Astoria & Fort Clatsop
The last full day of our voyage, in Astoria, Oregon, was in many ways the best. We have been following the trail of the Lewis and Clark Expedition all week, and we finally came to their long, winter campsite at Fort Clatsop. Lewis and Clark had not planned to spend the winter on the Pacific Coast, but delays in the Rocky Mountains meant a late arrival. The men of the Expedition built a small fort, and all moved in on Christmas Day, 1805. It was not a pleasant winter. The weather was atrocious, the diet miserable, and the neighborhood unfriendly. What a contrast! Astoria on this October day was warm and sunny. We dined in fashion aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird. The town and its surroundings were friendly. It was a fitting end to a most enjoyable and educational voyage.
When we awoke this morning, the National Geographic Sea Bird had sailed out towards the Columbia River bar, the most treacherous crossing from ocean to river in the world. While we could see waves, the bar was uncommonly quiet today, and it was hard to imagine that 2,000 ships had foundered here over the years. A few seals and sea lions watched our progress. After the ship’s breakfast repast, we adjourned to the nearby (it’s on the same dock!) Columbia River Maritime Museum, containing the best displays of any museum of this sort in the country. The museum focuses on the history of the Columbia River estuary, from the time of Lewis and Clark to the present. This museum is worth travelling to Astoria to see.
Later in the morning, we spent twenty minutes travelling to Fort Clatsop, the winter home of the Expedition. Meriwether Lewis selected the site on December 7, 1805; the men commenced construction, and the Corps of Discovery moved in on Christmas Day. With an excellent visitor’s center, and a reconstructed replica of the fort, this is now a major attraction. None of us could imagine, however, spending 89 days cooped up with nothing to do.
The afternoon was more outgoing. We visited the Astoria Column, atop a nearby hill, for spectacular views in all directions. Some of us visited Cape Disappointment, on the Washington side at the edge of the bar, which boasts an excellent Lewis and Clark display. Some stayed in funky Astoria to shop and sightsee. Others sailed around Tongue Point where the ship anchored for kayaking and Zodiac rides. When all were together for cocktails and dinner, from the Captain on down, we waxed nostalgic over the end of the week, the voyage, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Bon voyage!
