William Clark, October 25, 1805
Vintage season, days of crisp October air and warm golden sunshine, this autumn in the Pacific Northwest is truly one to remember. Dawn was just beginning to blush the sky as we entered the Columbia River Gorge this morning. Soon the sun was rising, lighting the bright yellow leaves of the maples in the surrounding forest but leaving the walls of the gorge in dramatic shadow as we cruised past magnificent Multnomah Falls and on the Bonneville Dam where we made our first upstream lock passage. Later in the morning we gathered in the lounge for an excellent talk on Jefferson’s view of the Louisiana Purchase and westward expansion of our young nation, given by Wayne Fields, guest lecturer from Washington University.
Disembarking after lunch, we boarded coaches and drove east along the old Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway, San Hill’s great gift to tourism in the region. From our stop at the Rowena Crest, we had a truly superlative view up the great canyon and into the dry steppes beyond. Our excursion concluded at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, where we saw exhibits on the history and natural history of the area. This site is very close to the Fort Rock campsite of the Corps of Discovery, where Captain Clark wrote the words above exactly one hundred and ninety-eight years ago today. From this vantage point we watched Sea Lion cruise by on the calm waters flowing over the former site of the Long Narrows, and felt ourselves to be very much in the wake of Lewis and Clark.
