Lewis and Clark, a Sideways Volcano, and Cookie Time at 10 and 3

So yes, I'd heard about Lewis and Clark (that would be Meriwether Lewis and William Clark). And I vaguely knew that Thomas Jefferson had dispatched them to explore the Louisiana Purchase he had just acquired from France in 1803. But not until I took an American Cruise Lines expedition of our own along the Snake and Columbia rivers in the Pacific Northwest did I grasp the awe and reverence with which they viewed that new country. And the inspirational journey that unfolded.

Okay, there is so much more to any ACL adventure. On-board entertainment, activities and always exciting excursions. But please bear with me, because I became enthralled by the Lewis and Clark storyline. So that's where I'll begin.

It was considered the "moon launch of its day," because so little was known of the Pacific Northwest, and nothing at all about whether a water route to the Pacific existed. But the President didn't just want someone of courage to lead his expedition. He wanted medical knowledge, a botanist, a naturalist, an interpreter, someone who could navigate encounters with the Native nations along the route, a team leader and a good communicator. The Corps of Discovery, roughly 40 strong under Captains Lewis and Clark, kept in contact with the president across their many months away.

I still find that hard to fathom. It's only 1804.

They thought they might see a mastodon and encountered buffalo instead and elk and antelope and prairie dogs and wolves and bears, lots of beaver, of course, and vast varieties of birds. Everything was new. So many unknown plants, recorded and inscribed and sent back to Washington to be studied further. So many artifacts, botanical specimens, minerals, animals, foods, tribal customs. How they accomplished all that while still fighting to stay alive through multiple hardships remains inspirational today. Again, still only 1804.

From the Missouri River and eventually to the Columbia, they mapped the land, recorded its resources and interacted with a multitude of Indigenous tribes, often suffering through tumultuous weather, impossible travel conditions and, of course, periods of starvation and illness.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 was brought alive aboard the American Cruise Lines Pacific Northwest cruise.

Along the way they met up with a French Canadian fur trader, Toussaint Charbonneau, and his pregnant wife, Sacagawea. Her son, Jean Baptiste, became the youngest member of the Corps, and his Shoshone mother one of its most effective in intermingling with other tribes. Much to the surprise of Lewis and Clark, the peoples they encountered proved to be sophisticated traders and far superior navigators of the rivers. The captains had a lot to learn.

The ACL journey brought alive the hardships the Corps struggled against and the bravery and perseverance with which they carried out their mission. November 7, 1805 — eighteen months and 4,000 miles of arduous travel finally brought them within view of the long-sought Pacific. That they returned home triumphant is yet another miraculous part of the story.

There is little left to chance aboard American Cruise Lines cruises.

But I guess we should get back to the ship. Ours, not theirs. To maintain one's credibility as a travel writer, one tends to avoid superlatives, but an American Cruise Lines cruise makes that difficult. The entire staff (who are not allowed to accept gratuities) is nonetheless remarkably accommodating. How often do you request a drink an establishment doesn't carry and find it waiting for you the next night? So it was with my Fireball.

Need I remind you we were on a ship at the time? Just as an aside: this ship, which accommodates about 180 passengers, belongs to the only line offering small U.S.-built ships that cruise American rivers and coasts this way.

I'll throw in that there were a number of small glitches (trouble with TV reception, a less-than-hot shower) just to keep things in perspective.

But then there's the food.

So we might as well discuss mealtimes aboard the American Harmony. Mealtime may be the more applicable word, because you can literally eat 24/7. There's an Early Riser breakfast before the dining room breakfast. There's a pretty much all-day café in the Sky Lounge bracketing the more formal lunches and dinners. Cookie time at 10 and 3 provides obviously very necessary sustenance in between. One would think the cocktail hour and hors d'oeuvres before dinner might interfere with the more than generous dinner options, but of course that doesn't happen — and an hour later, no one skimps on the open bar, ice cream treats and popcorn that accompany the evening entertainment. Did I mention that snacks and beverages are available 24/7?

Rest assured there's a Fitness Room to counter all those calories, but seriously, no one goes there. The saving grace? All meals come in half-portions, which are themselves more than sufficient in this close-to-five-star restaurant.

And should you wish to stay on board (few people do, no matter their disabilities) ship activities abound. Daily lectures, interactive games galore, guest speakers, music and multiple places to get away from it all, to drink, read, isolate, socialize or just ponder life.

A sample game? Two Truths and a Lie. Guests fill out a form listing two truths about themselves and a falsehood, and the rest of us vote on which is the lie. Some of the more interesting offerings: former Rose Bowl Queen; exotic dancer in college; met Buzz Aldrin and Alan Shepard; married two and a half times; had a starring role in 16 adult films; lives in Brooklyn (okay, not all the answers evoked interest). And of course, much of the fun lay in discovering what was true and what was not. Not always predictable.

Another delight was watching fellow passengers compete in the Not-So-Newlywed Game, a not-so-subtle reference to the age range on the ship. Everyone in the audience could relate — as they surreptitiously supplied their own answers.

As immersive as the Lewis and Clark adventure was, another excursion — reached from Kalama — to Mount St. Helens brought its own sense of wonder. The eruption of May 18, 1980 remains the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history, decimating the area for miles around.

The eruption of Mount St. Helens is one of science's lasting extravaganzas.

Unlike most volcanoes, Mount St. Helens blew sideways. A lateral blast out of its collapsing north flank rather than straight up made its impact all the more consequential, flattening life and land across some 230 square miles. 57 people were killed, and 200 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railway and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche, triggered by an earthquake, reduced the mountain's elevation from 9,677 to 8,363 feet. Lakes, glaciers, landslides, lava domes, craters, heat, ash, gas. All of it flourished beyond the eruption.

But here's the amazing reality. From absolute nothingness emerged an entirely new landscape. And it happened in just 45 years. Experts have been studying Mount St. Helens for decades, and for good reason. It's a geological extravaganza.

Our exciting journey ended in Clarkston, Washington, directly across the river from Lewiston, Idaho.

Seems we had come full circle.

How fitting.