Northwest: Tracking Lewis & Clark, by train and Columbia River cruise
The SS Legacy waits for water to lower as it sits in the Bonneville Lock on the Columbia River on June 4, 2014.
If you want an old-school journey like Lewis & Clark’s (OK, not that old school), Uncommon Journeys offers four summer trips to the Northwest that combine travel on a vintage train and sailing on a replica steamer ship.
The journey, called In the Path of Lewis & Clark, takes 11 days and visits Mount St. Helens in Washington, Astoria in Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge, among other points. The idea is to experience some of the 19th-century wonder that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark encountered during their expedition.
The trip begins in Emeryville, Calif., where participants board the private train the Great Western Limited. You’ll enjoy Pullman sleeping cars and meals cooked by a personal chef on the trip to Portland, Ore.
The train has a “vista dome” or view car that allows you to take in the scenery as you travel north and through the Cascades. (Free connecting train service from other California cities if you reserve by May 15.)
After a welcome dinner in Portland and a stay at the historic Hotel Multnomah (now the Embassy Suites Portland-Downtown), you board the SS Legacy for a seven-night cruise that sails on the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers.
Stops on the Washington-Oregon border include Stevenson, Pendleton, Maryhill, the Bonneville Dam and on to Lewiston, Idaho, before returning to Portland.
Trips run June 18 to 27, July 16 to 25, Aug. 13 to 22 and Sept. 9 to 19. Prices start at $4,895 per person, based on double occupancy.
Info: Uncommon Journeys, (800) 323-5893
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