HELL'S CANYON JET BOAT EXPEDITION!

I grew up back in the last century, in a very conservative family, where profanity was not tolerated.  The only time I heard the word "hell" was when the preacher at church mentioned it in his sermons, and even then, it caused my mother's eyes to widen---fearful I would start using the word regularly in my conversation.  However, for someone who grew up on the border of Washington and Idaho, along the Snake River, they have probably become desensitized to the word, because they have heard the name "Hell's Canyon" all their lives!  These souvenir glasses that say "Beamers Hells Canyon Tours" would not have been a good choice for my parents!

Likewise, a tee shirt I saw in the Beamer's gift shop, referencing the popularity of their location, would not have been suitable attire in the home where I grew up!

However, my father DID love boats, and enjoyed going fast, then turning the boat quickly to scare his family----so I think he would have also enjoyed a jet boat ride down the Snake River on a VERY fast boat, that made VERY quick turns!  A photo of the jet boat I was on, is shown below:

Some of the guests who ride the jet boat are doing so as a "side excursion" from their inland-waters cruise ship, that docks just steps from the Beamers Dock, in Clarkston, Washington:

The day that I took the jet boat tour, the cruise ship was preparing to depart, so all the guests on the Beamers boat, were tourists like me, who drove their car to the access point:

The body of water we are on is the Snake River, and is part of a federal government designated National Recreation Area, made up of 652,000 acres, so you might say its human population density per square mile is very low!!  I have visited similar "waterfront" property locations around the world, where every square inch of the surrounding hillsides are covered with houses, but that is not the case along this stretch of the Snake River!

I have read that Hell's Canyon has the deepest gorge in North America, but I am glad I am not the one in charge of making the measurements to determine if it is a true statement!

The boat I was on, traveled over 30 miles on the river,  passing through soaring canyon walls, as shown in photo above.

One
of the two stops we made on our jet boat expedition, was at an official Visitors Center of the Hells Canyon Recreation Area.  It had a nice dock to moor our boat, and also a small beach where visitors could swim and wade, if desired:

The Visitor's Center had several exhibits, with artifacts, and accompanying explanations, that told about the history, geology, and culture of this expansive National Recreation Area. 

This river map is helpful because it shows mileage on the far right side; however, it can be a bit confusing because "SOUTH" is at the top of the map, and "NORTH" is at the bottom of the map.  One thing you can see on the map, is that there is a certain point on the river, where the corners of the three states---Idaho, Oregon, and Washington---all come together.

When we were back on the river, our guide told us that this yurt is the "landmark" they use to tell guests, they are currently traveling over that part of the river where the three states have adjoining borders.  Of course,  there were no markers in the middle of the river with such a designation!  (Unlike the "Four Corners" landmark designation, marking the point of land where the 4 Southwestern  states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah come together.)   Notice there are no roads providing access to this yurt, so I am assuming the access for its owners to visit it, is from the river.

This swim beach we passed by also is self-limiting, because there were no roads leading to it.  

However, we did go through one part of the river that was beside a paved road, and as you can see from the number of cars, visitors without boats were making good use of the opportunity to enjoy some waterside recreation.

Rafting the river is a popular activity, and there are several commercial outfitters who provide such trips.  These folks were all waving at our jet boat as we zoomed past them.
 

When we arrived at the dock that provided access to our lunch location, we were able to get a close-up look at the famous U.S. Mail boat that Beamers operates.  For more than 100 years (they started in 1919), Beamers has operated what they call "The best mail route in the world!", as they deliver mail along the Snake River of Hells Canyon.  Guests can purchase tickets to ride along on the mail boat, as well as the regular tourist boat.  Note the boat also shows their website. 

The photo below, shows what the facility looks like from the river, where we were scheduled to have our lunch, which was included in the price of our ticket.

The photo below shows the upper story of the building, which has windows that look out onto the river.  The bottom floor has a gift shop and clean restrooms, which were a welcome sight, after a long and bumpy ride on the river!

One of the reasons this area receives protection from the federal government is because of its unusual and diverse geological features, and rich geologic history.  The photo below shows an example of columnar basalt: 

 

The climate of the Hells Canyon Recreation Area is sometimes nicknamed "The Banana Belt", because its very low elevation provides mild temperatures, in spite of being north of the 45th parallel.  The abundance of apples growing on this tree along the river indicates there will soon be a plentiful harvest of some delicious fruit.  I am using this image as the visual aid to help me learn my First Place 4 Health ( www.FirstPlace4Health.com ) memory verse that says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into this harvest field."  Luke 10:2

Even though it is a paradox of words, this expedition in Hell's Canyon, was "heavenly", in terms of being able to enjoy another beautiful part of the God's Great Outdoors!  The photo below showing me with a "thumbs up", on the back of the Beamer's Jet Boat, shows I was a very happy customer!   It was an expedition that gave me numerous "RIVER MILES OF SMILES"!  Tricia