Astoria, Oregon
A light rain did not dampen our spirits as we disembarked from the Sea Lion in Clarkston, Washington. While many of us set out by jet boat into the heart of Hell’s Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America, others embarked on a bus tour of the historic Clearwater River valley. Throughout the canyon, we encountered herds of Rocky Mountain big horn sheep (pictured), one of many species that inhabits the rugged and inhospitable terrain of the Snake River valley. As the weather cleared deeper in the canyon, we discovered great blue heron, golden eagles, mule dear, and flocks of raven that paced our fast-moving jet boat as we passed cliffs of volcanic basalt carved by the river.
On the banks of the cold, free-flowing Clearwater River, we trod in the foot steps of the Corps of Discovery. We visited important campsites occupied by Lewis and Clark in the fall of 1805 on their way to the Pacific Ocean and in the late spring of 1806, as the Corps prepared to cross the Bitterroot Mountains on their way back to St. Louis, Missouri. We learned how the Nez Perce people saved the Corps of Discovery from starvation and helped them prepare for their voyage down the Clearwater River exactly two hundred years ago. Finally, we met direct decedents of Captain William Clark and Private George Shannon at Canoe Camp, near Orofino, Idaho, as they constructed dugout canoes and prepared to reenact the final stage of the Corps of Discovery’s journey to the mouth of the Columbia River. Tomorrow we return down the Snake River and visit the geological wonders of Palouse Falls and the Channeled Scablands.
A light rain did not dampen our spirits as we disembarked from the Sea Lion in Clarkston, Washington. While many of us set out by jet boat into the heart of Hell’s Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America, others embarked on a bus tour of the historic Clearwater River valley. Throughout the canyon, we encountered herds of Rocky Mountain big horn sheep (pictured), one of many species that inhabits the rugged and inhospitable terrain of the Snake River valley. As the weather cleared deeper in the canyon, we discovered great blue heron, golden eagles, mule dear, and flocks of raven that paced our fast-moving jet boat as we passed cliffs of volcanic basalt carved by the river.
On the banks of the cold, free-flowing Clearwater River, we trod in the foot steps of the Corps of Discovery. We visited important campsites occupied by Lewis and Clark in the fall of 1805 on their way to the Pacific Ocean and in the late spring of 1806, as the Corps prepared to cross the Bitterroot Mountains on their way back to St. Louis, Missouri. We learned how the Nez Perce people saved the Corps of Discovery from starvation and helped them prepare for their voyage down the Clearwater River exactly two hundred years ago. Finally, we met direct decedents of Captain William Clark and Private George Shannon at Canoe Camp, near Orofino, Idaho, as they constructed dugout canoes and prepared to reenact the final stage of the Corps of Discovery’s journey to the mouth of the Columbia River. Tomorrow we return down the Snake River and visit the geological wonders of Palouse Falls and the Channeled Scablands.
