The Corps of Northwest Discovery comprised the first group of Euro-Americans to visit the Palouse River and its dramatic, colorful and winding canyon. On October 13, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the confluence of the Snake and Palouse rivers after travelling seventy miles and two days in present-day Washington State. The guests and staff of Lindblad Expedition's Sea Bird reached the exact same location on the morning of Thursday, May 17, 2001, on the fifth day of a journey that began in Portland. Lewis and Clark named this river and canyon for George Drouillard, misspelling the name as "Drewyer's River." Today it is called the Palouse River. In their journals and on their maps, Lewis and Clark noted that caves pock-marked the sides of the canyon, each one guarded by wooden, picket fences, an unusual circumstance considering the absence of trees in the vicinity. Using the Captain's journals and maps to guide them, in 1948 scientists from the Smithsonian Institution discovered several grave sites, some as old as 10,000 years, containing more than 200 burials. The location has been a sacred spot ever since for both Native Americans and visitors.
The adventurers of the Sea Bird enjoyed a full day exploring this unique location. After breakfast aboard ship, which anchored in the Palouse River, guests chose from among three ways to see the canyon. Some chose kayaks. Other joined an experienced naturalist on a comfortable Zodiac raft. Still others took a bus ride to Palouse Falls State Park where they walked and took photographs. Many people managed to take two of the three offerings. But all won the same reward after an eventful day: a picnic lunch on the deck of the Sea Bird in brilliant sunshine amid new-found friends who told each other nearly believable lies of morning adventures.
