A Day of Reunion
The Sea Bird was positioned dockside by 8:30 am in Clarkston, Washington, a small town named for Captain William Clark, located along the Snake River. The town of Clarkston lies directly west of the town of Lewiston Idaho, named for Captain Meriwether Lewis, located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. It was on this auspicious day in this auspicious location that the guests of the MV Sea Bird began their day cruising up the Snake River by jet boat. It was a day of exploration and reflection! We were accompanying a descendent of Henry Spalding on his first quest back to his great, great, great Grandfather’s mission sight. But first we would travel 67 miles up the Snake River to Dugs Bar with several stops along the way, before beginning a return trip down river.
The day began cool with blue skies and small puffy clouds decorating the tops of the canyon. The jet boats traveled rapidly upriver with occasional stops for steamboats, elk, unusual rock formations, rocky mountain big horn sheep, wild turkeys, and the spots of color that this late spring was bringing to the Snake River canyon. We stopped at Cache creek for coffee and cake, then moved up river towards the confluence of the Salmon River then the Imnaha.....there was Cherry falls and several small creeks winding their way down to join the Snake adding to the power of this great river of the Northwest.
Lunch was spent at China Bar. Warm sunshine, good food, and a short vertical hike up through the grasses, prickly pear cactus, Wild hyacinth, Mustard, phacelias and giant Balsam root. Spring was giving us its blast of color in an enormous diversity of flowers!
All too soon we began our return trip, heading back to the Sea Bird. Once on board we were given the opportunity to visit the Nez Perce National Historical Park, located in Spalding, Idaho. Nearly our full compliment of guests boarded the motor coach for the twenty-minute journey to this well-known National Park. Once inside we were guided by Jim, an experienced National Park ranger who skillfully walked us through the Spalding collection of Nez Perce regalia.
One of the high points of this journey out to Spalding was the opportunity to return to a well known mission sight with a descendant of Henry Spalding. The present day community and park area of Spalding (officially named in 1897) was originally called Lapwai and served as a winter camp sight for over 11,000 years to the Thlep-thlep-weyma band of the Nez Perce people. Each summer they moved to higher elevations to hunt, fish, gather roots, berries and other wild foods, returning each fall in time for the salmon runs on the Clearwater River. It was at this winter camp sight that Henry and Eliza Spalding established their mission. Henry Spalding held his services near the banks of the Clearwater River, and in the Spring seasons when the water was running high he would often speak to over 1,000 Indian people on Sundays. It was Henry Spalding’s dream to make farmers out of the Nez Perce people.....an idea he learned to leave behind in later years. After leaving Lapwai, Henry Spalding was quoted to say that, his strongest effect would have been felt by traveling with the Nez Perce to their high country in the summer months. There, he would have been able to exchange beliefs instead of the many misunderstandings that were the source of the intense conflicts between Indigenous peoples and the non-native peoples who came as missionaries and settlers to the Pacific Northwest.
In the graveyard at the Spalding Mission sight we gathered together to photograph our fellow traveler near his distant relative’s grave sight......under the Ponderosa pines, near the Lapwai creek that flows into the Clearwater River, we sent best wishes to the Grandfathers and Grandmothers and shared in another reunion in the family of man.
The Sea Bird was positioned dockside by 8:30 am in Clarkston, Washington, a small town named for Captain William Clark, located along the Snake River. The town of Clarkston lies directly west of the town of Lewiston Idaho, named for Captain Meriwether Lewis, located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. It was on this auspicious day in this auspicious location that the guests of the MV Sea Bird began their day cruising up the Snake River by jet boat. It was a day of exploration and reflection! We were accompanying a descendent of Henry Spalding on his first quest back to his great, great, great Grandfather’s mission sight. But first we would travel 67 miles up the Snake River to Dugs Bar with several stops along the way, before beginning a return trip down river.
The day began cool with blue skies and small puffy clouds decorating the tops of the canyon. The jet boats traveled rapidly upriver with occasional stops for steamboats, elk, unusual rock formations, rocky mountain big horn sheep, wild turkeys, and the spots of color that this late spring was bringing to the Snake River canyon. We stopped at Cache creek for coffee and cake, then moved up river towards the confluence of the Salmon River then the Imnaha.....there was Cherry falls and several small creeks winding their way down to join the Snake adding to the power of this great river of the Northwest.
Lunch was spent at China Bar. Warm sunshine, good food, and a short vertical hike up through the grasses, prickly pear cactus, Wild hyacinth, Mustard, phacelias and giant Balsam root. Spring was giving us its blast of color in an enormous diversity of flowers!
All too soon we began our return trip, heading back to the Sea Bird. Once on board we were given the opportunity to visit the Nez Perce National Historical Park, located in Spalding, Idaho. Nearly our full compliment of guests boarded the motor coach for the twenty-minute journey to this well-known National Park. Once inside we were guided by Jim, an experienced National Park ranger who skillfully walked us through the Spalding collection of Nez Perce regalia.
One of the high points of this journey out to Spalding was the opportunity to return to a well known mission sight with a descendant of Henry Spalding. The present day community and park area of Spalding (officially named in 1897) was originally called Lapwai and served as a winter camp sight for over 11,000 years to the Thlep-thlep-weyma band of the Nez Perce people. Each summer they moved to higher elevations to hunt, fish, gather roots, berries and other wild foods, returning each fall in time for the salmon runs on the Clearwater River. It was at this winter camp sight that Henry and Eliza Spalding established their mission. Henry Spalding held his services near the banks of the Clearwater River, and in the Spring seasons when the water was running high he would often speak to over 1,000 Indian people on Sundays. It was Henry Spalding’s dream to make farmers out of the Nez Perce people.....an idea he learned to leave behind in later years. After leaving Lapwai, Henry Spalding was quoted to say that, his strongest effect would have been felt by traveling with the Nez Perce to their high country in the summer months. There, he would have been able to exchange beliefs instead of the many misunderstandings that were the source of the intense conflicts between Indigenous peoples and the non-native peoples who came as missionaries and settlers to the Pacific Northwest.
In the graveyard at the Spalding Mission sight we gathered together to photograph our fellow traveler near his distant relative’s grave sight......under the Ponderosa pines, near the Lapwai creek that flows into the Clearwater River, we sent best wishes to the Grandfathers and Grandmothers and shared in another reunion in the family of man.
