The Dalles and the Columbia River Gorge
We woke this morning under the majestic silhouette of Mt. Hood, Oregon’s highest peak as we sailed towards The Dalles. Once a bustling center of trade amongst native communities in the west, this morning found the area vibrant with commerce again as the MV Sea Lion waited…and waited… behind a line of barge traffic. Our Expedition Leader made alternate plans, and just before our ship queued up for the lock, we disembarked at Klickitat to start our morning of exploration.
We drove along the Washington side of the gorge, with dramatic views of the Columbia River below, to the eclectic and eccentric Maryhill Museum. Sam Hill, the wealthy railroad lawyer responsible for the construction of Oregon’s Columbia River Scenic Highway, built this massive concrete castle in the 1920s for his wife, Mary. The home, envisioned as the central beacon to Hill’s planned utopian community, offered little attraction for Mary, who refused to live in this remote area. The austere building now provides a home to one of the most unique museums in the region. Before we entered the building, a couple subtle clues suggested a more colorful museum awaited us indoors: an albino peacock strutted amongst the others on the museum’s grounds while car aficionados polished their hoods and revved their engines for a Saturday morning rare car show. Once inside, the variety of exhibits provided something for everyone in the group. Miniature chicken-wire mannequins dolled up in the “latest” Parisian fashions, circa the late 1940s, paraded through dramatic sets in a bizarre, yet fascinating, display of artistic flair. A small exhibit revealed the massive talents of a handful of emerging Latino artists in the Pacific Northwest. The entry-level room to the museum paid homage to Maria, Queen of Romania, a close personal friend to Sam Hill, displaying a variety of her personal items such as her coronation crown, a gilded throne, and small family heirlooms (including a delicate woven bracelet made from the hair of her grandmother, Queen Victoria). Two of the museum’s highlights hid themselves in the lower level: an extensive display of Native American basketry and the largest permanent exhibit west of the Mississippi of sculptor Auguste Rodin’s work.
We spent the second half of the morning at the Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center, a museum presenting a slightly more cohesive and focused, though equally fascinating array of exhibits. A special cargo exhibition commemorating the journeys of Lewis and Clark gave us further insight to the challenges they faced. Regional displays introduced us to the people and environments that have shaped this area from the past to the present.
We made our way back to the ship, our minds buzzing with new knowledge and great trivia tidbits. We spent the remainder of our afternoon cruising through the Columbia River Gorge, partaking in a slew of relaxed-paced activities: admiring brilliant orange and yellow fall foliage amongst the dramatic gorge scenery; soaking up more Lewis and Clark information during a presentation; and making an impromptu stop just past Hood River, while our ship’s crew made a speedy rescue of a troubled windsurfer.
We woke this morning under the majestic silhouette of Mt. Hood, Oregon’s highest peak as we sailed towards The Dalles. Once a bustling center of trade amongst native communities in the west, this morning found the area vibrant with commerce again as the MV Sea Lion waited…and waited… behind a line of barge traffic. Our Expedition Leader made alternate plans, and just before our ship queued up for the lock, we disembarked at Klickitat to start our morning of exploration.
We drove along the Washington side of the gorge, with dramatic views of the Columbia River below, to the eclectic and eccentric Maryhill Museum. Sam Hill, the wealthy railroad lawyer responsible for the construction of Oregon’s Columbia River Scenic Highway, built this massive concrete castle in the 1920s for his wife, Mary. The home, envisioned as the central beacon to Hill’s planned utopian community, offered little attraction for Mary, who refused to live in this remote area. The austere building now provides a home to one of the most unique museums in the region. Before we entered the building, a couple subtle clues suggested a more colorful museum awaited us indoors: an albino peacock strutted amongst the others on the museum’s grounds while car aficionados polished their hoods and revved their engines for a Saturday morning rare car show. Once inside, the variety of exhibits provided something for everyone in the group. Miniature chicken-wire mannequins dolled up in the “latest” Parisian fashions, circa the late 1940s, paraded through dramatic sets in a bizarre, yet fascinating, display of artistic flair. A small exhibit revealed the massive talents of a handful of emerging Latino artists in the Pacific Northwest. The entry-level room to the museum paid homage to Maria, Queen of Romania, a close personal friend to Sam Hill, displaying a variety of her personal items such as her coronation crown, a gilded throne, and small family heirlooms (including a delicate woven bracelet made from the hair of her grandmother, Queen Victoria). Two of the museum’s highlights hid themselves in the lower level: an extensive display of Native American basketry and the largest permanent exhibit west of the Mississippi of sculptor Auguste Rodin’s work.
We spent the second half of the morning at the Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center, a museum presenting a slightly more cohesive and focused, though equally fascinating array of exhibits. A special cargo exhibition commemorating the journeys of Lewis and Clark gave us further insight to the challenges they faced. Regional displays introduced us to the people and environments that have shaped this area from the past to the present.
We made our way back to the ship, our minds buzzing with new knowledge and great trivia tidbits. We spent the remainder of our afternoon cruising through the Columbia River Gorge, partaking in a slew of relaxed-paced activities: admiring brilliant orange and yellow fall foliage amongst the dramatic gorge scenery; soaking up more Lewis and Clark information during a presentation; and making an impromptu stop just past Hood River, while our ship’s crew made a speedy rescue of a troubled windsurfer.
