We have cruised the Columbia River for a week. Swirling waters in Hells Canyon on the Snake give way to quiet water at the mouth of the Palouse River. Basalt cliffs and gravel bars, treeless desert and sagebrush transition to green forests and waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge.
The journey to the west comes to a close at the mouth of the river, near Astoria. The Pacific Ocean is at hand. Here, where nearly 100 years ago the sailing ship Peter Iredale ran aground, we walk the beach and think of what we have done. We are changed by the experience; our eyes more open to what is around us. Birds, trees, skies, seas, the land. Flowers, sounds in the night, the river. And we have shared it all with good friends aboard the Sea Lion.
