Columbia River, Astoria, Oregon
“Ocian in View! O! The Joy!” - William Clark
Early this morning we made our way to the foredeck as we steamed past the Astoria-Megler Bridge and out to the Columbia River Bar. As the sun rose behind us, we saw harbor seals, sea lions, and pelicans at the 5-mile-wide mouth of the Columbia, with the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse blinking a greeting. We felt the gentle swells and saw the waves crashing over the Bar.
After breakfast, we disembarked in Astoria for the Columbia River Maritime Museum where we were impressed by the magnificent displays showing sailing ships, the salmon-fishing and -canning industries, and the role of the Coast Guard in keeping mariners safe. Later we went by bus to Fort Clatsop to see the Interpretive Center and the replica of Lewis and Clark’s 1805-06 winter fort deep in the coastal rain forest. We gained a much deeper appreciation of the trials faced by the Corps of Discovery during that very rainy winter.
After a quick trip back to the National Geographic Sea Bird for lunch, some of us remained in Astoria to shop or re-visit the Maritime Museum. Others journeyed by bus across the 4.1-mile long Astoria-Megler Bridge, with a view of “Clark’s Dismal Nitch” where the Corps was trapped for 5 days by terrible weather. We drove past the site of their “Station Camp” where they stayed for 10 days while exploring the north shore and decided where to spend the winter. Then we passed thru Ilwaco and visited either Beard’s Hollow or the Cape Disappointment Interpretive Center.
In walking through the maritime forest to the Pacific, we crossed the path taken by Captain William Clark and his party as they explored from Cape Disappointment to the site of present Long Beach. We relaxed in the solitude of the beach with waves crashing ashore. Some sharp-eyed guests saw a sea lion, a harbor seal, a bald eagle, a garter snake, and a beaver.
The Interpretive Center presented one of the best displays of the Expedition anywhere in the U.S. and offered magnificent views of the Pacific and the Cape. The bus then took us back to Astoria for a visit to the Astoria Column before returning us to the ship.
As our expedition drew to a close, we thought back 204 years to the voyage of Lewis and Clark and the time they spent here, at the end of their great journey west, knowing that in following in their wake, we have come to appreciate their many historic accomplishments that meant so much to this nation.
