At dawn on his glorious autumn morning we are dropping anchor at the confluence of the Snake and Palouse Rivers. Many beautiful adventures are in store for us here. Giant floods that occurred toward the end of the Ice Age roared across a large area of eastern Washington, washing away the topsoil and ripping into the layers of Columbia River basalts that covered the land as far as six million years ago. A result of these astonishing floods was the spectacular Palouse River Canyon and Palouse Falls.
4/27/2024
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Astoria, Oregon
We reached the penultimate day of our journey in Astoria, Oregon, where the Columbia River collides with the open ocean. We were met with a typical Pacific Northwest day of gentle rains punctuated by moments of sunshine. The guests were divided to conquer this gem of a city, nestled under bridges; half headed across the river to Washington to visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment, while the other half visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum and Astoria Column. The museum and the interpretive center are both excellent examples of what the west coast can offer with regard to history and culture. Each has thoughtful exhibits that cover broad swaths of topics, and are staffed with informative and helpful faculty. After a hearty lunch on board, the groups swapped in order to have the best of both worlds. Finally, all met back aboard for the week’s final recap and guest slideshow.
