Travelling up the Columbia River is a story of changes. Over broad swaths of time, the building of the continent, the laying down of the basalt rocks, the uplift of mountains, and the scouring of the landscape by sweeping floods, all set the stage for the landscape we see. The vegetation and the associated fauna have dramatically changed from the wet and mild coastal climate to a rain shadowed dry oak forest and grasslands. The human imprint of different people, their movements, their industry and trade, their imagination, are strong here. We are in Hood River with a full day of excursions before returning to the upriver journey of National Geographic Sea Lion.
10/29/2022
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Hells Canyon
Our morning began alongside the dock in our final port of Clarkston, Washington with a glowing sky and flocks of migrating waterfowl inscribing Vs through the air. After breakfast, guests boarded 34-foot-long jet boats for an excursion along the Snake River to its confluence with the Salmon River, fondly known as the River of No Return. Along our journey we saw bighorn sheep, great blue herons, common mergansers, belted kingfishers, Canada geese, petroglyphs, wild turkeys, columnar basalt, swimming mule deer, and a bald eagle flying with a large salmon. We also enjoyed fortuitous timing and witnessed a fisherman hook an eight-foot-long sturgeon. After a long battle, he finally pulled it to the shallows for his whole family (and us) to see. As evening approached, we settled into the lounge for our final series of educational talks, featuring Nez Perce storyteller James Spencer and winemaker Coco Umiker, both of whom illuminated important contexts of the beautiful basin. Following our wine tasting with Coco, guests set off for their final on-board dinner. After dinner, we bid farewell through photos. Our photo instructor showcased a mosaic of moments from the week, otherwise known as the Guest Slideshow. Included in the slideshow were praying mantises, birds of prey, sunsets, and staff members being goofy, as per usual. We couldn’t be more grateful for our time together, all of us, during this last week of October 2022.