The great American composer, Frank Loesser, was right—“Baby it’s cold outside.” Vapor rising from the river surface gave our passage an eerie appearance. At just above freezing, the air was way colder than the river and its vapor condensed in vertical seams. National Geographic Sea Bird had just locked downstream through The Dalles Dam and docked at the new city pier.
As the sun rose above the horizon, Mt. Hood shone in its glory and temperatures grudgingly inched upwards. Although the large stratovolcano Wy’east was still at least 50 miles away, it looked like you could reach out and touch it through the crisp, clear morning sky.
After breakfast and running the gauntlet of awaiting town "floosies" who came out to greet us; members of our expedition were off to explore the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. The official interpretive center for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, the Discovery Center is a joy to behold. There’s never enough time to fully absorb all the exhibits, so guests seemed to gravitate to subjects of interest: geology, native culture, Lewis & Clark, early settlers, Scenic Highway—the list goes on and on!
In the second half of the morning, guests once again followed their interests either continuing to explore the Discovery Center or taking to the trails for photo ops, nature walks, aerobic hikes, bicycling, or following history to the Rock Fort site of Lewis and Clark. The Dalles provides ample opportunities for the exploration of many subjects both past and present.
After lunch aboard, we set off for the Maryhill Museum of Art on the northern side of the Columbia River. The audacious planned country estate of Sam Hill turned art museum is home to an eclectic assortment of magnificent exhibits of art, sculpture, Native American basketry, haute couture miniatures, and much, much more.
Just down the “trail to the salmon” lay the Maryhill Winery, where workers were just bringing in a truckload full of merlot grapes for the crush. Tasting a variety of wines, several guest’s palates found new favorites for their wine racks at home.
Riding back into the setting sun, we were catching up with the Corps of Discovery just 208 years later almost to the day. Along this trail that had been used as a trade route for thousands of years by indigenous people, one couldn’t help but reflect on the changes that had come, perhaps too quickly.
