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| July 3-5 - The 4th at Long Beach (Part 1 of 4) | ||
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For the 4th of July celebration, I took a trip down to Long Beach, which is in the South Western corner of Washington. To avoid traffic delays that were sure to be on US 101, I took I-5 down to Longview, crossed over to Oregon on the Lewis and Clark Bridge, then went through Clatskanie, Oregon, along Highway 30 to Astoria, crossed back into Washington over the Astoria Bridge, then went through Ilwaco to Long Beach. On the way back, I went across the Columbia on a ferry, because the Longview Bridge was sure to be swamped with folks returning from Oregon back up to the Seattle Area, and I went along a state route that followed the highway for the most part... I got to hear tales of traffic woes on the radio, while I cruised along at 55 or so... I completely missed all of the traffic in both directions, so it worked out well. I made some stops along the way, and had a great time! |
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| Part 1: Getting There | ||
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Once I got to Longview, it was off the highway, and into Oregon. Once there, I got on US 30, to Astoria. No longer used for navigation, because of silting from the eruption of Mt St Helens, the Kelso River still commands a picturesque view when entering the city of Longview. I was actually quite surprised at the lack of traffic... the roads were basically empty, which was quite nice! |
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The chance to cross the Lewis and Clark Bridge is one of my favorite things... OK, I'm an easy pleaser! Built with war bonds for the rapid movement of troops up and down the West Coast, it is pretty impressive.... and even with the somewhat restricted view... it still warrants a look as you cross. |
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Once in Oregon, I got on US 30, and headed for the coast... Astoria, at
the mouth of the Columbia River, is about 60 miles from here. About half way to Astoria, I stopped for a rest break, at a state park that really has a nice view of the river. I in a chair memorializing the fact that the park was donated to the county by folks from Michigan, in the 1920's.... |
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Highway 30 is one of those roads you see in the travel magazines where the trees hang over the roadway... its quite impressive, and makes for a very nice drive! | |
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Astoria, which was settled in 1811 buy a John Astor, who started a fur
trading company where downtown Astoria now sits, was my next check
point. Astoria is where "Kindergarten Cop" was filmed... in case you were wondering... :-) It was here that I left Highway 30 (it ends in Astoria, anyway), and picked up US 101 North, towards Long Beach. That takes you over the Astoria Bridge, which crosses the Columbia Estuary. |
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At 4.1 miles, the bridge is VERY impressive! | |
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There were quite a few boats in the river... folks were taking advantage
of the holiday to get in some extra fishing! Shortly after the bridge, you pass through a tunnel that goes under Fort Clatsop, which defended the mouth of the Columbia up until shortly after WW2, when aircraft made that task more economically feasible.
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Ilwaco, named for the local Native American tribe who called this flat
spot of ground home, was one of the few towns where the white settlers
were invited to join in the little town as cohabitants... the town still
shares many features of this blended culture.
Lewis and Clark stopped here, and camped for the winter not far from Ilwaco, on Cape Disappointment... so named because the Expedition endured "the most dismal weather of the trip thus far"... it basically rained for the entire time they camped there. |
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| On the cape that they made their home, an interpretive center has been set up, depicting scenes from milestones in their route, and explaining the troubles the expedition had along the way. |
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When you really think about what those folks went through, you can't help
but marvel at the immense task of what they accomplished. During their trek, they catalogued some 3000 varieties of plants, and made more than 350 observations of animals, fish, and birds not previously known to science. |
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Sharing space with the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is the Cape
Disappointment Lighthouse, and its mini-museum, which shows the Fresnel
Lens that used to be in North Head's light room. I always enjoy comparing a lighthouse against a historic photograph... here's the Cape Disappointment lighthouse in 1899, not long after its completion... As you can see, it still stands as proudly and as majestically as ever, more than 100 years later! |
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| Also at the site is Battery Harvey Allen, which was part of Fort Canby, a coastal artillery fort that defended the mouth of the Columbia for nearly 100 years. |
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As with all of the Naval Artillery forts, I explored the whole thing... | |
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| After the stop at the Cape, it was on to Long Beach, which is the next major town up from Ilwaco. |
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