This beautifully clear morning finds the National Geographic Sea Bird docked at The Dalles, once a rowdy frontier town at the end of the Oregon Trail. On the dock we are greeted by a group of exuberant “floozies,” a priest who will hear our confessions, and a sheriff; this is the committee of civic-minded citizens who welcome us to their charming and historic town. We are soon on our motor coaches and headed for the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center located high on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River. We explore this excellent museum as well as the beautiful grounds with many of the plants described by Lewis & Clark.
From here we go our separate ways. Many opt for biking the six-mile trail back to town while others hike the same scenic trail along the river. Some go with our naturalist/photo instructor, Linda, on a botanic walk with many photo opportunities while Grace, our naturalist/geologist, leads a nature walk down the path toward the river. Special sightings on this walk are California ground squirrels, a golden-crowned sparrow, and many beautiful outcrops of basalt rock. Still others travel with our historian Harry to examine the Rock Fort site. Back on board we enjoy a delicious buffet lunch on the sun deck.
In the early afternoon we take motor coaches across the Columbia River to Washington where we follow the historic “road to the buffalo,” now known as Highway 14. Lewis & Clark and their Corps of Discovery traded their dugout canoes for horses here in 1806 on their way east from their winter quarters at Fort Clatsop. Our trip led to the visionary Sam Hill’s Maryhill Museum and its eclectic collections ranging from Rodin works to Native American Indian basketry. Looking across the river from our high vantage point we can see the wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail where the pioneers came over the crest of the hill and first saw the mighty Columbia River. We pay a visit to Hill’s replica of Stonehenge, built in memory of the local soldiers who lost their lives in WWI.
Back on the river shore it is time to board our inflatable landing craft for a short ride to our beloved ship, which has relocated upriver. Before dinner we transit the John Day lock for a big lift: 104 feet! Following dinner Grace shows a short film on the great Ice Age floods that swept over this region time and again toward the end of the Ice Ages. Another day of camaraderie and adventure with our shipmates!
