Wallula Gap
Our first day on board the Sea Bird was spent traveling east on the Columbia River. We awoke at John Day Lock and Dam. John Day has the single tallest lock chamber in the world at over 105 feet. Once we were tied up to the lock wall the water was released and we rose. When we exited the lock we had transferred from Lake Celilo to Lake Umatilla. The morning and afternoon had us moving from John Day Dam to McNary Dam. Along the way we took care of safety drills and enjoyed two informative lectures. One concerning the Lewis and Clark expedition given by Chet Orloff, the other about botany by Sharon Grainger. There was time for lunch as well as a chance to explore the gift shop on board. Later in the afternoon there was also time for a wine and food tasting of some of the products of the Pacific Northwest.
The day was full of activities and was a good introduction to the east side of the cascade mountain range. The topography of eastern Washington and Oregon is a series of low hills separated by grand valleys. The Columbia River cuts one of these long running hills at Wallula Gap. It was near this spot that Lewis and Clark climbed from the river to look west. They caught their first glimpse of a cascade volcano. They knew of the grand White Mountains and even a few names. They assumed they were seeing Mt. St. Helens. In fact they were looking at the east end of Mt. Adams, which blocked the view of St. Helens from their vantage point. Had they realized this, Mt Adams may have been named Mt. Lewis, Mt. Clark, Mt Jefferson, or even Mt. Sacagawea.
Our first day on board the Sea Bird was spent traveling east on the Columbia River. We awoke at John Day Lock and Dam. John Day has the single tallest lock chamber in the world at over 105 feet. Once we were tied up to the lock wall the water was released and we rose. When we exited the lock we had transferred from Lake Celilo to Lake Umatilla. The morning and afternoon had us moving from John Day Dam to McNary Dam. Along the way we took care of safety drills and enjoyed two informative lectures. One concerning the Lewis and Clark expedition given by Chet Orloff, the other about botany by Sharon Grainger. There was time for lunch as well as a chance to explore the gift shop on board. Later in the afternoon there was also time for a wine and food tasting of some of the products of the Pacific Northwest.
The day was full of activities and was a good introduction to the east side of the cascade mountain range. The topography of eastern Washington and Oregon is a series of low hills separated by grand valleys. The Columbia River cuts one of these long running hills at Wallula Gap. It was near this spot that Lewis and Clark climbed from the river to look west. They caught their first glimpse of a cascade volcano. They knew of the grand White Mountains and even a few names. They assumed they were seeing Mt. St. Helens. In fact they were looking at the east end of Mt. Adams, which blocked the view of St. Helens from their vantage point. Had they realized this, Mt Adams may have been named Mt. Lewis, Mt. Clark, Mt Jefferson, or even Mt. Sacagawea.
