AMERICAN EMPRESS RIVERBOAT #130

Learn more about the history of this region of the US aboard the American Empress, as well as enjoy the natural beauty of the waterfalls, mountains, desert and forest regions of the Pacific Northwest. Paddle Wheel Boat

We followed the flow of the rivers on this cruise, as the pioneers would have. Let the Snake River carry us to the mighty Columbia, where we follow in the footsteps of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. American Empress - Paddle Wheel Boat

Discover the rich heritage of the native people. Unfold the dramatic stories of America's most famous explorers. The park encompasses sites along the Columbia River and the Pacific Coast. River Boat Paddle Boat,  Wheel Boat Cruises, American Empress Paddle Wheel Boat.

Clarkston is a city in Asotin County, Washington.  It is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA metropolitan area, and is located west of Lewiston, Idaho, across the Snake River. 

We're heading towards Clarkston to board our river boat American Empress Paddle Wheel Boat.

From Spokane to Clarkston, we taking in a range of destinations that are perfect for a relaxing getaway on a River Boat Cruise with paddle wheel boat American Empress. 

Wind turbines, as they are now called, collect and convert the kinetic energy that wind produces into electricity to help power the grid.

Hells Canyon, North America's deepest river gorge, encompasses a vast and remote region with dramatic changes in elevation, terrain, climate and vegetation.

Hells Canyon offers scenic vistas that rival any on the continent, world-class whitewater boating, and spectacular mountain peaks.

Hugging the borders of northeastern Oregon and western Idaho, this national showcase holds 652,488 acres of beauty and adventure, where you can let your senses run as wild as the landscape. 

Abundant wildlife, artifacts from prehistoric tribes, and rustic remains of early miners and settlers. 

Our knowledgeable captain discusses the area’s

history, geology, and native wildlife with plenty of photo opportunities.

Things you will see:

Hells Canyon

Native Wildlife

and just sit back and enjoy the narration.

Keep an eye out for bighorn sheep, deer, eagles, and

other wildlife as we venture into the canyon.

The most vivid evidence of early indigenous people can be found at Buffalo Eddy, where a scattered group of petroglyphs and a few pictographs can be seen. This rock art contains hundreds of distinct images associated with early Nez Perce people dating back as early as 4,500 years ago.

It is truly a BEAUTIFUL morning at the Osprey breeder box along the Snake River of Hells Canyon! The Osprey will often reuse their nest, adding new material, such as colorful hay string remnants to it each season.

Clarkston is a city in Asotin County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA metropolitan area, and is located west of Lewiston, Idaho, across the Snake River. 

Clarkston is in the Lewis-Clark Valley, at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwaterrivers. Immediately across the Snake River from Clarkston is the city of Lewiston, Idaho.

Follow the footsteps of the epic Lewis and Clark Expedition as you cruise the legendary Columbia and Snake Rivers. Aboard the newest riverboats in the region, you will be amazed by the beautiful and ever-changing landscapes, including the Columbia River Gorge, Hells Canyon, Multnomah Falls, etc.

Looking at the beautiful river and riverbanks from the River Cruise Boat.

The Port Of Clarkston;

port's marina has accommodations for personal boats and yachts, many of which travel through the nearby Hells Canyon.

People thought they were real.

Richland is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers.

The Ed Hendler Bridge, lovingly referred to as the Cable Bridge, was built in 1978 to replace the Green Bridge, which would later be demolished in 1990. There's actually a piece of the Green Bridge that remains above water, as an add-on to the Cable that acts as a lookout.

The museum is housed in the former Carnegie Library built in 1911 located in Pasco. 

There are several buses connected with this tour and they make it very convenient to visit all the local spots in the cities we visit.  They run every half hour or so to take you to the next spot.

Check out our 30-minute Movie/Download full of all the airplanes, displays and enjoy our visit to this amazing place dedicated to the wonderful world of aviation.

The REACH Museum (The Hanford Reach

Interpretive Center)

Center for the study of regional history, geology, science & technology on a trail with a monument.

The REACH Museum, located in the heart of the Tri-Cities, Washington, is the central hub for telling the story of both the Manhattan Project and the Hanford Reach National Monument.

Later, during the Ice Age, the northern third of the state was covered in glaciers while creatures like bison, caribou, woolly mammoths, mastodons, and rhinoceros roamed elsewhere in the state. The Pleistocene Columbian Mammoth, Mammuthus columbi is the Washington state fossil.

The museum acknowledges their Native American partners who historically used this region—a gathering place of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, the Wanapum people, and the Nez Perce Tribe who cared for this land since time immemorial.

The REACH Museum works to bring the story of the Manhattan Project and the Hanford Reach to life for visitors of all ages. By connecting the history of the Manhattan Project and the beauty of the Hanford Reach, the REACH Museum provides a complete picture of the important role that this area has played in shaping the world as we know it today.

 Washington has plenty of mammoths, mastodon, and giant sloth bones.

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We enjoyed the beauty at the other end.

PERMANENT EXHIBITS

• Ice Age
• Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
• Renewable Energy & Stewardship
• Native American Culture & Basketry
• Lewis & Clark Cargo
• Early Explorers & Oregon Trail
• Celilo Falls & the Dams of the Columbia River
• Historic Columbia River Highway & Early Transportation.

Our permanent museum exhibits parallel our mission of inspiring appreciation and stewardship of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and Wasco County through collection, preservation and interpretation of cultural and natural history resources. 

 The Center is situated on a 54-acre point of land adjacent to the Columbia River and the Historic Columbia River Highway. The site provides walking trails, a pond, and scenic overlooks.

 In addition to touring the many fascinating exhibits, visitors can spend time viewing films in the theater located on site. If you plan to spend the day at the Discovery Center and Museum, you can relax during a lunch or coffee break at the Basalt Rock Cafe.

Exhibits about the creation of the gorge; Ice Age animals, including a full-size Columbian mammoth; the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery; native peoples of the area; and a life-size exhibit featuring a wagon-raft braving the Columbia River's current. This is an excellent stop for families with children.

The site provides walking trails, a pond, and scenic overlooks. Its location in The Dalles, Oregon is an ecosystem transition zone, facilitating the interpretation of both the rain forest west of the Cascade Mountains and the arid region to the east.

The Dalles, formally the City of The Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city in Oregon along the Columbia River outside the Portland Metropolitan Area.

Located in the former fort’s Surgeon’s Quarters built in

1856, the Fort Dalles Museum opened in 1905, making

it one of Oregon’s oldest history museums. Take a

tour of the unique collection of pioneer and military

artifacts at one of the old west’s most pivotal places in

history.

The Granada Theater has entertained visitors in The Dalles since it was built in 1930. It was the first movie theater west of the Mississippi River to show "talkies" and its distinctive Moorish Revival architecture makes it one of most recognizable landmarks in the city.

This attractive building, which is now home to a pub, was Wasco County's second courthouse. It was built in 1883 and replaced the first courthouse, which was built in 1859 and is now a museum. The building is a fine example of Italianate architecture and resembles an Italian villa. The red brick building is two stories tall and has arched windows, a low-hipped roof, and its most prominent feature, the octagonal clock tower. The tower features an elongated domed metal roof, windows, and clocks on all four sides.

This local Park is situated at union street in the city of The Dallas, Oregon. Named after the famous explorers, the park was established in 2002. Maintained by the city council of The Dalles, the beautiful park is known for music festivals and concerts; the concrete path also proves to be ideal for outdoor activities like jogging and walking with dogs. Make sure to spend some quality time by exploring cool sculptures installed in the surrounding.

The Dalles Dam is a concrete-gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River, two miles east of the city of The Dalles, Oregon, United States. It joins Wasco County, Oregon with Klickitat County, Washington, 300 miles upriver from the mouth of the Columbia near Astoria, Oregon.

Washington has 24 operational wind turbine farms, plus 12 in the construction, permitting or brainstorming stages. Meanwhile, there are two functioning solar panel farms in the state, plus at least 38 in construction, permitting or proposal stages.

So why is there a replica of England’s famous attraction near Wishram, Washington? It’s all thanks to Samuel Hill, a Quaker who’s known for establishing the neighboring Maryhill townsite which had a post office, hotel, general store and eventually the Maryhill Museum and winery.

 Plaques commemorating WWI soldiers can be seen as well as glimpses of the Columbia River.

Stonehenge Memorial lies at the original Maryhill town site, three miles east of the Maryhill Museum of Art just off Highway 14. Samuel Hill’s crypt is located a short walk southwest of Stonehenge on a bluff overlooking the river.

Hill visited the real Stonehenge during WWI, and was inspired to duplicate the Neolithic structure back home as a sign of peace and heroism. He tapped the knowledge of engineers and archaeologists to construct it, using reinforced concrete when local stones didn’t work as planned.

Maryhill Museum of Art is a small museum with an eclectic collection, located near what is now the community of Maryhill in the U.S. state of Washington. The museum is situated on a bluff overlooking the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge.

Maryhill Museum of Art’s permanent collection had its origins in the eclectic tastes of its four founders. Beginning in 1917, Samuel Hill and a network of friends—Loïe Fuller, Queen Marie of Romania, and Alma de Brettevile Spreckels—sought to turn his large ranch house on the Columbia River into a world-class art museum.

Alma was a renowned American art collector and her gifts to Maryhill included European and American paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and a large collection of furniture and other items from the palaces of Queen Marie.

The Archives collection contains about 6,000 items and includes photographs, letters, documents and ephemera relating to the history of the museum, its collection and its four founders.

Housed in a majestic Beaux Art mansion overlooking the Columbia River Gorge, Maryhill Museum of Art is one of the NW's most fascinating cultural destinations. Explore world-class European & American art, an extensive American Indian art collection, sculptures and watercolors by Auguste Rodin - one of the largest collections in the US - and much, much more.

The museum’s collection of material made by the Indigenous peoples of North America began with a number of baskets that were acquired by Sam Hill. It has continued to grow through gifts and purchases and the collection now contains works representing many North American basket-making traditions.

THE ULTIMATE PACIFIC NORTHWEST EXPERIENCE INCLUDIED THE FRUIT LOOP, BONNEVILLE DAM,

THE OLD SCENIC HIGHWAY, MULTNOMAH FALLS AND LUNCH WITH

THE LOCALS AT TIMBERLINE LODGE.

This full day adventure will immerse you in the natural

power and beauty of America’s Pacific Northwest.

Watch the water rushing across rugged walls of rocks at the Multnomah Falls.

As Oregon’s most celebrated waterfall, Multnomah Falls attracts nearly two million visitors from around the world every year. The adjacent Multnomah Falls Lodge adds architectural and historic interest to the site.

It ranks as the tallest waterfall in Oregon and is one of the most visited tourism sites in the state. You can feel the peaceful mist of Oregon’s tallest
and most mighty waterfall, Multnomah Falls, 

as it crashes down on the rocky cliffs below. 

Watch in awe
as this roaring 611-foot natural wonder demonstrates
the power and beauty of nature in her rawest form.

Formed by the cataclysmic Missoula Floods beginning 15,000 years ago and fed mainly by underground springs, Multnomah Falls drops 635 feet in two major tiers down basalt cliffs. It ranks as the tallest waterfall in Oregon.

The historic highway bridge over Multnomah Creek with Multnomah Falls in the background in 2010.

The 1914 construction of the graceful 45-foot Benson Bridge, a footbridge that crosses the falls over 100 feet above the lower pool.

OUR ULTIMATE PACIFIC NORTHWEST EXPERIENCE INCLUDED;                                        

MT. HOOD & TIMBERLINE LODGE 

With the land and historic lodge owned by the U.S. Forest Service, Timberline has been family-operated since May 1955.

Experience

lush vegetation as we travel down the “Fruit Loop.”

Taste the most fresh and delicious resources. 

Things we saw:

Parkdale Grange where an all-American lunch was 

served as we discovered the history of the Timberline

Lodge as a park ranger leads the way, followed by

Columbia River Gorge

The Old Scenic Highway

wine and beer samplings!

Timberline lodge was used as the backdrop for the movie “The Shining”.

The movie "The Shining" filmed the outside of Timberline Lodge. If you never saw the movie, watch it before you go. Located on the south side of mount hood near the town of Government Camp this lodge was built during the Great Depression.

Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about 50 mi east-southeast of Portland, on the border between Clackamas and Hood River counties.

Timberline offers fresh Pacific NW cuisine made with locally-sourced ingredients at all of our Mt. Hood restaurants. We put exceptional care and effort into every aspect of our guests' dining experience.

The lodge and its grounds host a ski resort, also known as Timberline Lodge.

Publicly owned and privately operated, Timberline Lodge is a popular tourist attraction that draws two million visitors annually.

Located on the banks of the breathtaking Columbia River, Cascade Locks is home to the Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began building the Cascade Canal and Locks in 1878.

For the past 50 years, Cascade Locks has had the distinction off being the only incorporated city on the Pacific Crest Trail, where the trail crosses over the Bridge of the Gods. It is also the lowest point in elevation on the PCT, even lower than Death Valley.

Really enjoyed watching the lamprey eels and salmon swimming up the fish ladder at the dam.

Neighboring Bonneville Dam offers a visitor center with a fish-viewing window where visitors can see adult salmon swimming through the fish ladder.

The visitor center features tours of the power house, fish ladders, and interactive exhibits related to salmon migration and the history of the Columbia River and hydroelectric power. 

Acknowledging one of God's Creations.

Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County and  making it the fourth-largest city in Washington state.

Visitors can learn more about Lewis and Clark at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and find overgrown ruins of military bunkers and coast defense batteries. They can also hear the stories of lighthouses that once showed sailors the way.

The North Head Lighthouse  stands as a sentinel overlooking this treacherous body of water, the confluence between the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean. The North Head Lighthouse is still an active aid to navigation, although the lighthouse keepers who once tended the flame have been replaced by an automated beacon.

Today, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center stands high on the cliffs of Cape Disappointment State Park, 200 feet above the pounding Pacific surf. A series of mural-sized timeline panels guide visitors through the westward journey of the Lewis and Clark Expedition using sketches, paintings, photographs, and the words of Corps members themselves.

In November of 1805, the U.S. Corps of Volunteers for Northwest Discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reached the mouth of the mighty Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean at last. "Great joy in camp," Clark wrote in his journal, "we are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we been so long anxious to see."

The Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, located in the vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia River, commemorates the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Administration of the park, which includes both federal and state lands, is a cooperative effort of the National Park Service and the states of Oregon and Washington.

Explore the timeless rainforests and majestic coastal vistas. Discover the rich heritage of the native people. Unfold the dramatic stories of America's most famous explorers. The park encompasses sites along the Columbia River and the Pacific Coast. Follow in the footsteps of the explorers and have an adventure in history.

Fort Clatsop was the winter encampment for the Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806. After finding a location that offered plenty of game and close proximity to the ocean, Clark sketched a preliminary site plan, and they began construction in early December. 

 Sacagawea, a young Shoshone Indian guide traveling with the Lewis and ClarkExpedition in 1805.

Interior view of the enlisted men’s quarters.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) was a federally funded venture to explore the North American West. The expedition's principal objective was to survey the Missouri and Columbia rivers, locating routes that would connect the continental interior to the Pacific Ocean.

American explorer, who with William Clark led the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the uncharted American interior to the Pacific Northwest in 1804–06. He later served as governor of Upper Louisiana Territory.

We followed the flow of the rivers on this cruise, as the pioneers would have. Let the Snake River carry us to the mighty Columbia, where we follow in the footsteps of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark – leaders of the Corps of Discovery who followed the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean in 1805. A feat you’ll do as well more than 200 years later! Learn more about the history of this region of the US aboard the American Empress, as well as enjoy the natural beauty of the waterfalls, mountains, desert and forest regions of the Pacific Northwest.

One of Thomas Jefferson's goals was to find "the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce." He also placed special importance on declaring US sovereignty over the land occupied by the many different Native American tribes along the Missouri River, and getting an accurate sense of the resources in the recently completed Louisiana Purchase