Clarkston, Washington was established in 1861, beginning  as a tent city, by miners and merchants, during the Idaho gold rush just to the north of today’s Pierce, Idaho. It soon became known as “Jawbone Flats,” and then it was named “Concord” by a Massachusetts backer. Today, we know the town as Clarkston, named after William Clark.

Lewiston, Idaho was also founded in 1861, just across the river from Clarkston and for the same reason: the gold rush. Lewiston, named after Meriwether Lewis, boasts a larger population; 31,000 compared to Clarkston’s 1,500. Lewiston’s economy is fueled by agriculture, paper products, timber, and has three large ammunition manufacturing plants. The town boasts a public undergraduate college, Lewis and Clark State College.

Today is Thursday, the sixth day of our fabulous cruise. Our morning starts out with two exciting excursions. One is the jet boat ride into Hells Canyon, aboard the River Quest, Captain Butch and deckhand Jeff, and the other is a daylong journey following Lewis and Clark through Nez Perce country paralleling the Clearwater River.

The jet boat ride starts from where the National Geographic Sea Bird is docked along the banks of the Snake River, then turns to the south for approximately 55 miles. The Snake River, named after the Shoshoni Indians (the snake eaters), was called Lewis’s River, named in his honor by William Clark. The geology, Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep, birds, and stunning vistas, surrounded us as we explored the deepest canyon in North America, which is a half-mile deeper than the Grand Canyon.

The Clearwater River excursion, led by Miguel, took us east in 1806, following closely the Expedition’s journey through Nez Perce country. After a lunch stop in Kamiah, Idaho, whose main street is part of the famous Nez Perce Trail, we continued our Lewis and Clark experience following the Corps of Discovery’s 1805 route back to the confluence of the Clearwater into the Snake.

The day’s adventures ended with a visit to the Nez Perce Interpretive Center in Spalding, Idaho.