JET BOAT/BUS TOUR

We saw in the local paper the Reach Museum  offers trips around the area. We booked a trip for Saturday, September 10. My friend Beth, one of the Workampers here,  offered to potty Maggie and Marlee for us since it was an all day trip. The trip would take us up the Snake River through the locks of Ice Harbor Dam  and the Lower Monumental Dam.   Bruce Bjormstad, a geologist-author would be on board and lunch  would be provided.  When we reached Lyons Ferry State Park we would be transported to Palouse Falls by bus.
Before boarding the jet boat, Bruce showed us on a map our route and sites we would see along  the way.

The jet boat held twenty people, we got a great seat right in front. We would be on the Columbia River for a  short while before reaching the Snake River.

I got a good shot of the two bridges and the Railroad Bridge.

There were lots of fishermen on the river, the Salmon are just starting to come up river.

We passed an orchard and the Captain explained these were blueberries growing under these covers. Washington state, at least this part,  is getting away from apple growing and have become one of the larger growing blueberry states.

After reaching the Snake we started to see barges.

It wasn't long and we reached our first lock,  Ice Harbor Dam.

We had a little bit of a wait before entering this lock. We would be entering where this boat is.

We would be raised up with water to reach the level of the river. Water rushed in  from underneath us, slow at first and then faster to  raise us up.

We were almost to the top.

And here we are all raised up so we can continue our journey.

Bruce explained we would start to see more evidence of how the land was carved out by the Ice Age Floods.

Around lunch tine we reached our second lock, Lower Monumental Dam.

While we were being raised up, we enjoyed a wonderful box lunch from Fat Olive. It was delicious.
Bruce explained that not only was this land formed from Ice Age Flooding, it was also formed from Lava flows.

Giant ripples and basalt cliffs.

I was glad we had taken this trip, I wouldn't have known what this landscape represented.
It wasn't long and we were at Lyon's Ferry.

We thanked our Captain for getting us here safely and boarded a bus to Palouse Falls.

Most of the Workampers had already visited Palouse Falls and had described it as a waterfall in the middle of a desert.

We thought that was a pretty accurate description.

It was time to get back on the bus.

We arrived back a little earlier than planned. We were glad we got the opportunity to take this  trip, it was very enjoyable.