COLUMBIA RIVER, MARITIME HIGHWAY

Lady Washington

 

 

This beautiful replica of Captain Gray's second ship was built at Gray's Harbor north of Astoria, Oregon, and launched in 1989. It soon became the official State Ship of Washington State. It roams the ocean and rivers that touch the state as an operating sailing ship with crew as a reminder of the first entry into the Columbia River by Gray in 1892. The Lady Washington hosts passengers or just appears at maritime events at anchor for visitors to come aboard, hear history lectures perhaps. Frequently, the ship becomes a field trip for the Northwest's school children.

 

Gray had worked with the even more famous Captain Vancouver, but the latter did not believe the Columbia entered at its present site; indeed, he and others kept looking for the ocean outlet of a large river seen far inland. They thought it might be possible to sail eastward through such an unexplored waterway and emerge in the Atlantic Ocean. Gray was not sure about this possibility, either, but had seen the entry of what he thought might be the river earlier -- a belief not shared by Vancouver. Eventually, Gray was able to return southward along the coast, found and entered the treacherous meeting of river and ocean. Of course, it did not rise anywhere near the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Despite the turbulent entrance of the river it became and still is a chosen route for seagoing ships to travel the Columbia far inland for commerce. The local Indian tribes like the Chinook had long sailed upriver for commerce. The coastal people and tribes of eastern Washington and Oregon (names today) had what today we would call a "trade fair" periodically. The eastern residents would bring cured game, crafts, and other products to trade for shells, dried fish (although they had plenty of their own, too) and sea-related items. Inter-tribal wars were suspended for these commercial meetings.

 

Today sophisticated barges haul grain from Washington and Oregon farms or river ports handling grain from as far away as Idaho (via Columbia to Snake River waterways) and even trucked -in grain from Midwest farms to waiting ships moored near Portland, Oregon. Ships from many nations bring products to Portland to be disseminated by various transportation methods to markets in the West, including such barges or smaller ships.

 

In decades past smaller barges hauled fuel oil and gas east and mostly grain west to the ports, too. The high plateaus of eastern Washington, especially, were formed by ongoing emissions of lava, creating vast fertile plains where huge grain farms thrive.

In old days, these smaller barges were loaded from the cliff-like edges of the river by chutes. At first, the chutes were of wood and a problem was the fast-moving grain hurtled down and actually caught on fire (from the friction).

 

Today several charter cruise companies operate from Portland upriver to the Snake River and on east to Lewiston, Idaho. Other varying pleasure routes exist, as well, and this trip of around six days round trip is very popular with tourists. I myself have served several of the companies as a historian making comments as the ships move along the waterway. The rather luxurious ships have comfortable cabins and service, good food, side trips by small boat or bus.  Over all this activity watch the snow-covered mountains such as Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams and other lesser peaks. 



STORMY WEATHER ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER

PATEROS WA looking east across a wide stretch of the Columbia River during a storm.

100 years ago the river was less wide, and one might have seen a vintage steamboat coming up the river to deliver passengers and supplies to this port settlement. The current of that river, pre-dams, was so swiftly moving (to the right in this photo) that a ship might have to attach a cable from ship to a team of draft horses on shore to pull them past this area. This location also is where the ancient Canadian glaciers covered the river solidly. Between Brewster (five minutes from Pateros)  and Grand Coulee Dam by road one still can see the boulders left over when the glaciers melted during a natural climate change and pulled back to release the ancient river to flow once more. Pateros volunteers and contributors have built a small museum near this site that is worth visiting.  Not far from Brewster upriver visit a fort once manned by Hudson's Bay Company personnel as a stop where HBC's fur employees changed from traveling by water to horses on their way north. The book Columbia River, published by Caxton Press in late 2013 gives insight into this period.

Today the calm waters attract outdoor people in small boats or kayaks, or fishing enthusiasts, Salmon travel up river as far as the mighty Columbia's source more than 400 miles north of the Canadian border! True, their progress and numbers are affected by many dams, but fish and wildlife managers on both sides of the border constantly work to assist the spawning mama fish in fall and the lively babies in spring wending down river to make the 1200+ mile annul journey between Astoria, Oregon, and Columbia Lake, British Columbia. Of course, a large percentage of the salmon also veer off to the many rivers that empty into the Columbia. Major research to solve the myriad problems of the coexistence of power needs and fish maintenance continues.

North Cascades Charms, both sides

Here we are at October 7th still enjoying temps from 70-close to 80, but weather next week looks like reverting to typical fall or early winter weather more like 50s.-60s. Leaves are beginning to turn but not yet. My garden is full of flowers blooming. I play golf every Friday with three others, but -- like them -- do not take scores as a big deal. If I get a bogie once in awhile, good, but I also might rack up 10 strokes on some hole where all goes wrong. Great scenery always in the Northwest, usually nice weather except in rainy mid-winter, so who cares. I am hoping to get over to eastern Washington yet before the North Cascades Highway closes for the winter (heavy snow in mountains, not in western WA. ) But driving along the Columbia River means wonderful views of fruit orchards along the river that turn brilliant yellows in fall, enhanced by reds here and there and certain wild deciduous trees mixed into the prevailing tall evergreens in the Cascades that are mostly yellow, too. Fall in the San Juan Islands brings some foggy mornings and brilliant afternoons and fewer tourists to help out the seasonal businesses that tend to cater to boat populations.  A good time to avoid crowds and some reservations on the ferries, though.

The North Cascades Highway usually gets so much snow above 4,000 feet (passes are all more than that) that some close. The NCH seldom makes it past December 1 and comes back to life around late April or May. Dangers of avalanches or rock slides along the highway. But the valleys are always fun and the east side great for cross-country skiing. Nearer Bellingham, Wenatchee, Seattle, and so on are top downhill skiing areas with good overnight facilities. A book I have not talked about on this blog is constantly popular: North Cascades Highway  -- and also another one Stevens Pass (lots of railroad history there). It has gone through several reprints and is very desirable still since publication originally for the Mountaineers and later Montevista Press,

If you find my books of interest, a more serious but unusual story is Ranald MacDonald, Pacific Rim Adventurer from WSU Press, the fascinating life of a half-Chinook and half English (Hudson's Bay pioneer) who made history along the Pacific coasts, in Japan, Australia, Canada, and the USA. It took two years of broad research in all those countries to put it together as armchair-readable history. Not the Ronald of MacDonald's burgers but Ranald. That is actually the way  a man's name in spelled in some areas of Scotland.

Happy leaf raking, readers.  JoAnn   www.joannroe.com

A lake on one of the San Juan Islands

1900s SAN JUANS SCHOOLHOUSE



Kootenay Lake, twin to Arrow Lakes

Sternwheelers like this once operated on both Kootenay Lake and the Arrow Lakes, through which the Columbia River runs. (photo (C))

The rugged country in Canada, rivers and lakes that included the Columbia River, theme of my book, The Columbia River (Caxton Press, 2013) was not easily accessed by significant highways or even good roads. Later the major highways #1 and #3 crossed this scenic country. Those residents living along the Arrow and Kootenay lakes more easily traveled on these sternwheelers.

Some like the one shown here were quite luxurious and a few had limited cabins. Even so, the winds on these large lakes and even broad stretches of river could be hazardous. Records tell of harrowing river trips and sinkings. Those early pioneers were tough, man! Conditions on smaller boats and the little hotels that served passengers were like living in barns. Overnight a man might actually sleep on straw mattresses or none and share rooms and even a bed with total strangers of dubious cleanliness and honesty.

                                               Lake Roosevelt (Columbia River)

The Grand Coulee Dam in WA backs up the Columbia River almost to the Canadian border and, no doubt, all the way if there were extremely high water.  It is  benign lake with pleasant coves bordered with trees for anchoring a boat overnight to swim, barbecue aboard your boat or go water skiing farther out in the lake..

I was a speaker on North Cascades Institute outings on several occasions. These were trips on a large, sturdy houseboat that accommodated several people and their sleeping bags overnight. As the speaker, I did not expect that I was expected to operate the boat, too, but it was true. I had little trouble, though, because the lake has few or no hazards, smooth water, and few waves. Of course, the latter can change if a big wind storm comes up, but one can easily find a sheltered place along the shores.

Such a windstorm did come up during research for the book, The Columbia River, I was (by auto this time) at a marina on Lake Roosevelt operated by a few people. The managing couple would not let me leave the marina, because they said -- even though it was calm and quiet on the lake -- advisers from above told them a major dust storm had erupted along the highway. They said it was not safe for me to drive back up to the flats, that collisions in such conditions were common. I wound up staying the night with this friendly pair in their home, who were looking out for me, the roaming author. Much of eastern Washington is fertile farmland that stretches in all directions, and such dust storms are not uncommon; subsequently local television news described multi-car collisions that occurred. Of course, one need not worry about them if you just stay off the busy freeways or highways and just wait until the winds subside.

Back to the houseboat trips, on one occasion the information sent out was mixed up somehow. I and houseboat guests arrived at the north end of the route, only to find the boat was at the south end. It was too late in the day to do anything about it until morning, so I had to find motel housing for the night for about eight people. Although I sincerely do not believe I was the one at fault, my "boss" did think so. I was not the most popular guide/historian that trip. At least for awhile.

I have had considerable boating experience in my life. I was not asked to guide any trip in the San Juan Islands during the writing of San Juan Islands: Into the 21st Century, published in 2013 and very much in print. However, I had roamed all over the SJI often in a 20-foot Glasply day boat that we had at my cabin and, before that, in a larger old cruiser on the ocean.  The San Juan Islnds have friendly waters except perhaps along Haro Strait or Rosario Strait, lengthy bodies of water that can get rough from sea swells or from the wakes of larger vessels -- not often in summer, though.