The last full day of our journey up the Columbia and Snake rivers was sunny and warm. We disembarked the National Geographic Sea Lion early this morning and stepped onto our jet boats. We spent much of the day on these speedy craft, going more than 50 miles up the Snake River into Hells Canyon. At 8,000 feet from top to bottom, Hells Canyon is the deepest river canyon in North America. Yes, even deeper than the Grand Canyon.
The jet boat ride gave us a wonderful opportunity to see the canyon from within. The nearly treeless landscape is a wonderland of geology. The many layers of Columbia River basalt gave way to the deeper and much older rocks beneath as we pushed further up the canyon. Some of the formations we saw were formed nearly 300 million years ago in tropical seas, far to the south. Slow tectonic movements brought them to the Pacific Northwest.
We also had good looks at some wildlife. The most exciting animal encounter was with a large group of female and young bighorn sheep. We were amazed at how well their tawny coats blend into the surrounding rocks. We also saw golden and bald eagles, a peregrine falcon, chukar (a small, introduced upland game bird), many great blue herons, and some American kestrels.
The Canyon has some rich human history as well. We got to examine a fascinating group of Nez Perce pictographs on a rock near the river. These drawings may thousands of years old. We saw an old Nez Perce horse trail near the only Lewis and Clark-related site in Hells Canyon. Homesteads and cabins along were also seen along the river’s edge.
After a long adventure on the roiling river waters in Hells Canyon, we returned to the National Geographic Sea Lion. After a short break, we boarded our comfy coach and headed into Idaho, the Nez Perce National Historic Park. The film and interpretation given to us by the park ranger were moving. The evening was warm and the autumn sunshine was golden as we boarded our coach to return to the ship, for cocktails, the photo slide show, and a hearty dinner.
