The sun rose in a nearly cloudless sky to find National Geographic Sea Bird at anchor beside Crow Butte Island. Overnight, we had passed through the lower Snake River and into the Columbia, “the Great River of the West.” This middle section of the Columbia was a major crossroads of fishing and trade for the people who lived here, even thousands of years before Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery passed through. Uplands such as Crow Butte were sacred areas to the local Umatilla tribe, and with their blessing, it is now protected as a park and campground. After morning hikes in the park, we continued our downriver journey alongside layered cliffs of basalt, dry grassland hills, and irrigated orchards and vineyards. This is a major transportation corridor to the West Coast with road, rail, and barge traffic. We dropped nearly 200 feet through dam/locks until we were less than 100 feet above sea level as we anchored opposite The Dalles, Oregon.
10/3/2024
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Walla Walla, Washington
We took our Zodiacs to shore and boarded busses for our day’s adventure in and around Walla Walla, Washington. First stop for most was the Whitman Mission National Historic Site. This museum and park preserve the memory of a tragic altercation between Native Americans and early white missionaries that resulted in the death of thirteen missionary settlers and ultimately the decimation of the Cayuse native people of the Walla Walla area. The site is a beautiful and peaceful park with trails to the settler’s graves and a monument dedicated to the memory of the event. We left the mission site for lunch and wine tasting at the Three Rivers Winery in Walla Walla. After lunch, some of the group went venturing to the Fort Walla Walla Museum and others went directly to town. Among its many interesting artifacts, the museum displays a replica pioneer village with buildings reconstructed from original materials dating from the latter-half of the nineteenth century. Last stop for all before heading back to National Geographic Sea Lion was the beautiful downtown center of Walla Walla. While window shopping and exploring the town, nearly all our guests took advantage of a free ice-cream cone.