Rain, rain, rotten meat, rain, fleas and rain. Lewis and Clark hated Fort Clatsop. Our experience could hardly have been more different, or better. Docking at Astoria, we bussed to Fort Clatsop under sunny skies. All was clear and crisp as we toured the reconstructed fort and walked beneath huge spruce and hemlock trees. Later in the morning we wandered the Columbia River Maritime Museum. We saw aspects of the many-layered history of the region, from Native dugout canoes and trade beads, through days of sail around “the graveyard of the Pacific” and salmon fishing, to modern navigation and surf rescue.
Most of us traveled to Cape Disappointment for the afternoon. Our only disappointment might have been seeing the place, renowned for stormy weather, on such a beautiful day, but we got over it! Some walked the length of the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the Discovery Center’s displays; others hiked the hilly route to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. The view from here is superb! We saw ocean rollers crashing onto jetties and cliffs. The ocean glistened. Pelicans soared below us. And at last, we went to the beach to dip our toes in the cool waters of the Pacific.
From craggy canyons harboring bighorn sheep to views of the open Pacific, our journey has followed intertwined thematic skeins. Our experience with them has enriched our lives.
