At 6 a.m. under clear skies, National Geographic Quest approached the lock of Little Goose Dam on the Snake River. Many of us rose early to watch the process of locking our way down the Snake toward its confluence with the Palouse River. At the Palouse we “dropped the hook” and began another day of adventures with kayaking, visiting Palouse Falls, and taking Zodiac cruises up the Palouse River into the rugged and beautiful Palouse River Canyon. In the afternoon, as we cruised downriver, Aaron our photo instructor gave a presentation on using our cell-phone cameras and showed us how to record a time-lapse record of the transit of our next lock at Lower Monumental Dam. We also learned about the Columbia River basalt province and the ice age floods from our geologist Grace. And Junius, our excellent historian, regaled us with his story of Mr. Jefferson and Captain Lewis.