As guests awoke this morning, greeting a new day, we also greeted in a distinctly different scenery from our first few days on the Columbia. It has gone from rainforest to Ponderosa pines and scrub oaks, to the high desert habitat that we would be following for the remainder of our voyage! This is a much starker landscape, but with its own beauty. There are countless irrigated vineyards and orchards along this section of the Mighty Columbia. After lunch it was time to explore the Umatilla Refuge by Zodiac and kayak, before heading toward our transit through the next lock, McNary, in early evening. Another fabulous day on the Columbia River!
10/29/2022
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Hells Canyon
Our morning began alongside the dock in our final port of Clarkston, Washington with a glowing sky and flocks of migrating waterfowl inscribing Vs through the air. After breakfast, guests boarded 34-foot-long jet boats for an excursion along the Snake River to its confluence with the Salmon River, fondly known as the River of No Return. Along our journey we saw bighorn sheep, great blue herons, common mergansers, belted kingfishers, Canada geese, petroglyphs, wild turkeys, columnar basalt, swimming mule deer, and a bald eagle flying with a large salmon. We also enjoyed fortuitous timing and witnessed a fisherman hook an eight-foot-long sturgeon. After a long battle, he finally pulled it to the shallows for his whole family (and us) to see. As evening approached, we settled into the lounge for our final series of educational talks, featuring Nez Perce storyteller James Spencer and winemaker Coco Umiker, both of whom illuminated important contexts of the beautiful basin. Following our wine tasting with Coco, guests set off for their final on-board dinner. After dinner, we bid farewell through photos. Our photo instructor showcased a mosaic of moments from the week, otherwise known as the Guest Slideshow. Included in the slideshow were praying mantises, birds of prey, sunsets, and staff members being goofy, as per usual. We couldn’t be more grateful for our time together, all of us, during this last week of October 2022.
