As the sun rose across the Snake River, a magenta glow began to illuminate National Geographic Sea Lion as it approached Little Goose Dam and Lock, eventually reaching the Palouse-Snake River confluence. After transiting the lock, National Geographic Sea Lion set anchor and guests set out by Zodiac for transfers to Palouse Falls and cruises up the River. The majesty of Palouse Falls did not disappoint, highlighting sculptural mastery of enormous Missoula Floods over 15,000 years ago. Guests on Zodiacs cruised up the Palouse River spotting porcupines, mule deer, coots, and cormorants while penetrating deep into the deep Palouse River Canyon. Guests finished their adventure paddling the confluence of the Palouse and Snake River Basins, intimately exploring retired Lyon’s Cable Ferry while navigating great bulrush and cattails along the mouth of the Palouse River.
4/25/2024
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Crow Butte
After transiting McNary Lock and Dam, National Geographic Sea Bird dropped anchor at Crow Butte in the early morning of Thursday, April 25th. After a hearty breakfast, we were delivered by Zodiac to the south side locations for an aerobic walk to the top of Crow Butte, supplemented with a medium elevation nature hike. A more casual history-oriented walk began on the west side of the Island and ended where we were able to get some great photos of National Geographic Sea Bird at anchor. The aroma of the sagebrush in the shrub-steppe environment filled the air, and the gentle but steady winds preceded a light rain in the otherwise arid environment. Returning hikers were greeted by the hotel staff and hot chocolate at the landing site and also enjoyed the playground equipment. Crow Butte is a tear drop shaped island surrounding a core of basalt, and the sandy terrain is composed of debris deposited during the Ice Age Flood events of 12,000-18,000 years ago. The afternoon was spent cruising the Columbia River on our way to dock at Hood River, Oregon.