Clarkston, Washington, Lewiston, Idaho, and the Clearwater and Snake Rivers

An aboriginal crossroads greeted guests at this confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. One direction leads upriver to the basalt walls and valleys of Hells Canyon. The other is the 1805-1806 Corps of Discovery path. Adventure, history and geological monuments marked both routes.

The Hells Canyon trip allowed guests to survey the Snake River as it emerged from southern Idaho. Guests aboard that jet boat ride photographed big horn sheep (which included a large elusive ram), mule deer (named for their long ears by Lewis & Clark), osprey and an array of ducks. Steelhead fishers dotted the river, many of them holding up their pink, meaty catches as the jet boat passed by. The geological wonders of this canyon were described by the jet boat driver and Geologist Grace Winer. Guests had two stops: Cache Creek – a historical ranch site in the midst of an apple orchard; and lunch at Beamer’s Landing and Restaurant. The boat turned around just downriver from the mouth of the legendary “River of No Return,” properly known as the Salmon River.

Guests who boarded a motor coach to follow Lewis & Clark routes westward and eastward near the Bitterroot Mountains were entertained and coached by local guide Lin Laughy of Clearwater Connections. Spending time on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation – sometimes known as the mythical Native American “Turtle Island” – opened everyone’s eyes to the footsteps of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as they starved, suffered illnesses, made pine tree dugouts, fished, hunted and encountered members of the host Nez Perce people (“Nimiipuu”).

The lunch stop was at a bakery/restaurant in the village of Kamiah, Idaho. It was in this region, especially nearby Lawyer’s Canyon, that the first unofficial “treaty” between the Corps and an Indian nation was written, or at least agreed to with a handshake and sign language.

Recap was turned over to guests for stories and impressions about today’s two routes from the Snake/Clearwater confluence.