As we disembarked from the National Geographic Sea Bird at the city of The Dalles, we were greeted enthusiastically by local volunteers dressed in historic costumes representing the bygone days of lively nighttime entertainment (the ladies represented “Floozies”). We boarded our coaches for a drive up stretches of the original Historic Columbia River Scenic Highway, constructed during 1913-1922 under the leadership of civic promoter Sam Hill. Our first stop was at Rowena Crest, with spectacular views up and down the Columbia and the Klickitat River flowing down from Washington State. Our next stop was the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Museum. We started our visit with a display of live raptors: a red-tailed hawk, a kestrel, and a great horned owl, and then dispersed to the various exhibits covering the geological, biological, and cultural history of the Columbia River Gorge. Some of us made our way by hiking or biking along a five-mile, paved trail back to the ship, while others remained at the center for a nature walk; in addition, some of us traveled by coach to Lewis and Clark’s Rock Fort, where the Corps of Discovery camped on both their downstream 1805 journey and their return upriver in 1806. It is one of the few places when we know with virtual certainty that they camped at a certain and precise spot.
After lunch on the ship, we boarded our coaches to travel up the Columbia and crossed into Washington where we visited Maryhill Museum, the former mansion of Sam Hill. It is now an art museum with an eclectic collection of Rodin sculptures, Native American basketry, chess sets, European furniture, theatrical costume models, and Pendleton trade blankets as well as outdoor sculptures. Some of us then tasted the wares at the Cascade Cliffs Winery while others visited a full-scale replica of England’s Stonehenge, created by Sam Hill as a memorial to the World War I dead from Klickitat County. Everyone then gathered at Maryhill State Park for a short ride on our inflatable boats back to the National Geographic Sea Bird, anchored in the Columbia. Another day full of exploration and discovery!
