Hell's Canyon

Spectacular views of one of nature's natural wonders

I keep thinking I can get a weekly publication out while I am working for American Cruise Lines, but the truth is, I am constantly working on my next presentation. Life on board the American Pride is wonderful. It is the first ACL boat that I stepped onto in 2012, when it was christened the Queen of the Mississippi. I got on in La Crosse, did my show, Our Mighty Mississippi, that night, and had to disembark in Red Wing the next morning. Even then, I knew I had found a job that would challenge me and give me satisfaction for a long time to come. While I started out as an entertainer, I immediately saw that the Guest Speaker stayed on all week and received their contracted dates well in advance. So I started writing lectures.

Here on the Columbia and Snake rivers, I am the Guest Speaker, with no evening entertainment duties. That suits me just fine for now, as I am constantly rehearsing and updating my talks to give passengers the best possible experience. I still manage to sing some songs during my presentations, and I will be performing the seven Woodie Guthrie Songs that I recorded last winter in a talk tomorrow morning. The songs are interspersed with biographical information about this great American Patriot and pillar of the folk music community.

The American Pride docked at Stevenson, Washington

One of the best things about riding a Mississippi-style steamboat on the Columbia River is that I can sneak a little Mark Twain in, and the passengers really seem to enjoy it. I have been staying in the officers’ quarters on the hurricane deck (fifth deck), two doors down from the captain and right next to the navigation mate. It is quite nostalgic for me. Back in 2013, I was newly married, and the first time I stayed in one of these rooms, my dear friend, Richard Garey (Mark Twain), walked by our cabin and remarked, “I see they put you in the Amish Honeymoon suite!” The bunk beds are stainless steel, and the top bunk is not easy to get out of, but we managed just fine. Now that I am single, I actually prefer this room to a stateroom, as the door opens onto incredible scenery five stories in the air. The route is fabulous, moving from the temperate rainforest on the Pacific coast, through the notoriously windy Columbia River Gorge, to the low desert along the Columbia River, and then to the high desert along the Snake River. Tonight I plan to share Mark Twain’s love poem to the Mississippi River on the top deck under the stars after evening entertainment.

My On the Trail of Lewis and Clark column is now complete, and if you look for the section tabs in Substack, you can click on a section to read it in order from start to finish. I have not included any pay bars in the Lewis and Clark section, and I hope you enjoy it enough to share it with others.

I made a video of Hell’s Canyon to show at tonight’s Port Preview, unfortunately I cannot upload it at this time. This is a singular spot on God’s green earth that rivals the dramatic presentation of any spot on the globe. I will give you a few photos for now and share the video when I can get to some high-speed internet.

Seven-sided columnar basalt in Hell’s Canyon.