Voyage of a Summer Sun: Canoeing the Columbia River

On June 17, 1991, Cody launched his 16-foot, 47-pound Kevlar canoe on Columbia Lake, high in the Canadian Rockies. Eighty-two days later, he beached the canoe at Astoria, Ore., completing his voyage on the Columbia River. Cody (Ricochet River) gives a sparkling account of his adventure, interweaving historical detail and natural history with childhood memories of the river. Despite its 14 dams, the Columbia has formidable rapids; its huge reservoirs, buffeted by strong winds, present a hazard to small craft. Day 39 found Cody at Grand Coulee Dam, his halfway point. There he visited an elderly couple who had observed the construction of the dam. As he passed the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, he was startled to see abundant wildlife on the nation's most hazardous nuclear waste dump. Cody notes that in two generations, the Columbia has been shackled and turned to human use; his journey was, in part, to observe both the natural and man-made systems. Readers interested in nature will find this irresistible. Illustrations. Author tour. (Mar.)