Astoria, Oregon
At dawn the National Geographic Sea Bird is nearing the dock at the deep-water Port of Astoria. This is a working dock and on the large, orange, ocean-going bulk carrier Lucy Oldendorff cranes are busy loading logs from a huge pile located on the dock. Gulls wheel overhead and harbor seals and California sea lions approach us with curiosity.
Soon we are off to Fort Clatsop, not only to learn about Lewis & Clark and their Corps of Discovery wintering here in 1805-06, but also to walk in a beautiful rain forest. Here, where mushrooms are springing forth and Douglas squirrels are dining on spruce cones, we are surrounded by beautiful plants and magnificent large Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar trees. Next we visit the excellent Columbia River Maritime Museum to learn about the Columbia River and the dangerous Columbia Bar at its mouth.
In the afternoon we drive to Cape Disappointment to tour the Lewis & Cark Interpretive Center, gaze out over the Pacific from the high headland, and walk again in the forest on our way to Waikiki Beach. Now we see a bald eagle soaring just over the treetops and a moment later, in great contrast, a small flock of tiny Golden-crowned Kinglets in the underbrush.
Our day ends on a high note as we sail across the Columbia Bar and enter the waters of the Pacific Ocean. “Ocean in view, oh the joy!” Indeed!
