Traveling Along the Columbia River

Saturday, July 8, 2017

We arrived at the  Kelso/Longview Elks Lodge on Thursday and have spent the past couple of days just relaxing and taking care of household things.  Kelso has the reputation of being the Smelt Capital of the World. 

This morning we head east on Highway 4 on the Washington side of the Columbia River toward Long Beach, WA.  What a beautiful drive along the River and through several quaint and interesting small towns (I call them beach towns as they remind me of the towns along the New Jersey coast where I grew up.  Lots of small old wood sided homes, shacks, piers, and fishing buildings near the waters edge.)

The town of Cathlamet is a picturesque settlement once known as Little Norway because of its Scandinavian population.  

It is linked by bridge to Puget Island where for $3 (for a car but $20 for an RV) you can cross the Columbia River to Westport, OR.  This is the last remaining ferry service across the river.  

A long slough runs between Cathlamet and Puget Island and in the morning and evening white tailed deer can be seen in the pastures here.

Lots of sloughs can be find in this area where old houses (dating to the early 19th century) line the waters edge reminding one of the bygone era of riverboat communities.  Along one of these sloughs in Gray Rivers we find this covered bridge built in 1905 by the Ahlberg family and still owned by members of the original family who built it.  The bridge is still drivable. 

We drive on to Chinook where we find Ft. Columbia which is one of three military posts established at the mouth of the Columbia River during the Spanish American War.  Here we find 12 old structures including bunkers, lookouts, searchlight stations, 8 inch gun batteries, officer family quarters, non commission officer quarters,  enlisted barracks, a commanding officers house and post headquarters.  Lovely grounds sitting high atop the hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Gun Battery

Officer Quarters

Officer Row

Barracks

View to Ocean and River below

A lovely old lighthouse (North Head Lighthouse and Keepers homes built in 1898) can be found in Ilwaco near Cape Disappointment.  A lovely tree lined path leads from the houses to the lighthouse with beautiful views of the Pacific below.    Unfortunately, the lighthouse is having renovation done so the base is covered in black netting and scaffolding.  The Keepers homes are used today as vacation rentals. 

Cape Disappointment was named such by Captain Meares to describe his feelings upon not discovering the fabled Northwest Passage.   Cape Disappointment was one of the most treacherous river bars in the world until jetties were erected to control the sandbar at the mouth of the Columbia River.  This section was known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. 

We drive on a bit further to Long Beach (located at the southern tip of the Long Beach Peninsula and a popular oyster farming and vacation spot) where Ron indulges me by parking the car with me taking  off my sandals to walk barefoot ( he still has on shoes and socks) on the sand down to the waters edge (tide is out so it is a long way to the water) and taking my picture while I wade along the waters edge allowing the incoming small rolling waves to wash over my feet. 

 The water is not too cold.  The first time I did this in his presence was in October 2006 in Seaside, OR and he thought I was nuts.  He said, “the water will be really cold” and I said “I’m not going swimming, just wading so I don’t mind that it is cool”.   I grew up on both coasts and spent my summers at the beach as a child and teen so walking on the sand and wading in the water is a must for me at the beach. 

Turning back east we retrace our steps to the  Astoria-Megler Bridge which we passed earlier in the day and now taking it across the Columbia River 

to the town of Astoria, OR. 

The Bridge is 4.1 miles long, connects Astoria, OR to Megler, WA and is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.  It was the last segment of U.S. 101 between Olympia WA and Los Angeles, CA. 

 The quaint and picturesque town of Astoria dates to 1805-06 when the Lewis and Clark expedition camped at Ft. Clatsop and today is a busy port and vacation spot with many interesting shops and attractions including the Columbia River Maritime Museum and the Astoria Columns.  Both worth a visit if you are in the area.  

Ron and I had been here in 2006 to sightsee so stopped along the water driving onto a wood pier bridge out to a wharf to eat dinner at a restaurant called Rogue Public House

serving sandwiches and locally made beer.  We sat at a table next to the window overlooking the water where two large tankers are anchored just off shore.  Good food. 

Driving along Highway 30 to Rainier, OR we cross back over the Columbia River this time via the Longview Bridge (our 5th bridge of the day)  to return to our RV at the Elks Lodge in Kelso.

Looking across to Longview from Rainier, OR