Note: This is definitely a preliminary plan, as Santana has never done this trip before. That’s why they’re called “Santana Adventures.” We know they’ve already changed some stuff, but we won’t know what until we get there. Credit to Bill McCready, one of our fearless readers, for some of the wording below.
Day 1: A pre-embarkation ride through “the trendy side of Portland,” crosses into Vancouver, Washington, where we will board the American Empress. We’ll have a wine-sampling reception on the open aft deck as we cruise the Columbia and Willamette Rivers through the center of downtown Portland with six lift-, swing-, and draw-bridges.
Day 2: After cruising overnight down the Columbia, we’ll ride the final miles of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to reach the Pacific shore. We’ll ride the Pacific Coast Highway to Astoria, Oregon—the American west’s oldest settlement.
Day 3: We wake up at the foot of Mount St. Helens. We will ride the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway to visit the Mount St. Helen’s Visitor’s Center.
Days 4&5: We will spend these days in the Columbia Gorge, riding bike paths and parts of the Columbia Gorge Scenic Parkway. We’ll catch many of the gorge’s famous attractions including Bonneville Dam and fish ladder, The Dalles and Hood River Valley.
Day 6: We will pass through the Cascades, an otherwise unbroken range of mountains from California to British Columbia. From forests to desert in a day. We’ll visit Pendleton, a wild-west town famous for its cowboy heritage, subterranean Chinatown, rodeo and woolen mills. After re-boarding for the day, we will turn onto the Snake River and climb through four locks to reach Idaho.
Day 7: We will “race” the Empress upriver to the twin towns of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington. We’re told that because the boat will have to pass through the slow Lock at Old Granite Dam, we’re sure to “win,” and have time to tour the towns.
Day 1: A pre-embarkation ride through “the trendy side of Portland,” crosses into Vancouver, Washington, where we will board the American Empress. We’ll have a wine-sampling reception on the open aft deck as we cruise the Columbia and Willamette Rivers through the center of downtown Portland with six lift-, swing-, and draw-bridges.
Day 2: After cruising overnight down the Columbia, we’ll ride the final miles of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to reach the Pacific shore. We’ll ride the Pacific Coast Highway to Astoria, Oregon—the American west’s oldest settlement.
Day 3: We wake up at the foot of Mount St. Helens. We will ride the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway to visit the Mount St. Helen’s Visitor’s Center.
Days 4&5: We will spend these days in the Columbia Gorge, riding bike paths and parts of the Columbia Gorge Scenic Parkway. We’ll catch many of the gorge’s famous attractions including Bonneville Dam and fish ladder, The Dalles and Hood River Valley.
Day 6: We will pass through the Cascades, an otherwise unbroken range of mountains from California to British Columbia. From forests to desert in a day. We’ll visit Pendleton, a wild-west town famous for its cowboy heritage, subterranean Chinatown, rodeo and woolen mills. After re-boarding for the day, we will turn onto the Snake River and climb through four locks to reach Idaho.
Day 7: We will “race” the Empress upriver to the twin towns of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington. We’re told that because the boat will have to pass through the slow Lock at Old Granite Dam, we’re sure to “win,” and have time to tour the towns.