The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center is located on a cliff overlooking Waikiki Beach (same name, different beach) on the site of old Fort Canby (literately). When you walk out of Interpretive Center back door, you are looking down on an old Fort Canby gun battery. From the Interpretive Center it is just a short hike to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, which began operation in 1856 and is now the oldest Lighthouse still in use on the US West Coast. The lighthouse is not open for public tours.
The North Head Lighthouse was constructed in 1898, not far from the Interpretive Center because ships coming down the coast from the north could not see the lighthouse at Cape Disappointment. There were so many shipwrecks around the mouth of the Columbia River that this area became known as "The Graveyard of the Pacific." The North Head Lighthouse is open for public tours and the public can stay in the lighthouse keeper's residence that is now operated as a vacation rental.
Continuing around the State Park on Highway 100 from North Head lighthouse is Beards Hollow (once part of an ocean inlet, but now a wetlands due to shifting sand that blocked the inlet), and the Ilwaco Veterans Memorial.
Ole Bob's Seafood Market & Galley is located on the Port of Ilwaco waterfront and serves some of the best clam chowder that I have ever eaten. It is nice to set at the outside tables and watch the boats in the harbor. We also stopped by the Ilwaco Heritage Museum, but it was closed.
If you would like to stay in a hospital without being a patient, you need to make reservations at Fort Columbia State Park. The Fort contains a number of buildings and gun batteries and you can stay in the old Fort hospital or the Hospital Steward's House that are now operated as vacation rentals. However, most people stop by the Fort to see the two six-inch canons because there are only four other similar six-inch cannons that exist in the world today. Self-guided tours of the Fort are available from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
From November 15-24 the Corps of Discovery stayed at Station Camp and explored the area for a possible winter camp site, but ended up taking the Chinook Indian's advice and built their winter camp on the south side of the Columbia river. In later years, Station Camp was used by settlers for a variety of activities.
Before arriving at Station Camp, the Corps had been trapped at Dismal Nitch for six days in a severe winter storm. The current highway is squeezed between the Nitch and ocean, so there is no way to stop for a picture; but there is an information kiosk located as short distance to the east.
The Columbia River is 4.1 miles wide where it enters the Pacific Ocean, but the journey across the river can now be made in a few minutes using the Highway 101 Astoria-Megler Bridge. The Bridge opened in 1966 and contains the longest continuous three-span through-truss in the world.
After Lewis and Clark crossed the Columbia River they established Fort Clatsop, where they stayed until the spring of 1906. The National Park Service has now constructed a visitor center and a reconstructed Fort.
Fort Stevens Historic Area is located to the north and near the northwest point of Oregon. The 4,300 acre site is now a state park with many abandoned buildings, gun batteries, hiking trails, beaches, ship wrecks, and other activities. A Japanese Peace Memorial is located by the Park entrance near Russell Battery.
Most of the Peter Iredale wreck has deteriorated and been washed away, but a small portion of the bow is still intact on the beach.
On June 21, 1942, a Japanese submarine fired 17 shells at Fort Stevens, which was the only hostile shelling of a military base on the U.S. Mainland during World War II and the first since the war of 1812.
After following a winding road to the top of Astoria Column Park Hill, we discovered that the Observation Tower was completely wrapped in plastic and not open to the public. Apparently, the tower is being cleaned and renovated. We still had a nice view from the top of the hill.
Everyone that visits Astoria has to ride the waterfront trolley. The trolley starts on the east end of the waterfront at Pier 39, which is also the location of the historic Hanthorn Cannery Museum, Fisherman's Suites (hotel), and food/beverage establishments. The cannery produced Bumble Bee Brand seafood products, which brought back many memories from when we used to get canned Bumble Bee products.
The Columbia River Maritime Museum is the main attraction in Astoria, which includes a lightship tour. From this location you can also take a riverboat cruise up the Columbia River.
No comments:
Post a Comment