“Ocian in view! O! The Joy!”

Posted on by merryme

“Ocian in view! O! The Joy!”  That’s the quote from Lewis and Clark, complete with misspellings.  And that is how we are also feeling today.  This is the last stop of this caravan.  This is the furthest west my rig is going, the south bank of the Columbia River where it meets the ocean.

We hopped on the bus again for one last bus trip.  We made several Lewis and Clark stops.  Our first stop was Dismal Nitch on the Washington (north) side of the river.  Lewis and Clark arrived here in November 1805 and were forced to spend several days here because the weather was so stormy that they couldn’t make any progress to the ocean.

Lewis and Clark couldn’t get those canoes to go any further so had to huddle in a small cove for 6 days.

When there was a break in the weather, they made it to Middle Camp, just a few miles closer to the ocean.

Middle Camp didn’t have much to offer, but they did have this replica of the Chinook boat which navigated the ocean better than L/C’s dugout canoes.
Since there wasn’t much here, we decided to document the “3 Pats”. That’s Pat from Kentucky, Pat from California and Pat from Florida – all best of friends.

The third stop was the mouth of the Columbia River, and they named this Camp Disappointment.  Do you see a theme here?  Lewis and Clark and company were miserable the winter they spent on the ocean because they were always so wet and cold.  (This stop was actually the next day.  Photos later.)

Since Camp Disappointment was such a disappointment, they voted and decided to move to the southern, Oregon side of the river where the land was flatter, there was a hill to shelter them from the weather coming off the ocean, and more game for them to hunt.  Here they build Fort Clatsop, our final Lewis and Clark stop.

Looks like they reused the plans from Fort Mandan. It looks very similar, but was a bit smaller with fewer men.
They put 8 privates to a room. Lots of buckskin and Hudson Bay blankets.
And one whole room for Charbonneau, Sacajawea and baby Pomp.
The fireplace behind the table and chair had an unusual design. It was sunken and open.
Remember the statue of Sacajawea from yesterday? Compare it to this version. 🙂
You just never know what kind of dangers are lurking out there. On this trip I’ve been warned of rattlesnakes and bears, but this is a new one – tsunamis!
Here’s my buddy again, Seaman the dog, with Clark and an Indian offering salmon.

It wasn’t all Lewis and Clark.  We also stopped at a place they call Knappton Cove Heritage Center.  Back in the 1870’s this place used to be a salmon cannery.  In 1890, they sold the cannery to the US government to use as a quarantine  station, so it was much like a western Ellis Island where they would check all incoming immigrants for pests and disease.  When the government made bigger and better facilities elsewhere, the current owners bought the property at auction and turned it into a fishing camp.  So the museum here was a mesh-mosh of information about canneries, quarantines, fishing and even a clothespin doll collection.

A yellow flag signifies quarantine. People coming into the country were required to strip and shower while their clothes were deloused. This happened in the building off the dock over the water. There was also a Pest House where they were delayed if disease or pests were found.
The poster says “You can’t ignore the rat. He’s a menace to health (he carries germs), home (he destroys property), industry (he causes waste). Let’s keep Alberta rat-free.”

And the final fun stop was the Astoria Column.  The column has beautiful artwork, and the views were incredible.

Astoria Column, recently renovated.
The pictures on the column depict the history of Astoria.

But what made it stand out was that we climbed the 165 steps to the top and all got to sail our own balsam airplane off the top.  Just imagine a whole bunch of seniors hooting and hollering because their plane is off soaring in the wind.

That’s me launching my airplane on the top of Astoria Column.
See my plane! It was a good ride, but ended up in that tree to the right.
This is the view of Saddle Mountain from the top.
This view is of the town of Astoria and the Astoria bridge to Washington State.
Here’s a different view of the Astoria Bridge. I was intrigued by these pilings. They seemed to be everywhere along the river. They are abandoned docks, buildings, railroads, and whatever. The buildings are gone, but the pilings seem to stay on forever.

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