Fort Clatsop and the Columbia River Maritime Museum
Astoria, Oregon: All my weather bragging
yesterday jumped up and bit me. It is hot in
Astoria! (Okay, not
106 (!!!) hot like we are getting at home, but
high-80's hot.) The RV park owners actually
apologized to me for the weather. Too funny...
but Astorians think of 80's as a virtual heat
wave. Don't you just love Oregon? It really was
pretty hot today... but since my little desktop icon
says it is sizzling at my house, I will just shut-up
and post a few photos.
Our day started at the
Lewis & Clark National Historic Park, site of
Fort Clatsop where the
Corp of Discovery, ordered by President Thomas
Jefferson, wintered-over in 1805-06 after reaching
the Pacific Ocean. Lewis & Clark National Historic
Park actually encompasses several different parks
and historic sites along the Washington and Oregon
coasts.
Lewis & Clark National Historic Site Visitor Center
Educational displays inside the Visitor Center
In
1980, the Fort Clatsop Historical Society commissioned artist Stanley
Wanlass to create this beautiful bronze commemorating Lewis & Clark reaching
the Pacific. The statue is the show-piece of the museum - along with an
original "Bartering Blue Beads for Otter Robes" by Newman Myrah.
After a tour through the Visitor
Center, we followed the short path to (the
re-creation of) Fort Clatsop.
Fort Clatsop
Inside the fort, looking out. The rooms served as living quarters for the
Corp of Discovery.
There are several trails in the historic site - this one follows the Lewis &
Clark River
Wild berries growing along the path
Beautiful ferns carpet the forest floor
Dugout canoe exhibit at the
Lewis & Clark National Historic Site
Raised path from the fort re-creation to the river bank
I don't know if you know this... but I just love Thomas
Jefferson. (Who doesn't?) Very early in life, I decided Jefferson must be
the most intelligent, forward-thinking and interesting men the world
has yet produced (this is before I met DT, of course). For some reason, the
way his mind worked just intrigues me. Maybe this is why I am so interested
in the Corp of Discovery and have now followed nearly every mile of their
route. Just imagine having the brains to conceive this expedition? (This is
equally impressive to the fact that men actually agreed to go.) Is America
great, or what?
After all this exploring, we needed lunch. If you are in Astoria, there is
one place you need to go -
Bowpicker Fish & Chips
(17th St. & Duane St. Astoria, Oregon). Situated in an old Columbia River
fishing boat - now land-locked on a hill above the Columbia River Maritime
Museum - the Bowpicker serves Albacore tuna fish & chips and nothing else.
Bowpicker Fish & Chips
The complete menu
Albacore Tuna Fish & Chips from the Bowpicker in Astoria, Oregon
DT and I split a whole order of five pieces with fries and
we each had a bottle of water. $11 lunch for two. Such a deal. The fish is
incredibly firm and not "fishy" at all. Crisp on the outside too. I didn't
try the fries... but they looked delicious, though I did see many frozen fry
boxes outside the "ship".
After lunch, we ventured down the hill to visit the
Columbia River
Maritime Museum. We highly recommend this museum (two hours minimum) as
it is very well-presented and has something to offer everyone - including
the kids.
Columbia River Maritime Museum - on the river in Astoria, Oregon
The museum tells the history of the Columbia River - from
ancient times to the recent history of Astoria (the first continually-occupied
settlement on the west coast by the way). Astoria started as a fur trading
post and, as the otter, etc., were over-trapped, became a fish-processing
area. Hundreds of canneries filled the Columbia River banks and hundreds of
businesses supported the industry - from tin can-producing factories to
brothels. Chinese workers immigrated to work in the canneries, but most of
the workers were from Scandinavian countries - especially Finland.
The Columbia River is no longer wild. The fishing has dwindled. The river is
now a giant highway, serving as a pipeline to receive international cargo
and to ship NW products throughout the world.
Still, there is one part of the Columbia River that cannot be controlled -
the mouth. All that fresh water meets the Mighty Pacific in an epic
collision. Today, even the largest, most sophisticated ships must sometime
wait days on either side of the bar before the colliding waters calm enough
to cross. The crossing is so
dangerous, and so many ships have crashed, the Columbia Bar is called the "graveyard of the Pacific".
The exhibit about "Moving Goods" along the river... with a cargo waiting to
cross the bar outside
Different fishing vessels on display inside the Columbia River Maritime
Museum
The Good Old Days - Bumblebee Tuna Cannery in Astoria
A very interesting exhibit of old cannery labels
Captain Robert Gray was the first explorer to chart/enter the Columbia River
on
a map (1792). The river was named after his ship - the Columbia.
This plate from his ship and was produced in Canton, China around 1789.
Are you getting tired yet? I know I am.
After our tour through the museum, we drove out to
Fort
Stevens State Park. Our first stop was to the observation deck on the
South Jetty. From this deck you can see the mouth of Columbia River and
south along the Pacific Coast.
Climb up for a great vista
South Jetty with the mouth of the Columbia River to the right
Looking south along the Pacific Shore
The state park was a bit befuddled today as a massive group
of people had gathered to film a Ford commercial. Several massive trucks
were unloading Ford (shiny and red) cars and smaller trucks containing
lighting, gaffing, catering, etc., were positioned to shoot the commercial at
sunset.
A visit to Astoria just isn't complete unless you have seen (what is left
of) the Wreck of the
Peter
Iredale, a steel ship that wrecked in 1906. (No kidding, my parents
brought me here for the first time when I was about six years old... which
would be nearly... well, really a long time ago). The Peter Iredale was
built in England in 1890 and was her way to Portland when she crashed in a
storm. No lives were lost and later the sailors were able to actually walk
to the ship to retrieve their belongings!
The Peter Iredale
After our busy day, we decided to stay in this evening. I
had prepared (at home on Sunday) a savory crust and filling for a Walla Walla Sweet
Onion tart. Tonight I put it together in just a few minutes and, served with
a tossed salad, we had a great veggie dinner while watching the Mariners win on
the satellite television.
Life is Sweet
Until my next update, from interesting Astoria, I remain,
your cool correspondent.