20260604 ACL Encore Columbia-Snake River Cruise - Day 3/10 Kalama, WA and Mount St. Helens

American Cruise Lines Encore - Columbia and Snake River Cruise Day 3/10 – No Kalama-ty on Mount St. Helens

*BEEEEEEEP* ***FLASH****

That's what we awoke to at 5:30 this morning. One loud beep and a blinding flash in the stateroom. About a minute later, "♩Bong Bong Bong♩ - Ignore the alarm." Nice.

At breakfast, a server told us that happened yesterday morning as well. It appears that the design of the ship is slightly flawed. Apparently, if someone takes a long shower and doesn't turn on the exhaust fan in the bathroom, when they exit the bathroom, the humidity escapes all at once and triggers the smoke alarm. Someone didn't think this through too well. We shall see if this continues to be an issue.

We will spend today in and around Kalama, Washington. The town is named for John Kalama. He pronounced his name, ka-LA-ma, where the "la" sounds similar to the sound in the word "clot". Oddly enough, the town is known as ka-LAA-ma, where the "la" sounds like the sound in "lamb". After asking, it seems that it is fine to pronounce it either way - it's more a matter of accent. Weird.

We met Ann and Dave for breakfast at the Restaurant before walking ashore and exploring a bit. The morning announcement reminded us that every morning, we need to open the website and select our lunch and dinner. It's not a mandatory thing, but by doing so, it helps them minimize food waste.

 Speaking of the Restaurant, as we left, we noticed this item that we hope to not use on this journey.

I am sure not interested in crawling down through the emergency exit on the floor of the Restaurant

After breakfast, we walked off the ship for a little walk around the port area.

A large totem pole with our ship as a backdrop

A smaller totem pole as well

The Interpretive Center - a small history museum

A 200-year-old, 1,120-pound anchor found at the bottom of the Columbia River

The 1917 Spokane, Portland and Seattle (SP&S) 539 steam locomotive

Ford Model AA stake-bed truck, a heavy-duty commercial hauler

Looking down the Columbia River

Google Maps showed a "Tourist Attraction", so we walked and found it

It is a wood bench with a fish - my photo is exactly like the one in Google Maps, even with the same Port-a-Potty

Arlona spotted an eagle coming in to land on the shore quite close to us

We noticed why - a very nice fish

A noisy crow was squaking at the eagle - the eagle never even flinched

Tastes like chicken

Its presumed partner was standing nearby

As we walked back, we caught nice views of the Encore

Our next stop was the MountainTimber Market - a collection of small, local shops

A highlight was the 140-foot Lelooska Totem Pole

Suspended above the market, it spans nearly the entire building

We made the short walk back to the ship. Even though the lunch menu looked fantastic, we opted to skip it. Lunch started at 11:00 to accommodate the 120 guests departing at 12:30 for Mount Saint Helens. Since we had breakfast at 9:00, we weren't hungry. We grabbed a couple of small snacks for the road from the Sky Lounge to take with us on the bus tour.

Even though we didn't eat it, here's a look at the lunch menu.

Pacific Northwest Pink Bay Shrimp & Spaghetti - Spaghetti tossed with Sautéed Shrimp, Diced Ham, Green Peas, and Alfredo Sauce.

Carando Prosciutto & Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin - Maple Butter-Glazed Patuxent Farms Pork with White Bean Purée & Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

Pacific Candied Coho Salmon Caesar Salad - Smoked Candied Coho on Romaine, with Garlic Brioche Croutons, Creamy Caesar Dressing, Savory Anchovies & Roseli Shaved Parmesan.

While we were in the room, waiting to get called for the tour, the fire alarm went off again, immediately followed by another "Ignore the alarm" announcement. We're really hoping that this isn't a normal occurrence.

About 20 minutes ahead of schedule, they started calling guests to head to the bus for the Mt. Saint Helens tour. They called floor-by-floor, which helped reduce lines and crowding. As we left, we mentioned to the crew that we had no balcony dividers between our room and the two adjoining rooms. By the time we returned to the ship, they had corrected that issue. We made our way to the bus and set off for this afternoon's adventure.

After a relatively short ride, we arrived at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center.

We took a roughly half-mile loop walk along Silver Lake.

Foxglove was growing all along the path

We came across several garter snakes who were hanging out along the path

Phfffffft

We were a little disappointed as Mount St. Helens was hiding among the clouds - today was going to be a bust in terms of scenic views

As we stood there, we watched as the clouds slowly started lifting

Minute-by-minute, the view kept getting better

Perhaps today won't be a bust after all

We took one last look and got ready to continue on to the mountain

The amazing areas carved out by the avalanche and landslide created when the mountain exploded in 1980

As we got closer, the clouds continued parting

It's pretty amazing when you understand that more than 1,000 feet of the mountain blew away when it erupted in 1980

Arriving at the Coldwater Lake Center within the Mount St. Helens National Monument

The center

There was another walking path available, so we made the half-mile trek, taking in the views.

Finally, a nice, clear view of Mount St. Helens

It's hard to wrap your head around the fact that the landslide following the eruption raised the level of this valley between 100 and 200 feet

Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of birds in the area - we did spot this sparrow fluffing up on a stump

Coldwater Lake and Mount St. Helens

Arriving back at the Learning Center after our walk

They had a lovely porch out back for scenic photos

Another view of Coldwater Lake and Mount St. Helens on the right

Looking out across Coldwater Lake

With that, our visit to Mount St. Helens was done, and we made the 90-minute ride back to the Encore.

We got back in time for the nightly Happy Hour in the River Lounge. They had light appetizers, and, of course, an open bar. We sat with a few other guests and enjoyed nice conversation and cocktails before heading to dinner in the Restaurant.

Here is tonight's menu selection.

Dinner Appetizer

Tomato Basil Bisque

Iceberg Wedge Salad - Iceberg Lettuce, Bacon, Bleu Cheese, Red Onions, and Cherry Tomatoes, Drizzled with Bleu Cheese Dressing.

Dinner Entree

Pacific Harvest Ratatouille & Polenta (Vegetarian) - Creamy Polenta, Yellow Squash, Carrots, Zucchini, Eggplant, & Yellow Peppers with Garden Tomato Sauce.

Crab Stuffed King Salmon - Served with Jasmine Rice Pilaf, Seared Asparagus, and Citrus Beurre Blanc Sauce.

Pacific Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Breast - Served with Honey Kissed Risotto, Roasted Baby Carrots & Huckleberry Balsamic Glaze.

Washington Apple Cider-Brined Pork Chop - Beeler's Farm Pork Chop with Haricot Verts, Eagle Eye Farms Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Local Apple Relish.

Arlona enjoyed the pork chop, and I had the wonderful salmon. A couple from Sarasota joined us for dinner, and we had a wonderful time.

We got back to the room in time to catch most of the port talk about Astoria, Oregon, our destination tomorrow. We will sail tonight at midnight and dock tomorrow around 5:00 am. We will explore the Astoria Column and take a tour of Cape Disappointment State Park.