Columbia River
Portland, Oregon was the jumping off point of our water-based journey. St. John’s Bridge, shown in the first photo, was one of many gateways to our explorations of the Columbia and Snake rivers. A diversity of bridges offered a physical reminder of the connections we have come to explore; connections to the land, to the history and to the explorers.
Our first daylight lockage was at John Day Dam. John Day is the third of four dams we pass through on the Columbia as we sail eastward to the Snake River and ultimately Clarkston, Washington. From the bow of the Sea Bird we had binoculared views of mule deer as well as rocky mountain bighorn sheep. Ospreys were in prominent view as they had taken positions on the navigation markers all along the river as nest sites.
Tom McAllister and Jerry Igo, our historians, both presented talks to orient us to the current events of two hundred years ago: from the events setting the stage for the exploration led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to the packing list for supplying such an endeavor. We came away fully appreciating our modern day conveniences.
During the afternoon we locked through McNary lock and dam. As Jerry described in his introduction of the Corps of Discovery members, assemblage of a skilled team was necessary to facilitate the survival and success of the expedition. The second photo shows members of our skilled team aboard the Sea Bird working the lines inside the McNary lock. Teamwork remains a critical ingredient to successful explorations.
As we continued our navigation we came into the Washington wine country. Our hotel manager took this opportunity to introduce us to the wines and specialty foods of Washington and Oregon. Our lounge was literally filled with gastronomical delights of specially selected wines, cheeses, pickled vegetables, sauces, jellies, chocolates dried fruits and smoked seafoods. A delicious closure to our introduction to Oregon, to Washington and their shared border, the Columbia River.
