We awoke this morning to the beautiful sunlit hills surrounding the Snake River in Clarkston, WA, for the final day of activities on our expedition. After breakfast, we gathered onto a jet boat for a fast-paced adventure 57 miles up Hells Canyon! On our way up, we stopped at Cache Creek, where Oregon, Washington, and Idaho all converge. We continued upstream past the Salmon River before turning around at the Imnaha River convergence. On our way back, we stopped at the Garden Creek Ranch Nature Conservancy for lunch. We saw sandstone deposits from ancient oceans and petroglyphs from thousands of years ago. Passing through the narrowest part of Hells Canyon — only 25 feet wide! — we saw a group of bighorn sheep. We also saw golden eagles, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, great blue herons, bufflehead ducks, mule deer, and possibly a brief bobcat viewing! When we finally returned to National Geographic Sea Lion mid-afternoon, we enjoyed sunny weather, fun stories, and some drinks together. We had entertaining, informative, and inspirational stories and songs from JR Spencer, an elder from the local Nez Perce tribe. Afterwards, Coco Umiker joined us on board to share tastes of her local wines and stories about life as an artisan winemaker. Finally, to top off a perfect day, we enjoyed the Captain’s Dinner in the dining room and the guest slideshow in the forward lounge. Tired, happy, and content, we trickled off to bed for a final night on board before heading home early the next morning.
4/27/2024
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Astoria, Oregon
We reached the penultimate day of our journey in Astoria, Oregon, where the Columbia River collides with the open ocean. We were met with a typical Pacific Northwest day of gentle rains punctuated by moments of sunshine. The guests were divided to conquer this gem of a city, nestled under bridges; half headed across the river to Washington to visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment, while the other half visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum and Astoria Column. The museum and the interpretive center are both excellent examples of what the west coast can offer with regard to history and culture. Each has thoughtful exhibits that cover broad swaths of topics, and are staffed with informative and helpful faculty. After a hearty lunch on board, the groups swapped in order to have the best of both worlds. Finally, all met back aboard for the week’s final recap and guest slideshow.
