Fort Clatsop

We visited here last week, and again today. Fort Clatsop is about 7 miles from Fort Stevens, where we are camped. The fort is a replica of where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent the winter of 1805-06, just inland of the south side of the Columbia River. The fort supposedly stands within 20 yards of the original, of which there is no trace left. The river in the picture is the Lewis and Clark River, which flows into the Columbia just a couple of miles from the picture. When the expedition reached the mouth of the Columbia at the Pacific Ocean, they were on what is now the Washington side. They had been expecting, or at least hoping, to meet up with ship coming up the ocean coast and get a ride home, but were sorely disappointed. Thus, the name of the point--Cape Disappointment. They realized they would have to spend the winter before heading back overland, and Lewis and Clark took a vote from the expedition members whether to winter right there or cross to the south side of the river. Everybody in the party got an equal vote, including Sacajawea and Clark's black slave, York, which was pretty amazing. The majority voted to cross the river, which is how they came to build Fort Clatsop,named in honor of the local Indian tribe.

There are several nice hiking trails in the area, which we didn't get to, but we did kayak on the Lewis and Clark River this morning. We launched at Netul's (Neh TALL's) Landing, where Lewis and Clark landed, and started paddling upriver against the current and into the wind, figuring we'd work hard going out, then turn around and drift back with the wind and the current. Wrong! Just about the time we turned around, the wind not only shifted but started blowing even harder. It was harder going back down, even with the current, than it had been paddling up. We really got a workout. Oh, and did I mention it was raining?

Tomorrow we leave here and head for our next campsite--Cape Lookout, somewhere south of Tillamook, but less than 100 miles away. Tillamook is the home of a big cheese factory that gives tours, an airplane museum, and several quilt shops, among other things. We are planning a quick trip back into Astoria in the morning before we leave to hit one more museum, ride the waterfront trolley, and have an early fish and chips lunch at The Bowpicker. If it's too rainy to eat at the picnic table, we'll either eat it the car, or go back to the Ship Inn instead.