By Bob Van Leer

  (STEVENSON, WASHINGTON, April 17, 2005) - Today we went down and up the Columbia River doing sightseeing. Our ship, the Queen of the West, had docked for the night at Hood River and we boarded buses for the short trip to The Dalles to visit the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center.

   Surprisingly, there was no welcome of any kind for our ship. There was no delegation to greet us, or even a banner of welcome. The local chamber of commerce is dropping the ball. There are 104 passengers on the ship from 19 states. Some of them will be back to the Northwest and as a chamber member, I'd want to make them feel welcome and leave with a good opinion of Hood River. At other places where we have docked in the past, there were usually booths of merchandise for sale. And not many passengers leave empty handed.

By Bob Van Leer

  (PASCO WASHINGTON, April 18, 2005) - This morning our cruise ship, the Queen of the West, made a bow-in landing at the tiny Oregon community of Irrigon. The Queen has a bow ramp that extends like a stinger and the ship noses up to the shore and drops the ramp on land and passengers get off. No dock is needed.

   During the night we passed through the lock at the John Day Dam, at 113 feet the highest we will go through on this trip. The lock is one of the highest single-lift locks in the world. Buses were waiting for us just off the ramp at Irrigon and the ship proceeded up river. We were taken to the Pendleton Roundup grounds at Pendleton and treated to a western show.

By Bob Van Leer

  (LEWISTON IDAHO, April 19, 2005) - Highlight of the day was a 45 mile jet boat trip up Hells Canyon on the Snake River. We docked at Clarkston, WA, this morning, just across the Snake from Lewiston. We are 465 miles from the Pacific Ocean and at an elevation of 730 feet above sea level. The twin cities are on opposite sides of the Snake at its junction with the Clearwater River.

 The Snake proceeds south from here.  The jet boats used here are larger than those used on the Rogue and are all covered. The Snake here is a larger river than the Rogue. Our boat is called the Hells Canyon Rose and piloted by Capt. Dan. It is owned by the Beamer Tour Company.

By Bob Van Leer

  (STEVENSON, WASHINGTON, April 20, 2005) - This was a day of cruising the Columbia. There are to be no stops and we can spend the day relaxing. John Borneman, the Queen of the West resident historian, gave a presentation on the journey of Lewis and Clark.

  We spent some time getting better acquainted with the ship. There were tours of the pilot house and galley. The cooks do a remarkable job, cooking for up to 150 persons in a space little larger than a household kitchen.  The Queen of the West is 230 feet long and 50 feet wide and 69 feet high from keel to stack.

By Bob Van Leer

  (LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2005) - We docked in Longview about noon today and were bused to the Coldwater Ridge Visitors Center at Mt. St. Helens. Weather was cooperating reasonably well and only the very top of the volcano was obscured by clouds. We were able to look up to the hole where the north face of the mountain blew off. The volcano was cooperating wonderfully well, putting on a minor eruption for our benefit. The U. S. Forest Ranger said the mountain was pushing out about a dump truck load of material every five seconds. White smoke and dirty brown smoke plumes were visible and he said the white was steam and the brown was dust from small slides as material was pushed up.

By Bob Van Leer

  (ASTORIA, OREGON, April 22, 2005) - Lewis and Clark spent Dec. 7, 1805, to March 23, 1806, in a fort the Corps of Discovery built a few miles south of Astoria. One of their complaints was the near-constant rain. Of the 106 days the corps spent at Fort Clatsop, it rained all but 12 days, and the sun shown on only six days.

  We anchored at Astoria this morning to tour the area, stopping first at the fort. A replica was built at the original site from plans drawn by Clark.  The fort was 50 feet by 50 feet with a 20 feet wide open court. There were 31 men in the corps plus their interpreter, his wife and baby. They were mostly on a meat diet. During their stay they killed more than 130 elk, 20 deer and many small animals and fowl.