We spent the day near the mighty Columbia’s mouth, a region rich in cultural and natural history. We started the day at the Columbia River bar. This spot is famed for wrecking ships, and is still only partially tamed. Though we ventured just within sight of the waves, conditions still threatened—dark clouds towered over the surf, and lightning flickered in the sky! Nearby, soaked in rotting hide garments and eating rotting elk meat, Lewis, Clark & co. spent a miserable winter. We visited the site of their soggy sojourn. Weather for our visit to Fort Clatsop was appropriately wet.
But lo! By the time we returned to our ship, docked at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, the sky had cleared, and sunshine, a rare commodity in this part of the world, dappled the hills and sidewalks. Our guided tour through the museum led through days of exploration, whaling, fishing, and military times.
For the afternoon, most of us bussed out to Cape Disappointment. This promontory was named in 1788, when Captain John Meares was disappointed to find no river entrance. But we were pleased. Many of us walked to the lighthouse, from which the entrance was very much in evidence. A huge ship lumbered in its swells. Pelicans and gulls whirled above its foam-flecked waves.
Back on the ship, we began our way to Portland, and had time to consider conclusions. The variety of the Pacific Northwest is tied by overlapping themes—the rivers, the salmon that inhabit them, ancient native cultures, historic explorers, and, in no small way, by our experiences.
