The dreamers came almost two centuries ago. They dreamt of adventure, of new lands and new shores. A president with foresight sent off the first few on a journey of discovery, their mission to document all that they saw. A route to the ocean, a mountain high, peoples with ways unlike their own or a plant, bird or mammal, all were to be noted and described.

More followed in surges, small at first, like the ripples on a river. Furs could bring riches and land was aplenty. Gold might be found and timber was abundant. Whipped by the winds of time, the riffles grew and a tidal wave of humanity rushed to the western shores. Wagon trains became horseless carriages and soon the roar of interstate commerce echoed from sculpted canyon walls.

Our lives are hurried now. Goals are set, the object to attain completion. But today we stepped back, back through the eons. Today we learned what life is like "when the trip and the destination are one and the same." Our goal today: to observe all that we saw. Wildflowers beckoned from hummocked plateaus and we stopped to inhale their perfumes and stroke velvety leaves. A snow-covered mountain called us and we stood and measured its immensity. Waterfalls glistened, tumbling from hanging valleys surrounded by verdant greens. The modern day world wove its signature upon the land as well. A dam, a lock, a train or bus were contrasts, yes, but all part of our voyage of discovery here on the Columbia River.