Astoria
After a long and arduous journey of almost 18 months and thousands of miles, the “Corps of Volunteers for Northwestern Discovery” reached the western coast of the North American continent. Jefferson’s dream of an American empire reaching from “Sea to shining Sea” was fulfilled on November 7, 1805, as the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at Pillar Rock, a short distance from the Pacific Ocean, William Clark exclaimed,
“Ocean in view! O! the joy. We are in View of the Ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we have been so anxious to See.”
Around 7:30 a.m., we docked in the sleepy, cloud-enclosed coastal town of Astoria, which was established in 1811 by the Pacific Fur Company of John Jacob Astor. Astoria is often referred to as the first permanent white/European settlement west of the Rocky Mountains.
The Astoria Column represents the early history of Astoria. Inside the column, a spiral stair case of a 164 steps takes you, perhaps slowly, perhaps not, to the top of the column, offering a glorious view of the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River estuary, the historic town of Astoria, Saddle Mountain and the Neutal River, which would lead the expedition to its winter quarters. Several members of our expedition took the challenge and clamored to the top of the column.
The expedition’s journey by water and land to the western coast had come to an end, and so has ours. Our adventures today took us to the Expedition’s winter headquarters, just a few miles from Astoria. The area to build Fort Clatsop, so named after the local Indians, was found by Lewis and five members of the expedition December 7, fully a month after arriving at the Pacific coast. The first trees in the fort building process were cut down December 9, and the men moved in on Christmas day. The stockade and the gates were completed on January 1, 1806. After several months and lots of rain, the Expedition left Fort Clatsop behind on March 23, 1806 and their epic journey to the west was over.
The Maritime Museum was our next stop after a wonderful and fortifying lunch on board the National Geographic Sea Bird. The Maritime Museum has become one of the best and more famous museums of its kind; often quoted as one of the top five in the world.
Our somewhat rainy afternoon was spent following in the footsteps of William Clark to Cape Disappointment, November 18 and 19. Our swift and sturdy “Pirogue,” manned by the reliable Captain Raz Jim (our motor coach operator) crossed the Astoria Bridge in a raging storm to visit the expedition’s “Dismal Nitch.” We stopped at the beautiful bronze relief that was dedicated May 23, 2009 to the remarkable efforts to the Corps of Discovery. From here we met with William Clark and several members of the expedition, and followed Clark on his personal adventure to Cape Disappointment. This journey brought us to the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center and a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean, or as William Clark said “…at this time more raging then pacific.”
