Snake and Clearwater Rivers near Lewiston, Idaho
Before eating a breakfast of crepes, fresh fruit, bacon and eggs, passengers aboard the Sea Lion watched the ship pass through the lock at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River, the eighth and final lock on our inland journey from Portland. After the transit, the Sea Lion sat at 720 feet above sea level.
The group then split into two. One group parted via Zodiac toward the shore, leaving the second group to dock in Clarkston with the Sea Lion. The group with the Zodiac met Lin Laughy on shore and moved via bus into “Clearwater Country” in Idaho, the region with the densest collection of Lewis and Clark sites.
Lin, a local historian, author, and guide, explained that this is the countryside that the Corps of Discovery passed through exactly two centuries ago after a heinous, arduous and protracted trip westward on the Lolo Trail that crossed the Bitterroot Mountains. Here the Nez Perce people, or Nimiipuu as the tribe calls itself, provided the Corps with hospitality, food, canoe making technology, and sketches that showed how the Clearwater (or Koos-Koos-Ki) River entered first the Snake River, and then salmon-laden Columbia River.
After lunch, the Clearwater Group practiced traditional rope making and fire starting techniques to get a better sense of day to day requirements of the Corps of Discovery. Lin entertained the group with a story of It-Se-Ye-Ye (or Coyote) and the “Heart of the Monster,” the genesis myth of the Nez Perce people.
The second group ascended Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River in a jet boat, ascending 55 miles and passing through Class 3 rapids. Highlights included observing groups of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep and spotting birdlife in the canyon. The weather was gorgeous – blue skies and a balmy autumn temperature.
Both groups met up in the afternoon at the Nez Perce Spalding Museum to listen a presentation about tribal concepts of health, lifestyles and child rearing. The museum sits on a 99-acre site located on what was once a traditional home site for more than 11,000 years to the Thlep-thlep-weyma band of the Nez Perces. We eyed exhibits showing different facets of Nez Perce life, including traditional clothing, fishing implements, and musical instruments (including a set of deer toe leg rattles and an eagle bone whistle, for example).
By dusk, members of the expedition were either enjoying conversation and a sundowner cocktail in the Sea Lion lounge or out for a brisk riverside walk, waiting to see a full moonrise.
Before eating a breakfast of crepes, fresh fruit, bacon and eggs, passengers aboard the Sea Lion watched the ship pass through the lock at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River, the eighth and final lock on our inland journey from Portland. After the transit, the Sea Lion sat at 720 feet above sea level.
The group then split into two. One group parted via Zodiac toward the shore, leaving the second group to dock in Clarkston with the Sea Lion. The group with the Zodiac met Lin Laughy on shore and moved via bus into “Clearwater Country” in Idaho, the region with the densest collection of Lewis and Clark sites.
Lin, a local historian, author, and guide, explained that this is the countryside that the Corps of Discovery passed through exactly two centuries ago after a heinous, arduous and protracted trip westward on the Lolo Trail that crossed the Bitterroot Mountains. Here the Nez Perce people, or Nimiipuu as the tribe calls itself, provided the Corps with hospitality, food, canoe making technology, and sketches that showed how the Clearwater (or Koos-Koos-Ki) River entered first the Snake River, and then salmon-laden Columbia River.
After lunch, the Clearwater Group practiced traditional rope making and fire starting techniques to get a better sense of day to day requirements of the Corps of Discovery. Lin entertained the group with a story of It-Se-Ye-Ye (or Coyote) and the “Heart of the Monster,” the genesis myth of the Nez Perce people.
The second group ascended Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River in a jet boat, ascending 55 miles and passing through Class 3 rapids. Highlights included observing groups of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep and spotting birdlife in the canyon. The weather was gorgeous – blue skies and a balmy autumn temperature.
Both groups met up in the afternoon at the Nez Perce Spalding Museum to listen a presentation about tribal concepts of health, lifestyles and child rearing. The museum sits on a 99-acre site located on what was once a traditional home site for more than 11,000 years to the Thlep-thlep-weyma band of the Nez Perces. We eyed exhibits showing different facets of Nez Perce life, including traditional clothing, fishing implements, and musical instruments (including a set of deer toe leg rattles and an eagle bone whistle, for example).
By dusk, members of the expedition were either enjoying conversation and a sundowner cocktail in the Sea Lion lounge or out for a brisk riverside walk, waiting to see a full moonrise.
