June 20, 2007

June 20, 2007

Seaside, OR is the official endpoint of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.  Just off the beach is a recreation of their saltworks. Salt was a vital food preservative for the long return journey.

Further north on a tributary of the Columbia River is Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. The expedition spent their second winter here. They have a small museum and a replica of the temporary Fort Clatsop they built. We view two movies about the experience and watch a flintlock demonstration.

For lunch we drive into the nearby town of Astoria. It was the first US town settled west of the Rocky Mountains. It is named after John Jacob Astor who made his fortune in the fur trading business. It is also a cute little town nestled on a peninsula jutting into the Columbia River, so I tag along while Aimee does some shopping. In its early days most of the town was built on top of wood pilings driven into the riverbank. After a few fires they landfilled much of the pilings making them permanent.

It must not be sunny here often because several people in town suggested we go see their Astoria Column right away while it is sunny. So we do. It is in the center of town on a hilltop. Modeled after Trajan's Column, it has a spiral frieze illustrating the town’s long history. We climb to the top for a great view of the mouth of the Columbia River.

We decide to spend the evening at Fort Stevens State Park at the mouth. Before hooking up we drive around the park. We stop at the wreck of the Peter Iredale. It was an iron sailing ship that ran aground on the ocean beach here in 1906. Much of it has rusted away or is still buried below the sand. The skeleton of the bow still projects eerily out of the surf. Pretty Cool!