ASTORIA with LEWIS AND CLARK AUGUST 21, 2012

The drive north from Tillamook to Astoria took only a little over an hour or so to reach our park for the night, the Lewis and Clark RV Park. We drove through the darling town of Garibaldi where I would definitely like to spend some time. The museum I had planned to visit was closed that day so we continued along the coast. Lots of rocky formations right along the roadway like these with miniature forests growing on them. The drive was exquisite all the way, nothing but beautiful ocean views and wooded forests. Oregon, how can you have so much beauty in such a small space??????

 There was a kite festival going on just north of Astoria so many parks were already filled for the night.  When I called to inquire of this one, she had just had a cancellation and, boy, were we lucky!  The site had a fantastic view of the hills across a small golf course. The sky cleared with fantastic white clouds blowing across the sky.

Nearby was the Fort Clatsop Park where we spent the afternoon learning more about the Lewis and Clark adventures west.

Listened in on a talk about their life that winter at the fort and Lewis's amazing air pump rifle, an early gun that could do several repeated shots without reloading.

Astoria dates from the winter of 1805-1806 when the Lewis and Clark expedition camped at Fort Clatsop.  A replica of the original fort stands at the same location and even though it was late in the afternoon we had a chance to watch a video telling the story of the expedition and see several interpreters of history from the time.

Driving about 20 minutes south of Astoria is the seaside town of Seaside, so very much like an upscale Pismo Beach.   This was where the Lewis and Clark expedition set up a saltworks camp for several months before they began their return trip to St. Louis making 3 quarts to a gallon a day. Three men worked constantly using 5 brass kettles. The saltmakers boiled approximately 1,400 gallons of seawater over a few weeks producing three-and-a -half bushels of salt. 

 Right across the street form the saltworks site we saw these darling houses with painted shutters...lighthouses and lobsters.  Many of the houses in this area are weathered shingled homes very "east coast" style.

Paul is the early riser of the 2 of us, so coffee outside the next morning.

There was so much to see in the area including Fort Stevens, which provided military defense at the mouth of the Columbia River for 84 years. Its a huge park with over 500 campsites...and amazingly, the park was FULL! Being the last week of August made it very hard to find any campsite for us. 

We also took a look at the remains of this wreck, the Peter Iredale, from about 100 years ago. Columbia River Bar, where the Pacific meets the Columbia River, can be a navigational nightmare.  Since 1792, approximately 2,000 ships have sunk in this area, earning it the nickname "Graveyard of the Pacific".

 

 Then just time on the beach...

 We drove up to Coxcomb Hill, Oregon's highest point, to have a look at the Astoria Column.
The artwork circles around the column noting the important events in Astoria's history. If unwound the artwork would be 500' long.

So worth the drive to see it and get this wonderful view of the river valley below and a tiny peek at our campground.

 Next we wanted to checkout the riverfront walkway and got the parked just as the little Downtown Trolley stopped to pick up passengers. It's a restored 1913 trolley with seating for 40 passengers. The most fun was turning the seats when it got to the end of the line and needed to reverse directions. With a flip of a brass handle everyone turns their own seat to the forward position and off we went again.



Along the way we also learned about closure of the Bumble Bee Tuna Factory, one I had remembered from a family vacation 50 years ago! It's no longer in business but we saw the wharf and building where it once stood. Fun memories.

 The rest of the afternoon was spent soaking up the sun at the beach since we were leaving the coast and going inland.

Leaving Astoria later than we ever do, we were going to spend the night at the St. Helen's, OR Elks Lodge but changed our plan and ended up across the river into Washington state for the night.  Next destination: Katie and Paul Bauer's home east of Tacoma.