View from Rowena Crest, Oregon
Our first stop today was at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center at The Dalles, Oregon. Among the many high-quality exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the region, there is an impressive collection of articles representing the cargo carried by the Corps of Discovery on their voyage across the continent and back. Created as part of the bicentennial celebration, this wonderful display includes boxes and bales, kegs and chests, and all sorts of individual examples of items they used for their own purposes as well as trade goods and gifts for the Native Americans they encountered. Just looking at the sheer bulk of the supplies and equipment needed to sustain the expedition of thirty-three people gave one a new appreciation for the physical struggle involved in the voyage.
After leaving the museum, we traveled on the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway to a ridgetop vista for an awesome view of the eastern side of the Columbia River Gorge. The fall colors on the hillsides and the shimmering river below made the stop at Rowena Crest a breathtaking scene and a great photo opportunity! On an interpretive walk along a section of the highway closed to motorized traffic, some of us learned how to identify Ponderosa Pine, Big Leaf Maple, Snowberry and Poison Oak, while a few intrepid souls struck out for a 4.5 mile hike. Others chose to go to the town of Hood River to sightsee and shop. For some, this included a visit to the annual Harvest Festival which was in full swing on the waterfront beside the Sea Bird. Like Lewis and Clark before them, trade with the local inhabitants was brisk, only today we were trading cash for gifts and souvenirs.
We returned to the ship for lunch and set off down river for an afternoon tour of the Bonneville Dam complex. From there, we made our final lockage of the expedition and proceeded on towards the Pacific.
Our first stop today was at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center at The Dalles, Oregon. Among the many high-quality exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the region, there is an impressive collection of articles representing the cargo carried by the Corps of Discovery on their voyage across the continent and back. Created as part of the bicentennial celebration, this wonderful display includes boxes and bales, kegs and chests, and all sorts of individual examples of items they used for their own purposes as well as trade goods and gifts for the Native Americans they encountered. Just looking at the sheer bulk of the supplies and equipment needed to sustain the expedition of thirty-three people gave one a new appreciation for the physical struggle involved in the voyage.
After leaving the museum, we traveled on the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway to a ridgetop vista for an awesome view of the eastern side of the Columbia River Gorge. The fall colors on the hillsides and the shimmering river below made the stop at Rowena Crest a breathtaking scene and a great photo opportunity! On an interpretive walk along a section of the highway closed to motorized traffic, some of us learned how to identify Ponderosa Pine, Big Leaf Maple, Snowberry and Poison Oak, while a few intrepid souls struck out for a 4.5 mile hike. Others chose to go to the town of Hood River to sightsee and shop. For some, this included a visit to the annual Harvest Festival which was in full swing on the waterfront beside the Sea Bird. Like Lewis and Clark before them, trade with the local inhabitants was brisk, only today we were trading cash for gifts and souvenirs.
We returned to the ship for lunch and set off down river for an afternoon tour of the Bonneville Dam complex. From there, we made our final lockage of the expedition and proceeded on towards the Pacific.
