LEWIS AND CLARK: THE ORIGINAL TRAVEL BLOGGERS

June 10, 2013    

Fort Clatsop

We started the morning by visiting the Lewis and Clark National Park.  This park is on the Oregon side of the Columbia River and is the site of the fort they built to spend the winter of 1905-06 before they began their trip back to the east.  Nothing of the original fort exists and this is the recreation of the fort based on the drawings and description in Lewis and Clark's journals.  The name "Clatsop" was given to the fort by the explorers to honor the local Indian tribe they befriended who reside in the area.  The tribe was integral to the explorers' survival that winter.   Being here and learning more about Lewis and Clark's exploration and their documentation of the northwest territories has been very impressive.  

House of Capt Flavel

We then headed back into the town of Astoria to check out the Queen Anne style Victorian house of Capt. George Flavel who was the original river pilot commissioned by the state to guide ships into and up the Columbia River.  He was also the town's first millionaire.  We toured the inside of the home which is fully furnished and restored to the period of the late 1800's.   This was Capt. Flavel's retirement home.

River Walk Trolley

In the afternoon we strolled along the 4 mile river walk linked by docks and boardwalks.  There is a cute trolley that will take you on the 4 mile stretch but we enjoyed the walk.  There are lots of cool places to eat and shops along the way, but this is also an active area for fishing and shipping, so it's not gentrified  (YET).  There is a Maritime Memorial Park along the way.  We also watched a huge ship slowly make it's way up river.  We also watched fishermen coming in with their catch (big sturgeon) and we watched a ship being loaded with thousands of big logs.  I wondered where the ship was destined.

Steve at the jail (AKA:  Film museum)

 We also checked out the local county jail.  It's not a place someone would normally go on their vacation, but this one has been turned into a film museum.  Inside the "jail" are displays of the films made in Oregon and some made in Astoria (Goonies, Free Willy, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).  There are interactive exhibits with green screen technology and you can actually make your own little movie and e-mail it to yourself.   There was a family there while we were and they were having an absolute blast.

This is a picture of the Astoria-Megler bridge that crosses over the Columbia River to Washington.  The bridge is 4.1 miles long.  I wish I had the statistic on the height.  It's VERY high on the Oregon end as that is where the shipping traffic goes under.  I don't know when it was built, but there is a lot of renovation going on right now.   There still so much more to explore in this area.  What will we do tomorrow?

Astoria-Megler BridgeI