At 0600 hrs National Geographic Sea Bird is sailing eastward on the Snake River, the largest tributary of the great Columbia River. Dawn over the smooth water is red and gorgeous with clouds soon turning to lovely pastels. Many of us are on the bow before the sun peeks over the basalt cliffs that border the river. The basalt cliffs are layered flows of the Columbia River Basalt Province; the rock surfaces have weathered to brown and are trimmed out in a grand way with the buff colored grasses of autumn. Our morning program is on the Lewis & Clark and their Corps of Discovery by our historian, Bob Gatten.
We arrive at Lower Monumental dam and our second lock on the Snake River. Our doughty ship proceeds into the cavernous lock—and then we wait. Repair work is being done on the lock and a congenial group chats on the deck while our ship sits on the low water at the bottom of the lock. At last the great guillotine gate closes, the water rises, and we emerge at the top of the lock. There the smiling workmen shout and joke with us as we sail forth onto Herbert G. West Lake, bound for our anchorage on the Palouse River.
On our way to the Palouse we enjoy lunch on the sundeck and some stunning rock formations to go with it. At the Palouse we are soon off on our various activities. A flotilla of yellow kayaks is launched while others board a yellow school bus for the short road trip to magnificent Palouse Falls. Here the river plunges over a basalt cliff, nearly 200 feet into its green plunge pool before flowing through the deep gorge of its canyon. A small rainbow appears in the mist over the plunge pool. On the river we cruise along enjoying the scenery. Great cliffs formed of basalt loom on either side, beautiful in the bright sun and ever-changing in their appearance. Western grebes swim near us while ravens play on the wind rising up along the cliffs. Upriver we are surprised to see a great egret fishing at the edge of the water while a flotilla of American coots, all dark with white bills, swim nearby.
As the sun sets we sail back onto the Snake River and set our course for the Idaho border and the last day of adventure on this wonderful journey of discovery.
