Today we spent a great deal of time listening! Visiting the Chief Timothy Island Park listening experience because there is an art installation on the island called the listening circle which was designed to be a place to listen to the spirits and to your heart and to each other. Timothy was a contemporary of Chief Joseph but had a different philosophy of dealing with the white men. Joseph wanted to be left alone to live as his fathers had. Timothy thought the Nez Perce should learn to live as the white people. The jury is still out but it is thought that they were both right. The place we visited was inhabited by Chief Timothy’s family who later donated the island for a state park in honor of their grandfather.
4/9/2025
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Umatilla Wildlife Refuge, Crow Butte
Today we woke anchored at the Umatilla Wildlife Refuge, which was created in 1969 as a habitat for wildlife displaced by the John Day Dam on the Columbia River. It serves as crucial compensation for lost habitat and nesting grounds and is an important stopover for waterfowl migration along the Pacific Flyway. The refuge is composed of many small islands called the Blalock Islands, which are essentially a river archipelago teeming with life. These islands provide prime nesting and resting habitat for a variety of bird species, especially during migration season. We set out to explore with our Zodiacs and observed hundreds of birds across 14 different species. Highlights included great looks at soaring red-tailed hawks, a big group of American white pelicans and osprey, including an osprey with a fish in its talons. During lunch we sailed 10 miles downriver to Crow Butte, where guests chose from kayaking or a variety of shoreside walks. We are about halfway through our journey and looking forward to a big change in vegetation and topography as we progress westward towards the Pacific.
