"At Sea" on the Columbia River
"Where in the Sam Hill are we?!"
Our vessel successfully transited two locks last night on the Columbia River while most people were asleep; everyone else was out on deck for our rare trek through Hell's Gate, a region we're only allowed to sail through during daylight. We were in Lake Celilo, an area of the Columbia River flooded by The Dalles dam. Just before breakfast, the Sea Lion sailed right over the ancient sacred Indian site once known as Celilo Falls, now covered with more than 50 feet of water. For thousands of years, this was the most important salmon fishing sites on the river and for countless generations was the meeting point and trading center for different Indian tribes from all over the Northwest.
By mid-morning, we could see the 1914 mansion of Quaker Sam Hill, a well-known entrepreneur and road builder of the early 20th century (see the accompanying photo). It is amusing to realize his name was so prominent in newspapers of his day, and it became an idiomatic expression as a polite replacement for the word "Hell". Anyway, Mr. Hill bought 7,000 acres here in 1907 with the grandiose idea of establishing a center for a great Quaker farming colony in the American West. His town was named Maryhill, for his daughter Mary, but the dream of a Quaker colony was never realized. His wife, also named Mary, refused to live out here in "the middle of nowhere." When his community failed to come to fruition, he also lost interest in living here. Sam Hill died in 1931, but not before a number of lady friends helped him convert the mansion into a public museum. Very little is left of the town today, apart from a few clapboard buildings, but his house (now known as the Maryhill museum) is a world famous museum that houses an eclectic collection of antiques, art, and Indian artifacts.
The rest of the day was a thoroughly enjoyable cruise up the Columbia River with fine scenery and wonderful, warm, sunny weather…a perfect Indian summer experience. On top of this, we enjoyed lectures about the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clark Expedition. In the early evening, our hotel manager invited us into the Lounge to sample some local wines and seafood products. A little later, we watched with real excitement as the Sea Lion reached the region known as the Tri-cities Confluence (Kenniwick, Pasco, and Richland) and continued our way upstream on the Snake River towards our next port-o-call…Clarkston.
"Where in the Sam Hill are we?!"
Our vessel successfully transited two locks last night on the Columbia River while most people were asleep; everyone else was out on deck for our rare trek through Hell's Gate, a region we're only allowed to sail through during daylight. We were in Lake Celilo, an area of the Columbia River flooded by The Dalles dam. Just before breakfast, the Sea Lion sailed right over the ancient sacred Indian site once known as Celilo Falls, now covered with more than 50 feet of water. For thousands of years, this was the most important salmon fishing sites on the river and for countless generations was the meeting point and trading center for different Indian tribes from all over the Northwest.
By mid-morning, we could see the 1914 mansion of Quaker Sam Hill, a well-known entrepreneur and road builder of the early 20th century (see the accompanying photo). It is amusing to realize his name was so prominent in newspapers of his day, and it became an idiomatic expression as a polite replacement for the word "Hell". Anyway, Mr. Hill bought 7,000 acres here in 1907 with the grandiose idea of establishing a center for a great Quaker farming colony in the American West. His town was named Maryhill, for his daughter Mary, but the dream of a Quaker colony was never realized. His wife, also named Mary, refused to live out here in "the middle of nowhere." When his community failed to come to fruition, he also lost interest in living here. Sam Hill died in 1931, but not before a number of lady friends helped him convert the mansion into a public museum. Very little is left of the town today, apart from a few clapboard buildings, but his house (now known as the Maryhill museum) is a world famous museum that houses an eclectic collection of antiques, art, and Indian artifacts.
The rest of the day was a thoroughly enjoyable cruise up the Columbia River with fine scenery and wonderful, warm, sunny weather…a perfect Indian summer experience. On top of this, we enjoyed lectures about the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clark Expedition. In the early evening, our hotel manager invited us into the Lounge to sample some local wines and seafood products. A little later, we watched with real excitement as the Sea Lion reached the region known as the Tri-cities Confluence (Kenniwick, Pasco, and Richland) and continued our way upstream on the Snake River towards our next port-o-call…Clarkston.
