Astoria is in the very northwest corner of Oregon. It is a small town that began as a fur trading post for John Jacob Astor and also the place where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806 planning their trip back to the "United States" after succeeding in reaching the Pacific Ocean. While in Astoria, we visited Fort Clatsop where Lewis and Clark spent the winter. The fort was very small and didn't look like it had a lot of "creature comforts"! During the winter, the explorers copied all their notes, maps, and drawings, which were many, in case one set got lost on the way back. Too bad there wasn't an "Office Max" nearby, since it was a time consuming process!
Besides the fort, we also toured the Columbia Maritime Museum. Where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean it is a turbulent area, due to high winds, waves, and dangerous obstacles in the water. Known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific", there have been countless shipwrecks there. Our last stop in Astoria was the Astoria Column. We climbed up the 164 steps and got a wonderful 360 degree view of this area. The tower has murals of Oregon history around its exterior and is really beautiful up close. Yes, that is me waving at the top of the tower!
Next stop-Portland, Oregon. What a neat, cosmopolitan town with lots to do and see! After a morning at the Portland Farmer's Market on the campus of Portland State University, we visited Portland's Japanese Garden in Washington Park. This is considered one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan. There are actually 5 separate gardens and we were able to take a narrated tour to learn the special symbolism and meaning of each of them. There are 5 acres of ground and it takes 7 full-time gardeners to manage it. One of the gardeners is a moss specialist and manicures the moss with tweezers! In one part of the gardens there was a perfect view of Mt Hood overlooking the city. All in all, it was a beautiful and peaceful place!
There are several scenic drives around Portland, one of which was the Mt Hood scenic loop, which we drove. We had lunch at the Timberline Lodge overlooking Mt Hood and the summer skiers! After lunch, we took a ride on the ski lift, called the "Miracle Mile"! It seemed like we could see forever in all directions! On the way back to our campground, we passed through the "Fruit Loop", which is in the fertile valley next to Mt Hood that produces a lot of different fruit and berries, including the famous "Huckleberry". Our last stop of this drive was at Hood River, which is unofficially considered the "windsurfing capital of the world". This area of the Columbia River usually has strong winds, ideal for this sport. We had a great time watching the kite-boarders and wind-surfers!
We couldn't leave the Portland area without viewing the Columbia River Gorge. Historic Route 30 was a great drive, with 7 waterfalls along the way, some viewable from the road. Our first stop along the drive was at Crown Point, elevated on a cliff far above the gorge, where you can see 30 miles in either direction on a clear day! What gorgeous scenery! Vista House is on top of the point and was built in 1918 as one of the first rest stops. Somehow, rest stops have changed over the years, since this one had marble floors and walls in the bathrooms! At the end of the drive, we took a boat ride through part of the gorge, among the huge, craggy cliffs. We could only imagine what Lewis and Clark must have thought, as they paddled their canoes through this area!
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