What a fantastic day it's been! This morning we boarded jet boats and embarked on our journey up the Snake River into Hell's Canyon. As we traveled upriver, we watched expectantly around each bend as the views of the deep canyon, wildlife, and beautiful fall foliage came into view. The red leaves of the western sumac and the yellow leaves of the cottonwoods and mulberry were especially striking. Some areas that had recently burned were growing back with lush, green grass.

We discovered both male and female bighorn sheep in numerous places including a couple of ewes that were silhouetted against the sky on top of a steep ridge, and a group of rams with the horns that gave the species their name. We had good looks at mule deer, one of the species first recorded by Meriwether Lewis, and many birds including the California quail, canyon wren, American dipper, and lots of great blue herons.

We had a delicious lunch on the beach and enjoyed listening to our historian play his harmonica and tell stories of Lewis and Clark. Soon after getting back to the ship, we visited the Nez Perce National Historical Park where everyone got a chance to learn about the Indians that were here thousands of years before Lewis and Clark. By the end of the day, everyone was quite tired but also grateful for the chance to learn about this wonderful part of the country.