Our morning dawned several miles upriver of Astoria, Washington – the oldest Anglo settlement west of the Continental Divide, a picturesque village of Victorian houses stacked upon steep hills and perennial flower gardens. The city stands on the south shore of the Columbia River Estuary, just a few miles inland from the notorious Columbia River Bar, “the graveyard of the Pacific,” and resting place to many a wrecked vessel. On our approach to Astoria, we had a full and clear view of the north shore of the estuary, where Lewis and Clark were stranded in a series of miserable camps during the autumn of 1805.
Our Sea Bird docked safely as we ate yet another sumptuous breakfast. We debarked and toured the Columbia Maritime Museum, perhaps the premier maritime museum of the Northwest, where our docent traced the history of the bar, the Columbia, and Astoria from the late eighteenth century forward.
Next, we crossed Young’s Bay and made our way up the Lewis and Clark River to Fort Clatsop National Historic Monument, where we walked through the reconstructed rooms of Fort Clatsop – winter quarters for the Corps of Discovery during the winter of 1805-06. The fort replica, based on a floorplan drawn by William Clark himself, was built within a moccasin toss of the original. Its rooms are furnished with rustic bunks, tables, and benches, and in the captains quarters we found a fire burning in the hearth, a bullet mold on the table, and maps and flower presses opened on the desks as if Lewis and Clark had just stepped out for a moment.
After absorbing the atmosphere of Fort Clatsop, we rejoined the Sea Bird for lunch and then headed up to the top of the highest hill in Astoria to visit the Astoria Column and to enjoy its cartographic view of the Columbia River Estuary. There, we traced the expedition’s route along the north shore of the estuary and out around Cape Disappointment.
Soon, we were back on the river itself, enjoying hot chocolate with a whiff of peppermint schnapps, as we ourselves sailed out onto the Columbia River Bar in the company of cormorants, sea lions, and harbor seals. A fine evening, well spent and joyful but for the prospect of having to pack up and step off the Sea Bird early tomorrow morning.
