River cruise takes you on Lewis and Clark’s voyage

Picture yourself in a boat on a river. Stop singing — this is not about anything the Beatles dreamed up, but imagine a dugout canoe like those the Corps of Discovery used to navigate rivers large and small on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Too cramped? Then picture yourself in a boat on a river on an expedition ship — a much more comfortable way to travel — that follows the explorers’ paths from Clarkston, Wash., to the confluence of the mighty Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.

Last fall, I was on that expedition ship, namely the Sea Bird, on a weeklong trip with Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic. We covered about 550 miles on the Columbia and Snake rivers, passing through eight locks and marveling every mile of the way at stunning landscapes, especially along the Columbia River Gorge, and enjoying the relaxed pace on the river.

The Sea Bird is 152 feet long and 31 feet wide and carries 62 passengers and 29 crew. In addition to a well-informed and entertaining expedition leader, the crew included guest lecturers on pertinent topics, a photo instructor, a videographer, a certified massage therapist and a naturalist who so loves basalt that she writes poetry about it.

That naturalist, the delightful Grace Winer of Seattle, also emphasized repeatedly that we were on an expedition, an educational journey — not a cruise. Translated loosely, that means no casino, outdoor pool, 24-hour ice cream bar, spinning class or nightclub. (Frankly, I was relieved.)

Instead, your time is filled learning about the history, the geology and the local harvests of the Pacific Northwest. Dress is casual — passengers are told in advance to leave all dressy clothes at home. The dining room offers open seating for all three meals, the perfect time for passengers to pass around photos of grandchildren. One fellow even shared a photo of his donkey, Paco.

Filtered water, beer and soda are always available in the lounge, and that’s also where trays of hearty appetizers, including local specialties, appear each day during cocktail hour, when the bar is open. All programs, including the nightly “recap” of the day that includes a sneak peak at the next day, also are held in the lounge.

Cabins on the Sea Bird are compact and efficient, especially what one crew member called the “shoilet,” the small enclosure off the sleeping area that holds a shower, the toilet and a curtain to keep the toilet dry as you shower. No need for an alarm clock. Every morning, a gentle wake-up call is piped into each cabin through a public address system, as are announcements about imminent bus departures for shore excursions.

Maybe you know a lot about Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Maybe you know only that the explorers set out May 14, 1804, from Camp Dubois (near Wood River) and landed in St. Charles two days later. Maybe you know that when they returned to St. Louis on Sept. 23, 1806, everyone was shocked — people had assumed the adventurers all were dead. Whatever you know when you first board the Sea Bird, when you disembark at the end of the trip, you will find yourself amazed at what you have learned.

Don Popejoy, a lecturer with the Road Scholar program (nee Elderhostel), accompanied the trip I took. He speaks with authority about his lifelong heroes and shares stories that sound as though he is talking about dear friends. For instance, at a lecture one evening early in the trip, Popejoy told us that Lewis and Clark had assured President Thomas Jefferson the trip would take 15 to 18 months. Instead, they were gone for 28 months and covered more than 8,500 miles.

Popejoy also revealed that in Clark’s journal, he spelled Sacagawea’s name 12 different ways, and eventually chose to refer to her as “Janey.” Proficiency in spelling, of course, was not a requirement for completing a remarkable mission that benefited the military, commerce and science.

Off the ship, we spent a good bit of time in boats, perfect outings for modern-day sea sprites like me. One day, we traveled up the Snake River in 40-foot-long jet boats to Hell’s Canyon, America’s deepest river gorge and home to many a basalt formation. At Cache Creek, a 6,550-acre ranch owned by the Forest Service, we stopped to admire the view and indulge in a bit of shopping in the one-room museum.

Next we stopped at Garden Creek, privately owned property with a bigger gift shop and a hearty self-serve lunch. Mule deer on a nearby path were interested in that lunch, which we ate indoors, but one animal did settle in among the trees just behind a row of Adirondack chairs, where we sat above the river enjoying the sounds of birdsong, rushing water and wind through the trees.

Another day, accepting a hand from a watchful crewmember, I climbed into a large, sturdy rubber raft for an early morning ride on the lower Palouse River. It was 44 degrees, but I was prepared.

Even with the chill, the trip was worth it. The naturalist nosed the raft into stands of cattails for a better look at a beaver dam. We pulled up next to a cliff dotted with swallows’ nests, now abandoned for the winter. We snapped photos of hills reflected in the still water. And we saw mergansers, coots, a harrier hawk, Canada geese and magpies.

The biggest bird we saw was a sculpture of a condor, flying above the lobby of the Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center in the Dalles, Ore. A highlight there was an interpretive program on raptors of the Columbia Gorge, featuring live hawks, owls, eagles and falcons. A favorite exhibit was “The Cargo of Lewis and Clark,” all about the 30 tons of supplies and equipment the Corps of Discovery carried across the continent.

At the Fort Clatsop National Historic Site near Astoria, Ore., we ran through the raindrops to tour the replica of Lewis and Clark’s winter fort. That was the only day it rained, but we had expected it. The explorers were there from December 1805 through March 1806, and it rained all but 12 of those days. Over the last 30 years, Astoria has reported an average rainfall of 67.26 inches — some 72 percent more than the average rainfall nationwide, and 60 percent more than the average throughout the rest of Oregon.

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment, on the Washington side of the Columbia River, tells the whole story of the expedition and also has displays on lighthouses, military activities and the natural history of the area. The center sits high on a basalt cliff that overlooks the confluence of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean — a beautiful place where it’s not possible to be disappointed.

Just to be clear, Lewis and Clark did not name Cape Disappointment. Capt. John Meares did, in 1788, when he failed to cross the treacherous river bar. We learned more about that bar at the remarkable Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. One display quotes explorer and Naval officer Charles Wilkes, noting that the bar is “one of the most fearful sights that can possibly meet the eye of any sailor.” He said that in 1841. Today, the Coast Guard goes out on an average of 600 rescue missions there each year.

We also visited the Nez Perce National Historic Park, just 11 miles from Lewiston, Idaho. There we met Kevin Peters, a park ranger, artist, musician and member of the Nez Perce tribe. At the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, Wash., we saw native arts and artifacts, palace furnishings donated by Marie, Queen of Romania, 300 chess sets from around the world and also sculptures and watercolors by Auguste Rodin.

How did all this great stuff end up here? It’s a great story that involves a businessman, the grand house he built high on a hill that his wife didn’t want to live in, dancer Loie Fuller and heiress Alma Spreckels of San Francisco. Look it up!

Other shore excursions took us to two waterfalls: the majestic Multnomah Falls, a tiered, 611-foot-tall fall on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge, and Palouse Falls, which drops 200 feet into a pretty canyon carved by the Missoula Floods at the end of the last ice age, some 15,000 to 13,000 years ago. These same catastrophic floods are responsible for the Columbia River Gorge.

An optional shore excursion was a tasting at Cascade Cliffs Winery at sunset. Another day, we visited Hood River, Ore., where we toured Full Sail Brewery after a tasting there. Other options near Hood River included a hike in the Mosier Tunnels and tours at the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum or at the Bonneville Dam.

Everywhere we stopped, part of the thrill was reconnecting with the Corps of Discovery though a sign here or a site there named for Lewis and Clark. Sure, I bought a few appropriately themed souvenirs, but memories of time spent on the water are what I value most.

IF YOU GO

Departures • Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic offers nine weekly departure dates from Sept. 19 through Oct. 19. Depending on whether you choose to travel east or west, you will board the ship right in Portland, Ore., or in Clarkston, Wash., which requires flying to Lewiston, Idaho, or Spokane, Wash., and then transferring to the ship.

Rates • $4,890 to $8,540

More info • See expeditions.com/destinations/north-america/pacific-northwest/ the-experience/ or call 1-800-397-3348.