Perhaps you’ve heard of a duo named Meriwether Lewis and William Clark?

Maybe not.

Growing up in Montana, my teachers probably spent more time than normal discussing the Corps of Discovery - the famed Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-1806) which saw a band of 33 men cross the newly acquired western United States to the Pacific Ocean …

I heard it straight from a Portland native’s mouth: everything seen on Portlandia is true. Slightly exaggerated at times, but most certainly true. I’ve long heard rumors about this quirky coastal city but didn’t quite know the extent of it.

Fact: Portland’s biggest tourist attraction used to be Powell’s City of Books …

Boarding the S.S. Legacy in Portland felt a little like stepping back in time. Despite being recently refurbished, the Legacy was designed with history in mind. The stunning replica of an early Victorian steamer, I marveled at the woodwork and details as I first wandered around to gain my bearings.

From her carved wooden bar in the main common …

If you know where to hike in Missoula, Montana, you’ll occasionally find yourself standing over several markers which indicate the high-water level of what was one Glacial Lake Missoula. Standing on top of Missoula’s peaks, it’s hard to imagine that once upon a time you would be standing on an island and everything you see below …

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 …

As it turns out, I’m not much of a wine connoisseur. I enjoy the occasional glass with dinner but tend to judge my wine with the following criteria: red or white, good or bad.

When I realized there would be two afternoons of wine tasting in our itinerary, I wasn’t sure what I thought. Wine… eh. However, UnCruise made the wine …

Today, the Columbia and Snake rivers look significantly different than they would have 200 years ago. Both used to churn with cascades and rapids and danger could often be found around every turn. I imagine that most of both rivers would be largely unrecognizable to Lewis and Clark if they able to see them now: wide… still…. dammed 8 …

Even though I love being in and around water, whitewater rafting is not generally my forte (something about freezing water, rocks that threaten to toss you overboard and swells that want to swallow you whole). Nevertheless, when in Oregon…

UnCruise teams up with a local company called River Drifters for a day rafting the Deschutes. The …