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Cruise West Columbia River Reviews: Spirit of Columbia

July 21, 2006

The Columbia River meets Microsoft

I love the Columbia River. From 1994-1997, I served as Captain aboard the Spirit of Columbia - which was on full-time assignment on our Columbia/Snake River cruises. While there, I became fascinated by the history of the river. From The Great Floods, to the history of early man, the exploration of Lewis & Clark and most recently, the taming of the river through the locks and dams that have been built - it all intrigues me.

A lifelong dream of mine, is to follow the Columbia River all the way to it's source in Canada. In the meantime, I continue to follow the news and issues of the rivers. Recently, the Seattle Times published an article about how Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google are building massive server buildings along the river. They are doing this to take advantage of the inexpensive hydroelectricity that these massive dams supply. The fact that the internet has become so vital to Americans that companies like Microsoft and Google are taking advantage of the power generated by the mighty Columbia to build bigger servers is mind boggling to me. I wonder what Lewis & Clark or even Roosevelt would think about this?

There's no doubt that the river is a crucial to the economy of the region. The waterways are filled with barges moving supplies to the interior of the northwest, nearly half of all hydroelectricity in the US is generated by this river system and the water from the river is used to irrigate many of the farms along these fertile lands. Washington's wine country, apples, potatoes, asparagus, cherries, hops, pears and other crops all benefit from this endless supply. Of course, where there is gain, there's loss. The once abundant salmon are now near extinction and there is an ongoing effort to breach the dams in order to allow the salmon to repopulate.

I found a fantastic article at the National Geographic website that I thought was worth sharing. The article, A River Dammed written by Fen Montaigne and photographed by Jim Richardson explores these issues and offers wonderful interactive features, including audio interviews with the photographer and a map that does a great job of explaining the river system.

Where do I stand on the issues? Squarely in the middle. After spending three years on the river, absorbing the history, and witnessing the power and life that the river supplies to our economy, I remain undecided. What I know for sure is that the river is life - past, present and future. The cruise is wonderful and a great way to learn about the history, get to know the people who's livelihood depends upon the river, follow the waterways of great explorers and gain a better understanding of the issues. If you've traveled with us on the river, I'd love to hear from you. Was there a particular part of the experience that really spoke to you? How would you describe the complexities of the river to someone who's never seen it?