The morning began with a crisp sunrise to the east as National Geographic Sea Lion weighed anchor to travel westward down the Columbia River. After breakfast, guests were treated to presentations by the natural history staff about ornithology, sage ecology, and of course, wine.
After a morning cruising the beautiful scenic watershed of eastern Washington and Oregon, the guests disembarked for a Zodiac cruise in the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge, a small chain of islands created after the building of the John Day Dam. This refuge is an excellent place to spot birds of all forms and fashion, including osprey, bald eagles, bufflehead ducks, and marsh wrens.
