Astoria, Oregon
The Sea Lion awakened to find the slim white crescent of the Moon accompanied by Saturn as they heralded the soft rose-colored dawn. This was our setting as we headed out towards buoy 14 at the Columbia River Bar. The River chose to be gentle and we had a view northward of Cape Disappointment and lighthouse there, Baker Bay, Sand Island and southward to Clatsop Spit, south jetty and Desdemona Sands. Grey pelicans, Double crested cormorants and an array of ever-present gulls were busy getting their breakfast while providing us with spectacular demonstrations of flying and fishing. The resident California sea lions barked and bellowed their greetings to our Sea Lion as we entered the port and tied up at the 17th street pier.
We warmed up after our own breakfast. The next challenge of the day was the Abandon Ship Drill and mastering the donning of life vests plus finding our lifeboat stations. Not one guest was lost! The Maritime Museum was opened early for us and the next adventure of the day began. Byron, our docent, told us of Captain Cook’s connection with this area and allowed all to enjoy the pleasure of handling a sea otter’s pelt. Unfortunately, he wanted it returned to him. We listened to the tone of the Desdemona Sands bell and learned about the Great Northern Railway’s fleet of passenger liners. All too soon it was time to leave this excellent museum and gift shop to board the coaches that would take us for a visit to the replica of Fort Clatsop, the winter camp sight of Lewis and Clark. Many of us would return to the museum later in the afternoon for another leisure and thorough visit.
Fort Clatsop was a wonderful surprise. The replica gave us an idea of the small cramped quarters the 32 adults, one baby and very big dog inhabited for 3 months. Our day was clear, warm and beautiful so it was a bit difficult to picture the Fort as it would have been for Lewis and Clark during those cold, wet, windy and flea infested months. With the help of the Forest Service Guides, films and orientation movie we got an idea of the conditions during the winter of 1805 – 1806. After seeing the differences between the sleek Chinook canoes and the clunky one-ton dugouts used by the Corps, we understood why the men stole one of the Chinook canoes for the return trip in March of 1806. Our naturalist, Sharon Grainger, lead a nature walk in the forest explaining the intricate relationships between plants and animals inhabiting the temperate rainforest. Many of these are editable and since it was approaching lunchtime, it was wise we boarded the coaches and returned to our ship for a fine meal. After lunch we made a short excursion to the Astoria Column that was beaconing us with its spectacular vistas. Our expedition leader, Tom Ritchie, speculated we might even be able to see Japan on such a clear day as ours. The column was erected to commemorate the completion of the Great Northern Railway in 1926. The frieze is done in sgraffito technique to show the history of this area from pre-contact times, through Lewis and Clark to the coming of the railroad. Sharon, our own source of knowledge and history about the many and varied plants and birds of the area, escorted some of us down from Coxcomb Hill to the ship. We went through the temperate forest with a stop at the Cathedral Tree.
The Sea Lion awakened to find the slim white crescent of the Moon accompanied by Saturn as they heralded the soft rose-colored dawn. This was our setting as we headed out towards buoy 14 at the Columbia River Bar. The River chose to be gentle and we had a view northward of Cape Disappointment and lighthouse there, Baker Bay, Sand Island and southward to Clatsop Spit, south jetty and Desdemona Sands. Grey pelicans, Double crested cormorants and an array of ever-present gulls were busy getting their breakfast while providing us with spectacular demonstrations of flying and fishing. The resident California sea lions barked and bellowed their greetings to our Sea Lion as we entered the port and tied up at the 17th street pier.
We warmed up after our own breakfast. The next challenge of the day was the Abandon Ship Drill and mastering the donning of life vests plus finding our lifeboat stations. Not one guest was lost! The Maritime Museum was opened early for us and the next adventure of the day began. Byron, our docent, told us of Captain Cook’s connection with this area and allowed all to enjoy the pleasure of handling a sea otter’s pelt. Unfortunately, he wanted it returned to him. We listened to the tone of the Desdemona Sands bell and learned about the Great Northern Railway’s fleet of passenger liners. All too soon it was time to leave this excellent museum and gift shop to board the coaches that would take us for a visit to the replica of Fort Clatsop, the winter camp sight of Lewis and Clark. Many of us would return to the museum later in the afternoon for another leisure and thorough visit.
Fort Clatsop was a wonderful surprise. The replica gave us an idea of the small cramped quarters the 32 adults, one baby and very big dog inhabited for 3 months. Our day was clear, warm and beautiful so it was a bit difficult to picture the Fort as it would have been for Lewis and Clark during those cold, wet, windy and flea infested months. With the help of the Forest Service Guides, films and orientation movie we got an idea of the conditions during the winter of 1805 – 1806. After seeing the differences between the sleek Chinook canoes and the clunky one-ton dugouts used by the Corps, we understood why the men stole one of the Chinook canoes for the return trip in March of 1806. Our naturalist, Sharon Grainger, lead a nature walk in the forest explaining the intricate relationships between plants and animals inhabiting the temperate rainforest. Many of these are editable and since it was approaching lunchtime, it was wise we boarded the coaches and returned to our ship for a fine meal. After lunch we made a short excursion to the Astoria Column that was beaconing us with its spectacular vistas. Our expedition leader, Tom Ritchie, speculated we might even be able to see Japan on such a clear day as ours. The column was erected to commemorate the completion of the Great Northern Railway in 1926. The frieze is done in sgraffito technique to show the history of this area from pre-contact times, through Lewis and Clark to the coming of the railroad. Sharon, our own source of knowledge and history about the many and varied plants and birds of the area, escorted some of us down from Coxcomb Hill to the ship. We went through the temperate forest with a stop at the Cathedral Tree.
