Wednesday - September 8
Awesome drive from home to Cannon Beach today. We were up bright and early, as usual, and left home at 10:30. :=) It's only a four-hour-or-so drive. Why rush?!
From I-5, we took exit 36 and crossed over the Lewis and Clark bridge at Longview. Wow! Whatta view! The bridge is high, high in the air. This was our first trip over the bridge. Glad Bruce knows how to handle the rig. It's a freakin' long way down! There was a spectacular view of Weyerhaeuser's operation at Longview. Geri had been to the paper mill early in her career with the company but had no idea just how big that place is. Amazing!
Crossing the bridge, we took a right and headed toward Astoria on Hwy 30.
Astoria was established in 1811 by the John Jacob Astor fur trading party, and became the first permanent U.S. settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The City was recognized as the nation’s first real claim to the West by no less than Thomas Jefferson and written about by Washington Irving. The Astor Party claim was significant in shaping the map of the US.
Running along the mighty Columbia, we enjoyed leaves gently falling off the trees as they prepared for winter. Some fall colors are developing, and there were a few hints of red woven into the pattern. Still mostly green, though, but even the rain we were driving through didn't dampen our experience. The hilly, winding Coast Range mountain road fully lined with trees of all shapes and sizes, would be beautiful on a sunny day. The Columbia was calm and quiet today, kept getting wider and wider until we could see the bar between the river and the ocean. At the mouth of the river were several freighters anchored offshore. The homes at the river's edge were what one would expect of oceanfront property, weathered looking and small. Thinking back to the days when they were built, most people didn't need the monuments of today. All they wanted was a place to shelter their families. Imagine what the constant wind, dampness and salt air would do to a home, and you find it in the area of Astoria. Branches on trees all leaned away from the ocean as a testament to the tortures of this environment. Yet, the ocean can be such a beautiful place. We're hoping to find some of that beauty during our stay on the coast, or we may wind up taking a walk in a storm to hear the heightened pounding of the surf. This trip is all about no schedule, doing what we want when we want. Something pretty new for us!
Turning south on Hwy 101, we started reminiscing about the trip we made on our motorcycle in 1984. Fun trip! We took the ferry that time across the Columbia. Our first night out was a campground at Seaside. We bought a three-man dome tent and sealed the seams as suggested. Excited about our new toy and trip, we set up and settled in. It rained that night, and I mean poured! Oh well, our little tent will keep us toasty, we thought, as we crawled into our sleeping bags for the night. At some point, we woke to water everywhere! Everything but EVERYthing was soaked! The only part of the tent that didn't leak was the seams! We squeezed out as much water as we could, loaded up on the bike and headed inland posthaste! Our second night was spent at the Travelodge in Roseburg where the beds were so hard, we couldn't sleep on them. But! We had the tent hanging over the shower rod, and clothes and sleeping bags were everywhere else in the room. Sheesh! Bruce was up about 4 a.m. and hanging out at Denny's across the street when Geri woke shortly thereafter and joined him. The bike was loaded back up and down the road we went. And you wonder why we have an RV and why Geri stutters when even thinking about the word ccccc-cccc-ccc-kamping?! Yes, we used the tent for the rest of the trip with a couple of exceptions. Ahhh, the memories. ;=)
We arrived at our destination for the next few days at Cannon Beach. As we climbed out of the truck to go register, Geri's first words were, "Smell the ocean?!" "Mmm, hmmm," said Bruce. Where did the pleasure of smelling salt air come from? Geri can remember many trips to the ocean with her parents and sister, and Dad had boats later in her life. Dad loved bombing around Puget Sound and the San Juans when his boats were big enough to go safely to those islands. Maybe that's where it came from. Whatever the reason, Geri enjoys the smell even though the ocean is not one of her favorite places. I mean, most of the time it's cold and gray. Why would anyone want to go there? Yet, here we are. ;=)
The park's hosts pointed us in the direction of our site, and we set up amidst pines and firs in what felt like a rain forest. Should be quiet tonight. Yea! No satellite reception when one is parked in the trees, but we didn't come here to play on the computer. Of course, we will from time to time, but out and about we go. Well, Bruce has had a beer and we relaxed for a few so out we go. First stop? Dinner at Mo's! Sounded great from what we were told and they didn't disappoint. We could see campfires being enjoyed on the beach and a couple on horses came by. What ambiance! Great way to end the day.