Clarkston, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho
During the previous night the Sea Bird continued her passage east up the Snake River. We were making our way towards this mornings destination of Clarkston, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho which are two towns located at the confluence of the Snake and the Clearwater rivers. Once docked in Clarkston, we would be boarding jet boats for a day of exploration in Hell’s Canyon, a canyon partially eroded by the Snake River. According to a well-known author, R.G. Bailey, Hells Canyon starts 90 miles south of Lewiston, Idaho and extends 40 miles further south to a point near Oxbow, Oregon. We would be traveling approximately 65 miles along the Snake River up into a designated scenic area that is within Hell’s Canyon, then returning along the same course. The canyon plunges at its deepest point, 7,913 feet or one and one-half miles. On our journey today we would pass through some of these deep areas of the canyon.
Our group departed in two jet boats at 9:30AM and followed the Snake River along its sharp right hand turn up into Hell’s Canyon. The morning was cold, but the sun was shining and the late fall light decorated the basalt cliffs, and the remainder of fall foliage along the riverbanks in bright yellows and reds.....occasionally a Great Blue heron would appear like a sentinel along the shoreline. Canada geese were still present at the beginning of our journey, but soon the golden hills only gave hints of the abundant bird life present there.
Early in the morning we stopped for coffee, juice and banana bread at Cache Creek. A few of us took a wander up the only road giving access to this small park that marks the entrance to the Scenic area of Hell’s Canyon. During our walk we found many Wild turkey feathers and managed to spook several groups’ of chukars, a small game bird popular with local hunters.
After our short break we returned to our jet boats and continued south up the Snake River. We passed by the mighty Salmon River, called by locals the “river of no return”, as it emptied into the Snake River. The canyon walls began to rise above us as we passed more historical sights and finally made our lunch stop at China Bar. The sun would not reach close to the beach, but we still enjoyed our meal, watching the shadows move across the canyon walls opposite our beach! Some of us hiked to the top of a nearby ridge for a better view, while many of us just relaxed and enjoyed a few quiet moments on land. Soon it was time to begin our return to the Sea Bird. The jet boats slowly turned around and began an even more rapid return down river. We stopped for small waterfalls; a herd of Elk, an extremely large group of Wild turkeys, and finally bighorn Rocky Mountain sheep were spotted. A large male with curled horns and two females were idling away their time near the edge of the river! We continued north heading for Clarkston as the sun began it’s decent into early evening. This day would be the last before daylight savings time and we enjoyed this wonderful late afternoon light that would be gone tomorrow evening.
Slowly the jet boats maneuvered into the dock where the Sea Bird had been tied up for the day and positioned expertly for our departure....but our day was not done. We would now board busses and begin our journey to the Nez Perce Historical sight located at the old sight of the Spalding mission on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. After a short 20-minute bus ride, we were greeted by Judy, a park ranger at the Nez Perce Historical sight and taken on yet another journey. This time we were asked to walk in the moccasins of the Nez Perce people and allow our imaginations to take us to this same place along the Clearwater River and see what our lives would be like as family members sharing a long house some 200 hundred years ago.
All to soon we had to return to the Sea Bird for our evening’s recap. To fully compliment the day we were expecting special guests from the local area. The Yearout family would be joining our group to give a presentation on the Appaloosa horse and family life among the Nez Perce people. John, Rosa and their children own and operate the M.Y. Sweetwater Ranch on Nez Perce reservation land near the town of Lapwai, Idaho. We were introduced to some of the Yearout family members who had accompanied John and Rosa for this presentation on the Sea Bird. . . Eleven year-old Chelsea and her eight year-old brother Shelby had come with their mother and grandparents in full regalia as part of the Yearout presentation. Then, for the next hour we listened as Rosa, a Nez Perce tribal member, told the story of her ancestry and life weaving anecdotes in and out of her story, giving us all a closer and more personal idea about the history of Nez Perce people…not only from a historical aspect but also from a mother of more than seven children who has lived well and knows the good fortune and comfort her family has brought her. Then John Yearout, Rosa’s husband stepped forward and we enjoyed his perspective presented to us from the point of view of a life long horse rancher. For John the mixed Appaloosa breed of horse was all about breeding a horse that had agility, was long-winded, very strong and had a good head..... “goofy horses, were useless,” according to John Yearout. “You need a horse that is calm enough to pick wild huckleberries while sitting on its back!”
The Yearout family joined us for dinner, and we were all able to say hello to John and Rosa’s children and grandchildren as our special guests entered the dining room of the Sea Bird. Chelsea was especially amazing to watch as she carried herself with pride, and sat down quietly with her grandmother, mother and little brother listening and watching during our evening meal. For her the best moment was when steward Kira offered her a bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate for desert! As with all children, her face lit up with delight.
