River Cruise Day 5: The Dalles

The Dalles is the end of the overland Oregon Trail. It was here that travelers had to make THE Decision: to continue over land or to put their wagons and belongings on rafts and chance the Columbia River rapids. Neither was a safe choice.

We steamed into The Dalles about an hour late due to an unexpected uptick in tug/barge traffic at the lock just above The Dalles.  Rounding the bend in the river, anchored off shore we came upon the Lindblad/National Geographic ship Quest. According to our riverlorian, she spends the summers in Alaska and is on her re-positioning cruise to her winter home in the Sea of Cortez and the Baja Peninsula. One of my dreams is to take the National Geographic cruise to the Galapagos. 

 

The Dalles sits below the glacier covered peak of august Mt. Hood. This afforded us a perfect backdrop for our breakfast in the River Grille on deck 4. The first shot is with my regular phone camera, the second was taken using my binocular app set on 8x increase. The mountain remains majestic.

It calls to mind Erebor, the Lonely Mountain of Tolkein's Dwarf kingdom.

Our first stop this morning was the Columbia Basin Interpretive Center. The Lewis and Clark expedition exhibition was inspiring. This full-size replica canoe stunned me. How uncomfortable the men must have been to kneel on bare wood for hours. Plus, it is rather narrow and (according the docent on hand) very prone to tipping over! The traveling in one for months would be bad enough, but I cannot imagine emptying the scraped wooden canoe, then having to portage it through the shoreline growth! It must have taken 10 men; it is heavy and unwieldy.  My respect for the perseverance and the dedication of the men of the Lewis and Clark’s Company is boundless.

The Center’s floor contains a marble inlay interpretation of the Columbia River. On it I found Barbara ’s dad’s hometown of White Salmon…made sure she saw it! 

Adorning the trail walk outside the Center were metal life-size figures of native wildlife. My favorite was this impressive stag leaping! 

The history of the Columbia Gorge included an Ice Age exhibit of the fauna of the area. Hence, a selfie of me and full-scale rendering of an Ice Age Short-Tailed Bear. I thought that was kind of cool until I walked around the corner and found myself face-to-knee with a life-size Mammoth…and another selfie just had to be snapped. (It’s very hard to get even a little of yourself into the lens when you only come up to the critter’s knee!)

My second stop was to the National Neon Sign Museum. Myself and 5 others took this tour. I feel like all those who did not really missed something special. Dave Benko, the founder, has been obsessed with neon since he acquired his first piece at age 8. How do I know this factoid? Dave, himself, was the person who led my group on the tour of his collection. His enthusiasm for this unique art form is evident in his willingness to answer any questions and in his knowledge of his subject matter. He’s like a Pied Piper. I left the building willing to follow him anywhere! My pictures of the breadth of his collection did not do justice to what he has put together, so I have posted none. Google him and his museum or find them on FaceBook and Instagram. Definitely a must see if you are ever with 100 miles of The Dalles, Washington.

My day ended on a very high note!

When I walked off the gangway into the reception area of the Empress, I was more than ready to meet up with Barbara and tell her about my new neon-obsession and hear about her shopping trip. I was not expecting to see her waiting for me holding my little brown bag of gifts I’d lost yesterday! She was grinning ear to ear as she related the story: The museum found my bag just about the same time the Guest Services Director read my email. The ship was called and the Purser’s Office confirmed I was a passenger. My bag was handed to the driver of the last Hop On/Hop Off bus who delivered it to the Purser’s Office where it sat as the ship prepared for departure. This morning a message was delivered to the room while Barbara and I were out. She decided to watch my face as she held up the bag.

 

I so appreciate the way life delivers you little bursts of joy!

 

Barbara and I celebrated with two pre-dinner cocktails in the Paddlewheel lounge while listening to Marcus tickle the ivories in delightful renditions of Scott Joplin songs. Neither of us are big drinkers which was evident when after dinner (and wine) we were asleep within 90 minutes of returning to 324.