Discover rusyns people


Empress of the North - Columbia & Snake Rivers

The Empress of the North is a sparklingwere blamed for the deaths that resulted.
vessel operated by American West StreamboatThe passengers may also enjoy a visit to the
Cruises, just a little over her firstThree Rivers winery (Washington and Oregon
birthday. She is a red and whiteproduce wonderful wines, though not nearly as
paddlewheeler with bunting and high, flaredwell-known as their neighbors in California)
stacks (that conveniently fold down for theand a magnificent lunch at the beautifully
low bridges) and is four decks high. Therestored Whitman Hotel before returning to
huge paddle wheel at the stern is alsotheir waiting river home.Overnight, as the
painted red, while the hull is gleamingpassengers are sleeping, the ship leaves the
black. The art in each of the corridors,Columbia to enter the Snake River. She
neatly listed and described in an in-roomcontinues upriver and through the last
guide, is nothing short of spectacular. Itremaining locks to Lewiston, Idaho, the
is themed for Russian nobility (she spendseasternmost point on the voyage. This is a
her summers in Alaska, sailing the Insidemuch anticipated adventure as the entire
Passage). There is a collection of Fabergeship's complement of passengers are moved to
eggs, matrushka (nesting family) dolls,a fleet of jet boats, the only commercial
lacquer boxes and other Russian artifactscraft that can navigate this rugged river and
opposite the Purser's Office and gift shop.its terrain. They proceed up about thirty
The Romanov Dining Room is similarlymiles to where the Snake meets the Salmon
decorated from Imperial Russia. Her roomsRiver. This is beyond any roads and
are spacious and nicely decorated and mostaccessible only to intrepid rafters and
have verandahs to watch the scenery andcanoeists and a few float fishermen plus
passing ships drift by during the day. Thehikers and backpackers. One can also find
rooms all have TV sets with DVD players, withsome petroglyphs made hundreds of years ago
a lending library of discs in the gift shopby area natives and view some mountain sheep.
available at no cost and clock radios with CDAt that point, one meets the confluence of
players. There is also satellite TV fromthree states, Oregon, Washington and Idaho
most of the networks, CNN and others alwaysand it's where the jet boats reverse to a
available as well as a camera mounted on thetakeout point from which the passengers are
pilot house to share the Captain's view withreturned by bus to the ship.The next day the
the passengers.In addition to the diningriver tour stops near Klickitat, Washington,
room, there is a show lounge (which is alsoto make a trip to the Maryhill Museum, the
the lecture hall during the day), thecreation of an eccentric millionaire which
Paddlewheel Bar, serving evening drinks andhouses an impressive array of art. It has
appetizers before dinners (two seatings, butthe largest collection of Rodin work on the
no assigned tables) with dancing before andWest Coast, native art, beautiful chess sets
after the evening meal and the Calliopeof exquisite artistry, a sculpture and a
Lounge which serves light breakfasts andfloral garden overlooking the river below.
lunches each day.The first night, always aThis is where the Empress of the North closes
little awkward, features a "Welcome Aboardin on the final stop of the voyage. It was
Dinner" and usually indicates that thethe destination and goal of Lewis and Clark
standards of the kitchen are high indeed.at Astoria, Oregon, at the mouth of the
Each night's menu had a choice of hot or coldColumbia River basin and adjoining the
appetizer, two soups, two salads and fourPacific Ocean.Here the steamboat overnights
entrees, one of which was vegetarian. Two orand spends a second day. Buses take the
more desserts plus fruit or ice cream endedpassengers into the beautiful town of
each meal. Overall, most have only wonderfulAstoria, Oregon. The town is full of
experiences with all of the cuisine. Staffwonderful restaurants and shops and it has
is young and enthusiastic, cordial and eagerthe Astoria Monument. The monument is a
and very personable. Whether they did orcolumn full of art and chronicles of the
not, they certainly seemed to be thoroughlytown's history. It also features a spiraling
enjoying themselves, from the deckhands tostairs with a climb of one hundred sixty-two
the cabin stewards and stewardesses to thesteps and a viewing platform with three
waiters.The first full day on the Empresshundred sixty degrees of vista of Washington
provides a stop at Stevenson, Washington andState and the ocean. Cape Disappointment is
a visit to the Columbia Gorge Interpretivewhere the Lewis and Clark Expedition finally
Center, an excellent museum of the history offound their goal of the Pacific Ocean, but
the Gorge, its settlement, growth andspent three weeks here in continuous rain.
progress including a commercial salmonFort Clatsop, on the Oregon side, is where
fishing wheel, lumbering machine and railroadthey built a shelter and prepared to leave
memorabilia. At the fish hatchery by thefor the east and their homes. The tour buses
Bonneville Dam, perhaps the best-known damprovided by American West stop at some
and power plant on the river, passengers haveexcellent National Park Service centers in
a view of the sturgeon pond and Herman, thethe immediate area, each dedicated to
sturgeon, who was more than 200 years old andexplaining still more of the incredible
still growing as sturgeons do, a living linkjourney made by Lewis and Clark and their
with the area's past. Finally, passengersCorps of Discovery two hundred years before.
are able to view the spectacular MultnomahIt was an amazing journey in which their
Falls, a trademark beauty of this part of theestimate of distance was only twenty-six
river.The next day brings the Empress tomiles off, without any instruments of
Umatilla Landing, again in Washington, withmeasurement. The nation is indebted to these
visits to Fort Walla Walla. The Whitmanmen for exploring and mapping the entire
Mission at Fort Walla Walla is where thepassage, together with the flora and fauna
Whitman family of missionaries were the firstfound along the way.The buses return the
of the non-Native Americans to settle. Theypassengers to the Empress and it sails back
might have remained had not a measlesto the starting point to disembark the
epidemic - to which the natives had nopassengers.
immunity - cost them their lives when they



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