Palouse Country
The wide gaping mouth of the Palouse River reflected neon pinks and parfait orange ripples of sunrise as we dropped anchor this morning and started another day of discovery. We had an opportunity to explore this small tributary of the Snake River at water eye-level. A colorful kaleidoscope of kayaks were launched and several of our guests chose to paddle in solitude and explore the reed and cattail lined shores. Others chose to explore with a morning cruise in our fleet of Zodiacs.
It was obvious to all that this country has little rainfall. Tall willows lined the riverbanks and small islands, but they but quickly gave way to the shorter bunch grasses and sagebrush on the canyon slopes. The origin of the name “Palouse” is a subject of some debate. The French word pelouse is used to describe terrain covered with fine grasses, a characteristic we observed. Some argue the name is from the Indians in this area. Lewis and Clark referred them to as the Palloat-pallah; they were called Pallatapalla by the Astor party in 1812, and were identified as the Pelusbpa by naturalist David Douglas.
We gathered evidence of settlement in the area as well. The dried stems of yellow pepperweed are the background for a cluster of rose hips, as shown in the second photo. The pepperweed is an introduced plant from Europe, most likely transported in the wool or fur of animals brought in by white settlers. The brilliant red rosehips are from a native rose, which was growing quite well along the rivers edge.
A short bus ride to Palouse Falls State Park gave everyone a view of the 185-foot falls. The huge plunge pool is one of many pieces of evidence left behind by a series of great flood events known today as the Bretz Floods.
Later in the afternoon, after we locked through Lower Monumental Dam, our National Geographic Historian, Tom Schmidt, continued with his series of talks and took us downstream with the Corps of Discovery. As he talked us further west with the Corps of Discovery, we vicariously canoed through a number of dangerous rapids and “agitated guts,” and stopped to dry out our provisions several times more.
At evening recap, Tom spoke of the grizzly bear and the anticipation the men of the Lewis and Clark Expedition experienced before meeting this new mammal. Both their curiosity and eagerness to face this formidable beast were soon satiated, especially after a few close calls and near escapes for their lives.
Tonight we leave the Snake River and re-enter the Columbia, to a changing landscape and new discoveries.
