Columbia Gorge
After moving by the inundated Dalles Dam site of the world’s greatest aboriginal salmon fishery, Celilo Falls, Sea Lion guests boarded Zodiacs to explore an array of petraglyphs within Washington State’s Horsethief Lake Park. Those early Native carvings on smooth surfaces of random basalt rocks are mute testimony to the famous “mart” at the great falls described by Lewis & Clark. Large Columbia River salmon historically attracted Natives each year from what is today California, the Dakotas, Canada, and the Pacific Coast.
Guests then crossed the Columbia River at The Dalles, Oregon. To the left was a view of The Dalles Dam; beneath the bridge were remnants of flat rocks that once sheltered the “long” and “short narrows” described by the Captains in late 1805; ahead was the hillside city once known for its Methodist mission, later a U.S. Army fort, then a major stop on the early railroad route, and today a center of Eastern Oregon agriculture.
The Discovery Center, with its twin museums – Wasco County and the history of the River – was a favorite visit. Guests then followed Sam Hill’s serpentine Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway westward to the Rowena overlook. From there the motor coaches meandered downhill to the town of Mosier, famous for its cherries, where guests began short and long hikes and a biking adventure. These outdoor endeavors took place on a portion of the Scenic Highway reserved for such activities. Northern views from this route included huge anticlines falling into the River and a radical change in flora from rolling high desert to timbered valleys. Or, in the words of Sam Hill: “where the sun meets the rain.”
Following lunch guests motored westward on I-84 to visit 620-foot high Multnomah Falls, the nation’s second highest year-round waterfall. “Oregon sunshine,” i.e. light rain, failed to discourage visitors from taking the ten-minute walk to the Simon Benson Bridge spanning the lower Falls.
Returning to the Sea Lion, guests tasted fruit from the Hood River Valley, participated in a “Big Leaf Maple” contest, and later joined Professor Robert McGrath in the Lounge for his presentation: “New World Eden.”
After moving by the inundated Dalles Dam site of the world’s greatest aboriginal salmon fishery, Celilo Falls, Sea Lion guests boarded Zodiacs to explore an array of petraglyphs within Washington State’s Horsethief Lake Park. Those early Native carvings on smooth surfaces of random basalt rocks are mute testimony to the famous “mart” at the great falls described by Lewis & Clark. Large Columbia River salmon historically attracted Natives each year from what is today California, the Dakotas, Canada, and the Pacific Coast.
Guests then crossed the Columbia River at The Dalles, Oregon. To the left was a view of The Dalles Dam; beneath the bridge were remnants of flat rocks that once sheltered the “long” and “short narrows” described by the Captains in late 1805; ahead was the hillside city once known for its Methodist mission, later a U.S. Army fort, then a major stop on the early railroad route, and today a center of Eastern Oregon agriculture.
The Discovery Center, with its twin museums – Wasco County and the history of the River – was a favorite visit. Guests then followed Sam Hill’s serpentine Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway westward to the Rowena overlook. From there the motor coaches meandered downhill to the town of Mosier, famous for its cherries, where guests began short and long hikes and a biking adventure. These outdoor endeavors took place on a portion of the Scenic Highway reserved for such activities. Northern views from this route included huge anticlines falling into the River and a radical change in flora from rolling high desert to timbered valleys. Or, in the words of Sam Hill: “where the sun meets the rain.”
Following lunch guests motored westward on I-84 to visit 620-foot high Multnomah Falls, the nation’s second highest year-round waterfall. “Oregon sunshine,” i.e. light rain, failed to discourage visitors from taking the ten-minute walk to the Simon Benson Bridge spanning the lower Falls.
Returning to the Sea Lion, guests tasted fruit from the Hood River Valley, participated in a “Big Leaf Maple” contest, and later joined Professor Robert McGrath in the Lounge for his presentation: “New World Eden.”
