Washington
and
Oregon

2007

Columbia River Valley

Photo taken from Washington, looking south to Oregon

    As a history teacher, I was particularly interested in viewing the Columbia River. It was in 1804, when Thomas Jefferson was president, that Lewis and Clark set off on their Corps of Discovery - to map out and quantify the lands of the Louisiana Purchase. They navigated the Missouri River, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and finally, followed the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean.

This was our first view of the Columbia River - the same river navigated by Lewis and Clark.

Of course, our journey would be immensely easier but none the less, I found it exciting to be following the same path as those earlier explorers.

The Columbia River marks the border between Washington and Oregon so technically many of the photos on the next few pages were taken from the Oregon side of the river - others from the Washington side. I'll try to note the location. In this case, we are about to make our first crossing into the town of Bigs, Oregon.