The Sea Bird made her way towards the Columbia River Bar at approximately 7:00AM this morning. The morning was cold, crisp and clear. As we approached one of the most deadly river bars in the world it was hard to imagine how such calm waters could have taken as many boats as history tells us. Nearby Saddle mountain was shrouded in morning mists, while to the west of us the Pacific Ocean was calm with just a hint of wind. It was as if we were in the lull before a storm. We meandered near buoy number 20 watching birds’ fly in and around the Sea Bird. After some stories by our Natural history staff Captain Graves turned our vessel around and we began a slow passage back to the port town of Astoria, where we would be spending the day. The Sea Bird was expertly docked at the Columbia River Maritime Museum while we prepared for disembarkation. We would be spending the morning touring this famous maritime museum and then taking busses out to Fort Clatsop the winter camp sight of Lewis and Clark. The Corps of Discovery spent from December 7, 1805 to March 23, 1806 at Fort Clatsop. During this time the two leaders of the Corps occupied themselves with reworking the journals, organizing accounts of the scientific data gathered during the journey and completing final preparations for the return home to St. Louis. In many of the entries in the Captains journals the weather was an uncomfortable but important topic. The Corps of Discovery experienced rain nearly every day of their stay.....we, on the other hand, had a clear and beautiful day to visit the National Park dedicated to the sight where Lewis and Clark completed their westward journey to the Pacific Ocean. We visited the fort, reconstructed, according to the Captains journals as an exact replica to the original fort. One of the park rangers gave a thorough talk on the land where the fort is located and then a briefer talk once we were inside the fort. We had an opportunity to walk to the canoe landing, where Lewis and Clark landed and stored their canoes. Then some time was given for a walk in the temperate rain forest with our naturalists. This land had been a farm just one hundred years ago. It was amazing to walk among enormous Sitka spruce, Western hemlock and Western cedars. Once everyone had finished shopping in the excellent bookstore the interpretive center provided we made our way back to our busses and began our return journey to Astoria and yet another fabulous lunch awaiting us on the Sea Bird.
After lunch we had an opportunity to explore Astoria, the oldest port town on the West Coast of the United States. We also were offered a bus ride up to Astor Column. Here we found an excellent view of the mouth of the Columbia River watching as the third largest river of North America emptied into the Pacific Ocean. Another option was a lovely two-mile walk down through the forested hill that surrounds the Astor Column and the last mile through some of the beautiful colonial houses that Astoria is famous for! The late afternoon light brought long shadows to everything it touched including ourselves as we moved down the steep streets of Astoria heading for the Sea Bird. She remained dockside awaiting our arrival, preparing for a sunset cruise heading east up the mighty Columbia.
