Basalt Formations

Our Captain telling about the challenges of Navigation on the River, both before and after its taming by the dams and locks. He told us that our ship takes about 10 feet of water and needs about 10 more feet before he starts to get comfortable. He isn't seen around much during the day as he is up most nights. The boat always moves at night and he wants to be on duty for the tricky parts, especially all the locks.

Sharing a lock with a barge load of logs. Transport on the river is vastly cheaper than rail or truck. The only problem is that the rivers only go to certain locations.....

Nice View of Mt Hood, as we head down river. For the record, this was taken on July 8th 2010, Almost totally snow covered above the tree line. The locals said that this was an exceptionally wet winter and that the sunshine that we brought was the first they had had.

Here's the first mate in the wheelhouse. They prefer the large wooden wheel to the smaller joy stick controls that are located there and on the wings of the bridge on each side. They say they have better control with the original steering system. This boat was commissioned in 1983 and has two 1100 horsepower diesel engines. It goes about 16 mph most of the time. It will go a little faster than this "hull speed" but doing so creates a huge destructive wake and cuts fuel efficiency in half.

The Radar, GPS, & depth gage (39.7 feet under our hull to the bottom) . These are a few of the high tech helps that the Captain has available to guide us safely up and down river. Even with all of this, we did find some very "high viscosity water" That is, we were stirring up sand and taking the tops off of some submerged sandbars!

The Galley was pretty small, as would be expected for a ship of this size where space is at a premium. Notwithstanding the size, the Cruise West Staff put out some of the best cuisine we've ever had aboard ship or anywhere. They are truly to be commended.

One great thing about this ship is the great views from the dining room. All the seats are good seats. Although this ship is 27 years old, you can see that it has been well maintained and provides a comfortable atmosphere. By the end of the week we have shared a table with most everyone and have met some truly delightful people.

Typical Basalt scenery on both sides as we head downriver

Strangely enough, we shared a lock with Captain Bob and his tug both on the way up and on the way back. This time he was pushing a load of wood chips headed for a pulp mill. Sitting in a lock for 15 minutes to an hour, waiting for the water to equalize is boring to some who traverse this river. Not Bob. Here he is serenading the rest of the lock riders with Spoons. Go Bob! We like people who refuse to get bored! That's part of what we like about traveling ... meeting people like Bob.

A Pelican Landing. We learned that they can hold 10 gallons of water in their throat! This is one of the things that Lewis and Clark put in their journals. They had been charged with documenting new species and acquainting the Easterners with the flora, fauna, & landscape of the West. Two live animals that were taken to Washington DC in response to their mandate from President Thomas Jefferson, were the Prarie Dog which Lewis called a "barking squirrel" and the Pronghorn Antelope.