Astoria, Oregon
This morning dawned bright and not so cold in Astoria. In fact, the full day could be described as sunny and relatively warm—at least in comparison to the bitter cold of the past few days that literally froze the paint off the Sea Bird in several places. And unlike Lewis and Clark, who endured drizzle and overcast at nearby Fort Clatsop, we had skies so clear that we were able to enjoy a panoramic view of the expansive landscape between Astoria and the mouth of the Columbia River.
Before breakfast we made our way out to the stretch of usually agitated water that makes the mouth of the Columbia River such an infamous graveyard of ships. Fortunately the meeting place between the Great River of the West and the Pacific Ocean was calm today, and our excursion to this historic place was entirely comfortable and safe. It was here that Robert Gray, a merchant captain, sailed into the river in 1792 and thereby helped to provide the basis for a later United States claim to this remote corner of North America. He named the river for his ship.
After breakfast we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum with its immense collection of well-displayed artifacts of river and sea. The CRMM must surely rank among the top museums of its class. Then it was off by bus to Fort Clatsop, the National Park Service site that in many ways represents the culmination of our quest to follow the wake of Lewis and Clark.
Following lunch some of us rode up to the Astoria Column, a visual representation of the highlights of local history. Here we enjoyed one of the best views of the sprawling river landscape near its mouth. We set off aboard the Sea Bird once again at sunset and made our way through the night back to Portland. It is hard to believe that in just one week we could learn so much about this great river system and about the history of the transcontinental odyssey of Lewis and Clark.
This morning dawned bright and not so cold in Astoria. In fact, the full day could be described as sunny and relatively warm—at least in comparison to the bitter cold of the past few days that literally froze the paint off the Sea Bird in several places. And unlike Lewis and Clark, who endured drizzle and overcast at nearby Fort Clatsop, we had skies so clear that we were able to enjoy a panoramic view of the expansive landscape between Astoria and the mouth of the Columbia River.
Before breakfast we made our way out to the stretch of usually agitated water that makes the mouth of the Columbia River such an infamous graveyard of ships. Fortunately the meeting place between the Great River of the West and the Pacific Ocean was calm today, and our excursion to this historic place was entirely comfortable and safe. It was here that Robert Gray, a merchant captain, sailed into the river in 1792 and thereby helped to provide the basis for a later United States claim to this remote corner of North America. He named the river for his ship.
After breakfast we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum with its immense collection of well-displayed artifacts of river and sea. The CRMM must surely rank among the top museums of its class. Then it was off by bus to Fort Clatsop, the National Park Service site that in many ways represents the culmination of our quest to follow the wake of Lewis and Clark.
Following lunch some of us rode up to the Astoria Column, a visual representation of the highlights of local history. Here we enjoyed one of the best views of the sprawling river landscape near its mouth. We set off aboard the Sea Bird once again at sunset and made our way through the night back to Portland. It is hard to believe that in just one week we could learn so much about this great river system and about the history of the transcontinental odyssey of Lewis and Clark.
