After surviving the harrowing drive through Seattle in the pouring rain dragging a trailer, we were very happy to see Astoria, Oregon. This is the town named for Jacob Astor - New York financier who backed the first fur trading company in Oregon in 1811. Thus, Astoria will be celebrating its bicentennial next year. Astoria is an interesting town at the mouth of the Columbia River, one of the great rivers of the West. A strong component of the Astoria economy is the shipping industry coming up and down the Columbia River to and from the Pacific Ocean.
One of the reasons the Columbia River wasn't discovered earlier by Europeans was a tremendous shifting sand bar blocking the entrance. This "Bar" is caused by the force of the Columbia emptying into the Pacific. Robert Gray (the discoverer, waited 9 days for the waves to calm down before he would attempt passage). Even today - every ship that enters or exits the Columbia River from wherever (Japan, China, Venezuela, etc.) is piloted by a specialty pilot whose only job is to navigate the "Bar". There are 24 of these individuals. There was an amazing story and film about them at the Columbia Maritime Museum. These specialty pilots are actually brought out to the giant ships in little tenders, then the pilots climb up the side of a ship on a rope ladder, do their job, climb down the rope ladder -but then grab a rope and SWING onto the little bobbing tender boat alongside the ship. The waves during storms can top 40 feet at the Bar. Shipping doesn't stop for Mother Nature.
Astoria is an interesting town. We went through downtown and were transported back to 1955. I haven't seen a downtown for about 40 years that still has its major box stores with downtown locations. The J. C. Penney still has the same sign that was erected in the 1950s. This is a working town, and the downtown reflects that. Sure, there are some fru-fru tourist shops, but the stores serving the basic shopping needs of the general populations are still thriving in Astoria's downtown.
We visited the 'mouth' of the Columbia and got to take a long bike ride on a paved trail inside Fort Stevens park. In the park you can see where the Columbia meets the Pacific and they have the remains of a ship (not a boat - but a big ship) that the Bar claimed. The hull is still visible in the park, and some things salvaged from that boat are on display at the Maritime Museum. The Maritime Museum was great. It is filled with life size boats as well as miniatures of famous ships. There was scrimshaw and lots of interesting hands on presentations concerning the shipping industry past and present.
This is also Lewis and Clark country, and we got to visit Fort Clatsop. This is a replica built according to Clark's single sheet of paper that laid out a double block of buildings with numbers written around the edge of the rectangles showing what the dimensions of the rooms would be. They were not generous. However, I'm sure those small log rooms felt like the Waldorf because the Corps of Discovery could finally get out of the cold rain and snow. Clatsop is the name of the Indians who lived here during Lewis and Clark's time on the Northwest coast, and the fort (very liberal use of that concept as you can see from the pictures) was named in the tribe's honor.
Today, we headed farther down the Oregon coast. This is a gorgeous place, and we got really lucky to have a brilliantly sunny day. You can see from the pictures how lovely this coastline is. Lots of the rocks out in the ocean are actually runs of lava into the sea from a huge volcano that erupted in EASTERN Oregon millions of years ago. That lava creates some interesting scenery. It even created cobblestones on some of the beaches. When the waves crash in, the cobblestones rattles against one another creating a clatter that kind of sounds like applause. I think the applause is well deserved.
We visited two lighthouses today. Those long lava flows combined with the large storms the Pacific Ocean can generate make this a treacherous coast. Many of the lighthouses are not just quaint little remnants of the 19th century. They are still used today by small boats and large ships. There's still a lot of fishing here, and those lighthouses have saved many a boat.
Another attraction that we visited today was the Oregon Coastal Aquarium. It was a very pleasant surprise with faux tidal pools filled with starfish, sea anemones, and sea cucumbers. They had an aviary of seabirds as well as sea lions, sea otters, and a giant octopus. Strangely, they also presented a 'swamp exhibit' that would have been right at home in New Orleans - complete with a pair of alligators. I thought when they stuck with their local fauna, they were more successful. I got some interesting pictures of jellyfish and some other exotics. Another eye opener was an exhibit about the dangers of plastic contaminating the oceans all over the world. They created art pieces from pieces of plastic taken out of the ocean - very disturbing facts about how much is floating out there and how not only are the fish, birds and animals being affected, but this stuff is entering the food chain as well as fouling reefs. There is an estimated 11 million tons of plastic in the Pacific Ocean and increasing daily. Frankly, it was shocking and thought provoking about how casual we are about using and discarding plastic.
We're following a twisty road that generally follows the seacoast. The cliffs covered with fir trees come right down to the beach in most areas. It's a great compromise vacation spot if you can't decide between the beach or the mountains. We also saw a colony of sea lions - close to 1000 laying on the beach and swimming in the ocean today. We ate lunch at Yaquina Bay and were treated to the antics of a pair of sea otters. Another odd thing we saw is a hang gliding cliff - including a marker for Dick Gammon, a hang gliding pioneer. I just hope it wasn't his grave stone. I wonder how anyone manages to step off a cliff with a flimsy pair of nylon wings. We also visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory - which is situated in a beautiful valley filled with dairies. The valley is so flat that a giant river runs though it and looks like a big drainage ditch - almost no current movement. Having just seen the violent ocean all day long, this sluggish river was startling.
There is a string of towns along the coast, and I'm very amused to see who's being catered to in the various towns. Are you wealthy, a wine connoisseur, and an art appreciator? Well, head for Cannon Beach because that's your town. Have a couple of kids, need a clean reasonably priced place to stay with enough souvenir shops to amuse the kids? Your destination is Lincoln City. Are you an aging hippy who is into the eco movement? Yachuts is your vacation destination. Of course, all the scenery is equal. Although the Cannon Beach does have The Haystack - a monstrous rock that looks like......... Honestly, have you ever noticed how uncreative people can be when they name things?
This road trip has started off with a bang. We have anticipated it for over a month now as the weather worsened in Washington - we were victims of La Nina - and they are expecting big time snow up there this winter. It was kicked off with 3 inches of snow on Thanksgiving Day - the culmination of 90 hours of below freezing temperatures. That weather was 30 degrees below normal. I did learn something interesting about Washington - it doesn't rain all the time. In fact, if you can situate yourself in the Olympic Mountains shadow, it may be overcast or partly cloudy a lot, but it just doesn't rain continually like we southwest types thought. I liked the climate - it was restful, and when, sunny - sublime.
I took a bunch of pictures as usual, so I thought I'd let the Oregon coastline speak mostly for itself. Here's the website: http://picasaweb.google.com/jalyss1/2010OregonCoastalDrive?authkey=Gv1sRgCNe4gIa3z9zfZA#
