Cruising on Saturday: The Snake River and Hell's Canyon area

 It's hard for me to get excited about a little boat on a little river so what I was most looking forward to today, was being guided by a local Native American man on a little boat in a little river. LOL

The day surprised me though!

At close to 6am I woke to a little thud. The only thud we had experienced in 6 days on this American Song had been positioning us in a lock or at a dock. I decided to investigate and what I found was the perfect morning and the perfect opportunity to experience and document, our last lock.

The boat was so quiet! One other passenger who was almost as deeply fascinated by these as I was, joined me at the bow, the stern, the bow again... As everyone else slept.

While everything was still neat and quiet, I took some boat pics for you.

This boat is 5 stories high.

Level One: The front of the boat is the dining room. The back features a little deck and is the part that pulls open and slides a walking ramp out, as needed. I think somewhere in between is where they stash the crew overnight. 

Level Two: All guest staterooms.

Level Three: All guest staterooms. 

Level Four: Cascade Lounge at the front, River Lounge at the back, guest rooms and the center staircase and elevator in between.

Level Five: Completely outside (partially shaded and mostly uncovered) on the top of the boat.

The front of the American Song from level 4.

The Cascade Lounge, on level 4 at the front.

The back of the boat on level 5 

Looking down on the level 4 rear deck - home to the Patio Grill . (And the freezer featuring on demand ice cream snacks!)

The River Lounge is the rear end of the boat at level 4. It's where one finds early bird coffee and pastries before the dining room is open for breakfast. I may or may not have had "first breakfast" here a couple of times.

I got wind that a couple had been spotted "camping" on the upper deck and decided to check it out. Sure enough, hidden in the fort they had created out of cushions, surrounded by used glasses and empty wine bottles... A snoring guy in a sleep mask and his bride, wrapped in bedding from their state room.  I was not sure what to make of it. Jealous? Judgmental? Amused? Confused?  All of the above, I'd say.

And just like that, the sun was up and the day was starting.  Mmmm... breakfast.

Hell's Canyon, here we come...  With Michael the guide and Brett (?) the boat pilot.

There were delightful hieroglyphics along the way, but those pics are still trapped in the "big camera" and I'll update this post when I finally get around to processing them. For now, this is the attempt at capturing the amazing basalt hills that towered the river.

Years ago, one of Michaels tribal elders lost his life while saving drowning kids in this river. He plays and sings to honor the memory in this spot.

Being that this was the last afternoon I'd be aboard the American Song, this gal took some time to herself and drank in the sunshine later that afternoon. (Secretly preparing for the cocktails, wine and surf'n'turf dinner coming my way!)

Chef Micheal went out with a bang! Hor d'oeuvres and wine were followed by steak and lobster dinner served with champagne - because that was Reggie's recommendation and who am I to disagree with the sommelier?!

Why, yes... Yes, that is glitter on my crème bruleè! 

Footnote: We disembarked the next morning and took a shuttle to Spokane. It was time to go home. 

This had been a beautiful adventure. None of which would have been possible or as fun, without Donnie by my side.... laughing, drinking, exploring, learning and making new friends together.

 

Cruising on Monday: Historic Astoria

It was overcast and kinda cool when we woke. Not unexpected... but not my fav either.

Docked at Astoria, we had plans to take in a bunch of tourist attractions here, but none started too early and our first attraction was mmmmm... breakfast. Vu was our waiter. He was charming, attentive and frickin' great at his job! We loved him instantly and it wasn't because he remembered I liked the Pinot Noir last night... although that helped, of course.  :-)

We were also making friends. A lovely but reserved mom and daughter-in-law from Seattle area, hilarious Randee and Pat from Long Island and delightful Karen and Teddy from Oklahoma.

Docked near us was the Columbia. A lightship. Part of the heritage museum which is also not far away. We toured the lightship and the museum of course. Oh to have been on this boat in it's time... with its tiny bunks, tinier windows and less cheery crew, rocking and rolling on the waves at the mouth of the river. 

We choose the right boat for a vaca, clearly.

Just when you think your brain drowned in maple syrup and peach compote at breakfast, you find out it still has the capacity to learn. 

We learned that 2000+ ships have gone down in the little stretch of river-that-meets-the-sea. Waves are normally 6+' but reach up to 40' high. Sandbars are continually moving - to keep the captain on their toes! And since almost forever, one has been forced to hire a River Pilot to navigate and negotiate their way into, or out of, the river mouth and then up the river too.

Next stop: the Astoria Column. A strange artistic sight, perched on a hill overlooking this little town. I believe a monument to the people of the Great Northern Railroad... but don't quote me on that. Plus, I'd be lying if I said I remembered much more except that I climbed it for the area's most impressive view. 

The town of Astoria. Famous for being the mouth to giant river and for several movies filmed here:

1. The Goonies

2. Free Willy

3. Kindergarten Cop

There was also something about a Mutant Ninja Turtle movie ... I lost interest here.

Four rivers meet and merge right here. Little wonder the sandbars keep moving!

American Cruise Lines has there own buses for us. Because we are special.  :-)

The drivers are the same all week. They meet us at every stop. It's actually pretty nice to see a familiar vehicle and face driving it. They all have jokes, insider info (because they are local) and water ready for us.

Flavel House: The dream home built for himself and his family, by uber successful Captain George Flavel and not lived in for very long. Capt Flavel was the first river pilot I think... He made a fortune doing that but diversified his financial interests into real estate around town too. 

It's reputedly one of the best preserved examples of Queen Anne architecture in the area.  It was donated to Clatsop County with the condition that it and it's grounds be kept in good repair and used for public purposes. Not once, but twice, was there talk of tearing it down in favor of a park! Good Lord! Then concerned citizens organized themselves and it was made into a local history museum instead. To this day it is managed by the Clatsop County Historical Society.

The pieces in the pics are either original to the house, which were donated or purchased back from people who bought it in the original estate sale, or are items that are from the same era and would be similar to those once in the house.

I tried to get Donnie to cook me lunch, but she suggested that we head back to the boat instead because Chef Michael's oven was better.

Bath anyone?  Sounds simple enough, but this house was among the first to have indoor plumbing!

Home Sweet Home!

Donnie and I took our cookies and potato chips to the cabin and switched to channel 2 on American Song TV. They were playing The Goonies all day long and she had never seen it. We fixed that while getting in some R&R before cocktail hour.

Back on the river, later that day, we cruised upstream towards Kalama. The river is wide and the channel about 57' deep. It is continually being dredged and the millions of tons of sand that are removed each year, make little islands. 

Tankers filled with grain, logs and more, were making their way back to Hong Kong or Japan or from whence they came. It's a watery highway!