Tuesday, October 1 - Eastern Washington's Wine Country

In the early morning light, we entered the locks at John Day Dam. These locks feature an unusual guillotine gate.

We had entered an area along the Columbia that has become a noted wine making region. We passed several grapevine plantations and pear orchards on the Washington side. This is arid country, but water from the nearby river provides the needed irrigation. Chinese Elms and other trees are planted as wind breaks.

After locking through McNary Dam in the early afternoon, we went ashore in Zodiacs at Hat Rock State Park, near Umatilla, Oregon. Some of the group took a hike which took them near Hat Rock, a rock formation that Lewis and Clark had named when they saw it because it looked like a beaver hat. The group also climbed to a bluff overlooking the Columbia. On the descent, one member of the group fell and broke her ankle in three places and had to be taken to a nearby clinic for treatment (she rejoined the trip two days later.)

The rest of the group took a leisurely stroll around a small lagoon with Jerry Igo, historian and botanist, who knows the ins and outs of every plant.

After returning to the ship we went to the lounge for a wine-tasting, sampling some Oregon and Washington wines. There were also smoked salmon, oysters and chocolate covered fruits, all from Oregon and Washington. The Sea Bird proceeded upstream and entered the Lower Snake River near Pasco at twilight. During the night we went through locks at Ice Harbor Dam, Lower Monumental Dam, Little Goose Dam, and Lower Granite Dam. Tomorrow, we will be in Clarkston and Hell's Canyon