The Columbia River
After leaving Portland the National Geographic Sea Bird made her way north on the Willamette River in order to meet up with the mighty Columbia River. Along the way we had glimpses of two Cascade volcanoes, Mt. Rainer and then Mt. St. Helens. Along the Columbia overnight we passed through Bonneville and The Dalles Dam.
After breakfast we made our way east to the John Day Lock and Dam, once the largest single lock chamber in the world, now dwarfed by the Three Gorges Dam in China. The views of Mt. Hood, the Columbia River Plateau basalts and the Columbia River were spectacular. Trains, barges and trucks— which use the Columbia River as a conduit of transport— could be seen as we moved east.
After lunch the ship continued towards Mc Nary Dam, the last of our dams on the Columbia. During the day we had two presentations, one on the Lewis and Clark Expedition and another on photography and how to get the best results from our cameras during the trip. The late afternoon was incredible, with low light on the cliffs which surround the river. We then entered the Tri-Cities area of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland. This is where the Corps of Discovery left the Snake River and ventured down the Columbia.
We will travel through four more dams on the Snake on our way to the towns of Clarkston, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho. A fitting tribute to the two captains who led a group of explorers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Pacific Ocean.
