Sunrise found the Sea Lion cruising east up the Columbia River making her way out of the Dalles Lock and Dam. The sun was just beginning to hit the tops of the Basalt cliffs lining the shore of this once mighty river. The first dam on the Columbia River was begun in 1937. After Bonneville Dam, many more concrete and earthfilled embankments have been built along the nearly twelve hundred miles of this river. The Columbia River is now a series of enclosed lakes punctuated by dams slowing the flow of the river and providing power and water too much of the interior of the Pacific Northwest. Irrigation from the Columbia River provides water for crops to parts of the states of Washington, Oregon and the Province of British Columbia in Canada, making these areas a breadbasket for the growing of grains, orchards and a variety of other crops.
This enormous water system flows largely from north to south leaving its headwaters in the Lakes area of the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia and beginning its long journey south and west. At the tri-city area of Washington State, the river makes a sharp right turn and heads west for the coast piercing through the Cascade Mountain range. The Columbia gains strength as many other smaller rivers empty into it on its way to the Pacific Ocean.
The morning light of early fall cast shadows on the columnar basalt walls on the Washington side of the river. Our Captain had decided to take the SEA LION around the backside of Miller Island through the smaller of the two channels. Miller Island was once an ancient burial sight for native peoples who have lived along the Columbia River system for tens of thousands of years. There were mists circling the nearby hills, a slight breeze, as the SEA LION passed slowly through a narrow channel, with Miller Island off her port side. On the mists and shadows of this quiet and beautifully lit morning we could hear the whispers of elders, telling stories of adventures, some of which were painted on the basalt walls as pictographs, forever a reminder of the many other travelers who have passed along this waterway.
