard a presentation about how we can visualize how the members of appeared and what they saw as they covered the 8,000 miles from St. Louis and back in 863 days. After another exquisite dinner in the dining room, we retired with a more complete understanding of the geology of the area and the challenges faced by the Corps of Discovery.
Early this morning the Sea Bird dropped anchor at the mouth of the Palouse River where the air temperature of 18 degrees produced a fog on the water surface, quite appropriate for Halloween. Although Lewis and Clark did not mention any observance of Halloween, the ship’s crew made sure we knew it was the last day of October by both the decorations in the lounge and their costumes. Today we know this river as the Palouse, but Lewis and Clark named it for George Drouillard (Drewyer), the Expedition’s chief hunter and interpreter, perhaps the third most important member of the Corps.
Despite the brisk temperature, some of us elected to explore the Palouse River by kayak while others voyaged up river by Zodiac. The kayakers experienced the solitude of the placid river while those on the Zodiacs learned about the plants, animals, and geology of the area from naturalists. The towering walls of columnar basalt are the remnant of huge flows of magma that spread over the region 16 million years ago.
A luxury motor coach awaited us on the beach and took us up through canyons to the top of the bluffs. Along the way we reviewed the geology of the area and marveled at the power of the repetitive, catastrophic floods of 15,000-13,000 years ago that washed away millions of tons of hard rock and left the highly eroded landscape of today. We viewed the 185-foot high Palouse Falls where the river cuts through the top of the bluffs. Some of use hiked along the bluff upstream of the falls to the view the river and its rapids, and gained a better understanding of the forces that sculpted this landscape. The second group that went to the falls was treated to a view of a coyote bounding over the hills after feeding on a deer carcass.
After thawing out back on the Sea Bird, we enjoyed a buffet lunch; as we continued downriver on the Snake, tried our skill at a Lewis and Clark pumpkin-carving contest. Later in the afternoon we heard a presentation about how we can visualize how the members of appeared and what they saw as they covered the 8,000 miles from St. Louis and back in 863 days. After another exquisite dinner in the dining room, we retired with a more complete understanding of the geology of the area and the challenges faced by the Corps of Discovery.
