To get there we crossed the 50-year-old Astoria-Megler Bridge which is 4.1 miles long and 197 feet high over the channel where the freighters travel. Before this bridge was built the crossing was made by a 30-minute ferry trip which could be inconveniently delayed or stopped by inclement weather. The bridge was the last segment of Hwy 101 to be completed (the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway).
Crossing the river from Oregon to Washington shows the typical morning fog hiding the far shore and its mountains. This is the section of the bridge which is just high enough for fishing boats to go underneath.
Returning to Astoria this afternoon with the fog gone. This is the approach to the 197 foot high section under which the freighters pass.
Cape Disappointment State Park has two lighthouses, a number of overlooks, lots of trails and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. We've been to so many L&C interpretive centers we weren't sure we wanted to go through this one. We did it anyway and were very glad we did because it was one of the best we've seen. It covered the entire 2 1/2 years of L&C's travels in chronological order and tied together all the things we've seen previously.
Cape Disappointment was named in 1788, seven years before L&C got there. The sea captain who named it did so to express his feelings about being unsuccessful in finding the mouth of the Columbia River. He was right next to the mouth but the river is so wide at this point and there can be so much fog it's not surprising mariners had trouble locating it.
Looking north to Peacock Spit and the north jetty from Cape Disappointment. The north jetty, like the south jetty we saw on Saturday, was built to aid navigation across the bar. The 600+ acre green area behind the rock jetty has accumulated from nothing since the jetty was built over 100 years ago. Peacock Spit was named after a ship that wrecked on the spit of land before the jetty was built. Most likely no real peacock has ever set foot on it.
The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse which aids navigation when approaching the river from the south.
As shipping from the northern section of Washington increased it became necessary to build a second lighthouse. The North Point Lighthouse was built just two miles north of the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse when problems mounted from not being able to see the first lighthouse when coming from the north. This is the only place on the Pacific Coast that has two lighthouses within two miles of one another.
Looking south from the North Point Lighthouse shows even better how much land has built up behind the jetty.
A section of forest along the path to Bell's View overlook. It has a lovely rain forest look to it. With 7 to 9 feet of rain over the winter it is probably close to being one.
View up the Washington coast from Bell's View overlook, just to the north of the North Point Lighthouse.
The fog cleared completely by this afternoon so we got a great view of the Coast Range across the river in Oregon.
We haven't seen a great sunset in a while, but we got a good one tonight at Camp Rilea.
Speaking of Camp Rilea, we asked the gate guard today what kind of training is done here. His response was "anything they want." All military branches can use this place. Information as to what, if anything, they do besides use the live-fire range wasn't volunteered.
We've really enjoyed the Astoria area but it's time to move on. Tomorrow we'll go 130 miles down the coast to Newport. We expect Saturday traffic on 101 will be challenging.
No comments:
Post a Comment