The Palouse River
Before breakfast this morning the Sea Bird anchored just inside the mouth of the Palouse River. A tributary of the Snake River, the Palouse winds through the channeled scablands which define much of the topography of Eastern Washington. We explored the shallows and shores by Zodiac and kayak. The wildlife was abundant. We found coyote and deer on the hillsides and a number of different species of birds. By mid-morning the chill of dawn had given way to comfortable temperatures. We all went ashore and bussed the few miles to the Palouse Falls State Park. Here we were afforded great views of the waterfall, which drops nearly two hundred feet into a great plunge pool. From there the river meanders through riffles to meet the main stem of the Snake some six miles on. We had time to walk the rim trails for a time, stopping for photographs or to drink in the stillness of the landscape. Our hotel staff had brought everything for lunch and we lounged in the grass or grouped at picnic tables enjoying barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixins.
During the afternoon we continued making our way downstream. At Lower Monumental Dam we entered the lock chamber and were lowered one hundred feet to the level of the lake below. The downstream lock gate is a 700-ton guillotine type door and is as impressive as it is large. After the lockmaster signaled that the operation was complete we slipped our lines and proceeded on.
Before breakfast this morning the Sea Bird anchored just inside the mouth of the Palouse River. A tributary of the Snake River, the Palouse winds through the channeled scablands which define much of the topography of Eastern Washington. We explored the shallows and shores by Zodiac and kayak. The wildlife was abundant. We found coyote and deer on the hillsides and a number of different species of birds. By mid-morning the chill of dawn had given way to comfortable temperatures. We all went ashore and bussed the few miles to the Palouse Falls State Park. Here we were afforded great views of the waterfall, which drops nearly two hundred feet into a great plunge pool. From there the river meanders through riffles to meet the main stem of the Snake some six miles on. We had time to walk the rim trails for a time, stopping for photographs or to drink in the stillness of the landscape. Our hotel staff had brought everything for lunch and we lounged in the grass or grouped at picnic tables enjoying barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixins.
During the afternoon we continued making our way downstream. At Lower Monumental Dam we entered the lock chamber and were lowered one hundred feet to the level of the lake below. The downstream lock gate is a 700-ton guillotine type door and is as impressive as it is large. After the lockmaster signaled that the operation was complete we slipped our lines and proceeded on.
