At about six o’clock this morning the National Geographic Sea Bird pulled away from the dock at Hood River and started its repositioning up river to The Dalles. We had a nice morning with a following wind and sea, which made our journey very enjoyable. So right after breakfast we geared up for the a.m. activities, enjoying a spectacular view of the Gorge from Rowena Crest overlook, and then spending the rest of the morning at the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center, an incredible museum and accompanying grounds, with more wonderful views of the mighty Columbia! We did have a variety of options for returning to the ship during the morning. First there was a walk of about 6 miles on the bike/walking trail along the river, then there was an early bus that headed back at 11:15 a.m., then a bike ride along the same trail and finally, a bus that got us to the ship just before lunch, perfect!
This afternoon would have a little twist to the returning-to-ship part of the activities, so we needed to bring our life preservers along with us on the bus, but I’ll get to that in a minute! First, we boarded the buses for about a half-hour ride to the Maryhill Museum, which sits on a high bench above the Columbia River upriver from The Dalles. This is a very eclectic collection of displays, everything from incredible chess sets of every shape and size, to many Native American artifacts, to one of the best collections of artwork by the famous artist Rodin! The grounds around the museum are impressive, with many sculptures, large trees, and a view of part of the Oregon Trail across the river. The building itself is also very impressive, with multiple floors filled with all these varying displays. Originally built by Sam Hill as his large mansion for his family, it was never occupied, and eventually turned into this impressive museum.
Soon it was time to continue on, just down the road a few miles, to a monument called Stonehenge, which was constructed by the same wealthy local resident, Sam Hill. This interesting structure was to honor the local residents that had died during WWI.
After a short stay admiring this unique structure, we continued on a little scenic tour of the area, ending in a stop at a local fruit stand, where we had a choice of either a sample of the local fare, or an ice cream.
Finally, the National Geographic Sea Bird arrived at her repositioning place after leaving The Dalles, to meet us at a small park along the Columbia where we would rejoin the ship. This is where the life preservers came into play, we were taking our expedition landing craft, back to the National Geographic Sea Bird, so we needed to have our trusty preservers to be safe, and Coast Guard legal! A great finish to a wonderful day on the Columbia River!
