Our adventure following in the footsteps of two of the greatest adventurers in American history continued this morning in a delightful area named the Palouse River (a tributary of the Snake River). Two centuries ago, however, the Palouse and the Snake looked nothing like they do today: the former was little more than a small stream, and the latter was at a much lower level and full of dangerous rapids. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed by the mouth of the Palouse in October 1805, and named it Drewyer's river, in honor of George Drouillard. The Captains consistently misspelled the poor man's name, however the did consider the interpreter, of French Canadian and Shawnee descent, as one of the best men in the expedition.

Activities in this wonderful area today included trips to the Palouse falls, Zodiac cruises and kayaks for those eager to enjoy the river in perfect silence, totally at one with their surroundings. And what spectacular surroundings these are! The regions this side of the Northwest mountain ranges typically receive less than 12 inches of rainfall a year, due to a "rain shadow" effect. When the moist westerly winds from the Pacific come into contact with the mountain ranges, they are forced to ascend, thus cooling to condensation temperature and giving rise to snow, clouds and rain: in fact, the western slopes of the Olympic, Coast and Cascade mountain ranges are among the wettest spots in North America! Definitely a stark contrast to the land to the east, as the winds now devoid of moisture create a near-desert environment. As a result of this, the habitat encountered in the Palouse River area, and in much of the Columbia Basin, is known as shrub steppe (steppe being grassland). The plant community here is characterized not only by many species of herbaceous plants, but also by half a dozen shrub species, dominant amongst which is the big sagebrush which could be both seen and smelled all around us.

A great highlight of these steppe environments is that the low vegetation leaves the spectacular and unique geology of the region very clear to the observer. Both the layers of columnar basalts and the path gouged out by the cataclysmic Bretz floods greatly increased our enjoyment of the area. Many species of birds, mammals and even reptiles were seen during the outing, beavers and a coyote, swimming snakes, shore and land birds. As we paddled up stream in near perfect water conditions on this lovely hot sunny day, the stillness allowed us to appreciate the sounds of the Palouse, amongst which featured the many different bird songs, the most distinctive of which had to be the cascading song of the canyon wren.