Fact: Shortly after boarding the S.S. Legacy in Portland, Oregon (on the inland Willamette River, mind you), I found myself wondering how long it would be before we saw our first whale. I knew, of course, that I was cruising on a river. I knew that whales aren’t found on this river. Such a thought was so silly that I was embarrassed to say it out loud when my husband asked what was so funny.
While the Columbia and Snake Rivers don’t have any of my favorite marine mammals, they do have plenty of others. Throughout our cruise, our guides were eager to point them out. Our first noticeable sightings were salmon and sturgeon as they made their way up the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam, followed shortly by numerous shrikes (these birds impale their prey!), American dippers (these birds fly underwater!), bighorn sheep (most commonly sighted by their big white butts), plenty of deer (always deer), coyotes (several spread out across the grasslands), pigeons (not very bright) and (gasp!) stalkers of pigeons: the golden eagle.
I’m a fan of birds of prey. Whether they’re eagles, hawks or owls (not so much vultures), I’m fascinated by their flawlessly graceful forms - especially while hunting. My kayaking group was treated to quite the show while paddling up the Palouse River when three golden eagles began harassing a flock of pigeons. The pigeons frantically flew this way and that while the eagles swooped along their outer edges until eventually, one of the pigeons broke their formation and found itself alone. Almost immediately, it was snatched out of the air and carried away while our group of onlookers watched in amazement.
Kayaking (Haley Rowell)
If only we’d had a British gentleman narrating the scene, it would have belonged on National Geographic.
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
2 days ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
2 days ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
1 week ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.