Cape Disappointment & The Corps of Discovery

Sunday was our busiest day so far.

We drove across the Columbia River on the Astoria bridge that connects Oregon to Washington and around the coastline to Cape Disappointment State Park.

Honestly, I don't even know where to start in telling you about this part of our trip. The drive was beautiful; little seaside towns and lovely trees, but then you take a turn off the main highway and make your way into the park itself and you are immediately in awe of everything you see. I kept telling Dad that I couldn't believe it was only a state park and not national! It really is that special.

Our first stop was Beard's Hollow, a small lookout point where you can see the ocean. We got so excited about the view that we jumped back in the car to get a closer look.

Beard's Hollow also has a trailhead which we found as we made our way further into the park itself. We got out of the car and hit the trail that led straight out to the beach area. As we crossed the low sand dunes, we just fell in love with the beautiful view that is the Pacific Ocean. Walking out onto a beach always gives me this open and unfettered feeling. We walked along the beach and took pictures for a while. I picked up a beautiful, tiny shell that is perfectly curved and white.

The waves crashed against the rocks that fold out into the water and Dad and I had a good time exploring the area some. Afterwards, we went back down the trail and admired the mossy green covering the trees and made Sasquatch jokes.

This entire time I've been feeling like I am walking through the Harry and the Henderson's movie. Haha.

After that, we drove to North Head Lighthouse which which was put into service on May 16, 1898. The area has a beautiful view of the coast and on that day there was no wind or rain. We have been told several times that the weather we are enjoying is uncommon for this time of year!

A few more miles down the road took us to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center which sits atop an old military battery where a MASSIVE gun was hidden. The center has some fascinating artifacts that may have belonged to the explorers and some that definitely belonged to Patrick Gass, the Corps of Discovery's carpenter. The items include a wooden box said to have been carved and given to Gass by Sacajawea herself, a hatchet, a metal flask, and some books.

The flask was my favorite piece because Gass carried it with him throughout the entire journey. It was really neat to look at it through the glass and think about all they went through to accomplish what Jefferson had asked them to do. It's the small things a lot of the time that get to me, just the intimate pieces people carry with them from home.

We tried to make it to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse but the trail was really steep and my knees were about to give out. We did make it to Dead Man's Cove which lies directly beneath the lighthouse itself. The cove is very mysterious looking and reminded me of something out of Peter Pan. Strange, I know.

I bought some lovely things in the gift shop, including a stuffed Sasquatch. He is the cutest thing! I also bought a silver charm that has Meriwether Lewis' face on it and some postcards.

After the park, we drove on down the coast to the (kind of hidden spot) where there is a monument to the tree where Captain William Clark carved his name and the date as he emerged from the woods onto the beach. The tree is metal, but the inscription believed to be written by Clark reads "William Clark. November 19th, 1805. By Land from the U. States." We were excited to see this portion of the trail and coupled with the beautiful beach area, we were not disappointed.

On our drive back to Astoria, we stopped at Fort Columbia which was an operational fort from 1896 until 1947. The buildings are painted yellow and can be rented for vacation homes. We enjoyed climbing over the concrete areas that were built during WWII. There are two big guns that when fired recoil down into the ground.

I don't know a lot about war weaponry, but those were pretty cool.

That was the end of our day yesterday and, as you can imagine, we were pretty tuckered out by 5 pm. I must say, I am pretty tired even now!