Pomp and Sustenance: There and back again

We made the last day a trip north to Astoria and Fort Clatsop which was where Lewis and Clark wintered. It was interesting to see and hear some the history of the area at Fort Clatsop. The Fort has been rebuilt since the original, but it is the closest to the orignal they have had in replication so far.

They had a walkway that followed the river and showed where they actually docked the canoes. It was amazing to think we were walking in the same places and seeing some of the same trees. Exploration was a hard life and there was much they learned.

We climbed the Astoria Column. It is covered in images for the history of the area.

there were 125 stairs up a circular staircase that had only room for one person. When someone was on their way down, I found myself grasping the center pole of the stairway and holding on for dear life. It was a long way down.

the view from the top of the column was breathtaking... We took several shots.

From there we went to the Maritime museum. The history of ships and their purpose and cargo were fascinating. The thing that caught our attention the most was the fact that there are special boat pilots for navigating the Columbia, and even more special boat pilots for piloting the boats between the Columbia and the ocean. It is the only place that has such severe currents as the river enters the ocean. Coast guard rescues are a common occurrance. The picture is a real life simulation of a coast guard rescue.

After the museum, we were hungry, so we found the Wet Dog Pub and Brewery and stopped for a bite. We all ended up with a fish and chips plate...which included chips and halibut, cod, tuna, salmon, oysters, shrimp and scallops. We were full and completely satisified.

We stopped along the pier to get some pictures... once again we found sea lions galore. They were noisy and boy did they stink.