Hello family and friends!
I have returneth from the South! I had an amazing time, managed to avoid alligator bites, and probably gained about 5 lbs from all the fried food. I'm feeling relatively well-rested though and am currently having a fun weekend at Smith with my friends!
I will just continue with the updates about PNW because I really ought to finish up with that before I tell you all about Louisiana, which probably impacted me the most emotionally out of all the trips we've taken this semester.
PNW SAGA CONTINUES!
March 2, 2010
*Crown Point Overlook (Vista House): After days of discussing how the Columbia River affects society in the Pacific Northwest, we finally saw its might at this incredible overlook. It is closed during the winter, but Jim certainly has connections. We were given the opportunity to drink in the scenic view.
It was quite windy, but scenic. No, not us, the river, hehe.
Everyone has a turn to read from the lit packet we receive for each trip, so I had to read to everyone out loud a passage from Winthrop's The Canoe and the Saddle. Now I really want to purchase the book. Here's the passage:
"A wall of terrible breakers marks the mouth of the Columbia, Achilles of rivers. Other mighty streams may swim feebly away seaward, may sink into foul marshes, may trickle through the ditches of an oozy delta, may scatter among sand-bars the currents that once moved majestic and united. But to this heroic flood was destined a short life and a glorious one--a life all one strong, victorious struggle, from the mountains to the sea. It has no infancy--two great branches collect its waters up and down the continent. They join, and the Columbia is born to full manhood. It rushes forward, jubilant, through its magnificent chasm, and leaps to its death in the Pacific."
Reading and writing down the lines still makes my stomach flip and my heart leap. I read it so dramatically, that by the end, spittle flew out of my mouth. I'm not sure how moved people were by that...haha! I also asked the park ranger there about finding jobs with the National Park Service. He said there are always a ton available. Good to know!
*Bonneville Dam: Someone from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers showed us around the dam and described the mechanics of the dam. He explained how they try to help with salmon migration, such as with the use of ladders and spillways. We got to see the turbines. I'm not sure how I feel about the dams...they provide energy, which is in high demand, and help to control the torrential Columbia River, so people can use the water more safely when navigating through it or when recreating. The dams also created thousands of jobs during the Great Depression era when men sorely needed to find ways to put food on their families' tables. Environmentally, I am wary of its impact, especially on salmon.
Salmon ladder, definitely not what I expected when I first heard about it
*Multnomah Falls: I gazed up at the second highest waterfall in the country with wonder. I noticed it was so high, that like Niagara Falls, some of the water looked like it evaporated before hitting the ground. I breathed in the scent of wild pine and hiked up a few switchbacks, getting a better view of the falls the higher up we climbed. The cool air dripped with the waterfall's moisture and greenery popped out everywhere, seeming to breathe and perspire with wetness. I wanted to hike up all 11 switchbacks, but there simply wasn't any time. We only had an hour allotted for exploration.
*Columbia River Maritime Museum: We got to stay overnight on a lightship, the Columbia. It was so cool! All the equipment dated back to the 1950's and 60's. As we walked onboard, I could smell the fresh history. A musty, yet pleasant aroma of the ages greeted me. The mouth of the Columbia River is too deep for a lighthouse, so they had to use a ship with bright lights to warn other ships of the rocky coast.
I didn't have such a great night's sleep though. There were no bunks left by the time it came for me, Jessica, and Elizabeth to claim our sleeping territory. We slept on the floor in a room next to the food lounge. Sleeping on the floor was fine by me--I'm a camper at heart. What DID bug me was the fact we were unable to find a light-switch and therefore had to sleep in a room bright as day. I nearly suffocated under my sleeping bag, trying to keep light out of my eyes. Anyhoo, needless I say, as a result, I was falling asleep on my feet all through the next day. Oh and earlier that day, during the afternoon, we were given free time to walk around the museum. Jessica and I noticed a rainbow appear over the river through the window. We ran out of the museum and stood out on the dock, admiring the streaks of color against a bright blue sky. With the Columbia and a few fishing vessels in view, it looked so romantic.
March 3, 2010
*Cape Disappointment State Park Interpretive Center: We stood in the exact same spot Lewis and Clark saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time, a major event in American history, helping to propel the western expansion...manifest destiny. In 1805, Clark wrote: "I beheld the grandest and most pleasing prospects which my eyes ever surveyed...a boundless ocean, raging with immense waves and breaking with great force from the rocks."
Lewis and Clark's first view of the Pacific
We toured the amazing Lewis and Clark exhibit. It was very hands-on and the lay-out was easy to follow. (I'm very critical of museums, thanks to growing up in the free museum capital of the world. I'm so spoiled.) One thing struck me funny though, colonists had never seen grizzly bears, so one artist, after hearing about them from the expedition, painted one chasing a man up a tree. However, the bear looked exactly like a dog. A St. Bernard, perhaps.
*Young Bay Terminal Fishery Net Pen Project: We saw the pens in which salmon, such as coho and chinook, are raised and released.
Pens with many, many salmon
I FINALLY understood the difference between fisheries and fish farming. Fish farms raise their own fish and keep them in pens their whole lives, altering their genes slightly. They are not the same as wild salmon. Fisheries, on the other hand, raise fish and release them to the wild, allowing them to live out in the oceans for several years. This is an effort to increase the salmon population, especially for the purpose of human consumption. The salmon have the fishery's location imprinted in them and return when fully grown in order to spawn. Some are caught for food while others lay eggs and die. What struck me as peculiar was the fact that the fishery advertise their fish as "wild" in the markets. Is this honest? Yes, they do go out to sea and eat wildlife, but they are born in captivity, eating ground-up fish meal. The workers told me the fish meal is "natural" and is the same thing they'd eat in the wild, and they are released as healthy fish. I have my doubts though...the fish meal is fortified with extra vitamins real wild salmon don't necessarily receive when born in the wild.
*Cannon Beach: We ate lunch at the exact same place a law case, Thornton v. Hay, fought over.
Site of landmark case
We were finally able to see the Pacific Ocean! I've seen it before, but it's always quite a sight to behold. I also noted more this time the difference between the Atlantic and the Pacific--the Atlantic is much calmer and rolls on like a kind grandfather--constant, usually hitting the same places during low tide and high tide. The Pacific--goodness knows where it will hit. You can stand in one spot, feeling dry and happy as a lark, and the next thing you know, you are submerged in water. It just comes without any warning and is quite unpredictable. My pants got wet. Jessica's pants also got wet, but she was quite thrilled about it--she was covered with water of the Pacific, equalling a baptism for her as a marine biologist. She is also obsessed with salmon. There were times I worried she'd throw herself into the ocean and try to make friends with the salmon. Just kidding! Sort of... I think I have the same sort of love for the woods, the mountains. Greenery is where my heart has made its home, and when I leave the forest again, my heart breaks all over again. Anyway, Cannon Beach was spectacular. There was a huge boulder in the middle of the water, looking like some abandoned martian space craft.
After Cannon Beach, we continued driving down South. I fell asleep and kept jerking myself awake almost the entire time, thanks to the previous night's sleep. My van group planned out a way to share the daily summary of events and lectures. (Each day, a different group summarized at the end of each day.) We came up with a dating show scenario. It was pretty funny, I thought. I played a tree-hugging, ultra feminist vegan, who writes poetry. The staff also surprised us with a trip to the Tilamook Cheese Factory! It was fun getting to see how cheese is made and processed. We all waved at the employees who were stadning around in aprons and plastic head coverings behind a glass wall. Some awkwardly waved back. And of course, we had to have their ice cream--it was cheap and absolutely delicious. I remember thinking to myself, "My god! This is so creamy!"
March 4, 2010
We had a writing lab in the morning and had to write about animals/plants we observed. I watched a frog and wrote:
He sits, green large-pupiled eyes bulging,
his throat heaving with each gulp of air,
sitting under the cool, slate rock,
refusing to be the idyllic frog
stereotype leaping from lily pad
to lily pad, catching flies with
his sticky tongue. Instead,
he sits. He is the rock on which
he was found. Arms curled beneath
his fleshy expanse of belly,
an angry Buddha figure.
Even the water's constant gurgle
Dares not disturb his
wide-awake slumber.
*Oregon Coast Aquarium: Oh...my...goodness! Best aquarium ever! Like the one at Mystic, it is both indoors and outdoors, but the layout feels much more natural. It flowed with the paths, with rocks and plants everywhere.
The aquarium was beautiful!
I also appreciated how the museum showcased everything native to the Pacific Northwest. Mystic has penguins and Steller Sea Lions--hm...I suppose the public needs to be educated about the diversity of marine life in all areas of the country. The Mystic Aquarium is good for that, but I thought locality was certainly a special feature of the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Some things I learned: Octopus have an intelligence comparable to those of house cats! They are the only invertebrates who have a normal sleep cycle. Flat-fish, such as halibut, look like any other fish when newly hatched, with eyes on both sides of their head. One eye begins migrating to the other side, and the fish begin leaning sideways as it swims. It settles on the bottom and both eyes are on one side of the head. The other side of its body becomes ivory white. I also thought to myself, "Jellyfish are so beautiful, even though they are just floating stomachs. They make me feel peaceful with their luminescent glow." A quote I found on the wall in the aquarium which spoke to me: "There is a rapture on the lonely shore/ There is society where none intrudes,/ By the deep sea, with music in its roar." --Lord Byron
*Sea Lion Caves: What's strange about this place is that if you want to get to the attraction, you have to pass through a gift ship, and if you want to leave the attraction, you have to leave by going through the same gift shop. The sight was absolutely INCREDIBLE though--one of the biggest sea caves in the world filled with a colony of hundreds of Steller Sea Lions, some floating together in packs as the waves washed roughly against them, pushing them in every direction imaginable. I cannot imagine what it's like to never have 100% firm footing. I suppose the closest comparison I can come up with is being on a ship, but even then, you some some control of where your body manages to stay. The sea lions submit to the power and will of the ocean, simply going with the tide, huddled together in gregarious packs. And there were also many sitting idly on the rocks: the bulls and their harems. They were constantly hit by the ocean's spray and swell. Sometimes they were completely covered by water, managing to still hold onto their respective rock. I had a silly thought cross through my mind: "Do sea lions ever get seasick?" Of course not. Hehe. We humans cast our own feelings onto animals a little too much sometimes.
Steller Sea Lions!
I was skeptical about the whole place initially, especially with its rather convenient gift ship, but it occurred to me that if the tourist attraction wasn't there, other humans might have trampled across the cave ages ago, eager to get a sight of the sea lions up close. If that had been the case, the sea lions might not have been here today. Also, it does help educate the public.. I found the signs rather outdated, but it was better than nothing. The sight of the sea lions take your breath away. However, I can't help but wonder why that land is private. Maybe it should have been designated as a national park, still protected from the ravages of humanity. Why do we have to pay for a sight that is natural? I mean, I understand paying for an aquarium ticket because they have to feed the animals themselves and maintain equipment, as well as provide water, but this was different. The sea lions are wild. They catch their own food while the private owners collect money so people can take a peek at them. Isn't that a bit strange? I kind of feel like it's a bit against what the U.S. stands for. We can see a Bald Eagle fly overhead without having to pay a single cent, right? Hm. Weird issue.
Heceta Lighthouse, supposedly the "most photographed lighthouse in the world," a view from the sea lion caves
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Argh. Again. I can't seem to finish this entry! Let's just say the PNW was a huuuge trip. I will update again ASAP!
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