We made it to the West Coast

On Friday morning September 16th we were heading toward the west coast.  We had 230 miles to add to the odometer before reaching Cranberry RV Park in Long Beach, Washington.  The first hundred and twenty miles were on I-84 W  then we hopped on to Hwy 26 just out of Portland, Oregon.  Once we reached Astoria, Oregon we crossed the mouth of the Columbia River on the Astoria-Megler Bridge.  The bridge replaced ferry lines running from Astoria to Washington and was originally a toll bridge.  Once the bridge was paid off the toll was removed.  It stretches 4.1 miles across the river.  Click here to watch a pretty cool video that Joe found of the bridge.  All of the pictures I had taken of the bridge were through the bug splattered windshield of  the motorhome so needless to say they were not very pleasing to the eyes.

Long Beach boasts that is has the "World's Longest Drivable Beach" so we did not waste any time to go check it out.  The beach is 28 miles long with sand that is densely packed that most vehicles can drive on with no problems.  We had to give it a try even though it was raining and we were in Joe's diesel truck.  All was going well until he realized he had gotten off the path but gave it a little more horsepower and we were back on the streets of Long Beach. 

We were hoping to get a fishing trip in during our stay in Long Beach but the weather did not cooperate and the guide we were referred to told us he was moving up the river because that's where the fish were.  He watches the fish count that is done at the Bonneville Dam fish ladder and knew that was now the place to be fishing which just happened to be the exact location we had just left. That is our luck, instead of "you should have been here yesterday" it was more like "you need to be here tomorrow".  Oh well we can hope for another time.

We were only in Long Beach for three days so on Sunday we made a full day of sight seeing.  We did not go out on Saturday because it had rained all day so we had a lot to see in a day.  We visited two historic forts and stopped at several state parks along Hwy 101. Oregon has really nice state parks with campgrounds on the coast that stay booked.   After visiting the parks it was very obvious  as to why advance reservations are needed.

One of the most interesting things we saw was the Columbia River Bar and it is not a place to get a drink.  Greg (the owner of Rollins RV Park) had told Terry about this place where the Columbia River collides with the power of the Pacific Ocean and creates the worst wave conditions on the planet. The Columbia River is known worldwide as the "Graveyard of the Pacific" because over 2000 large ships have sunk in or around the Columbia Bar and numerous shipwrecks.  We were able to see the bar in several locations along the coast because it is 3 miles wide and 6 miles long.  The power of the waves were unbelievable.  I would not ever want to cross the bar and if you click here you will see why.

Enjoying the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

Long Beach - The World's Longest Drivable Beach
There were so many birds.
 

Acres of cranberry bogs on the Long Beach Peninsula.  We even saw an Ocean Spray facility.

Fort Columbia- this was one big gun.

Crickett taking a picture of me taking her picture  at Fort Columbia.

In the 1960's Battery 246 was prepared to serve as shelter for the governor and other key officials in the event of a nuclear attack or other major disasters. 

Terry always sneaking up on Crickett and Joe.

The next few pictures were taken at Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon.   We would love to go back and camp at this park.



There is a rose garden next to the visitor's center at Fort Stevens State Park.

Beautiful roses in the garden.

We were not expecting to see a herd of elk next to the Columbia River.

This brought back memories for Terry of him riding and driving a truck like this one when he was in the service.



The clouds flowed in and out of the mountains.

Trestle Bay wildlife viewing area.  We only saw birds here.

 

Beachgrass

 

The jetties were built between 1885 and 1895 to help keep the mouth of the Columbia River from moving around and to keep the beach sand from clogging up the mouth of the river.

The waves of the Columbia Bar.

The power of the waves are seen here pounding on the rock jetties.

Pretty rough fishing maneuvering around the rocks and the waves.

They were catching two at a time.



Peter Iredale shipwrecked in 1906 and no one was able to remove the boat so it just stayed there.  The entire crew survived the wreck that was caused by bad weather.

Even the dogs were enjoying the beach.

A bit foggy but still beautiful.

Haystack Rock is one of the largest sea stacks on the Pacific coast and is seen in the distance.

I am always looking through the viewfinder.

The bull  is on the left side and had one huge rack.



Crickett telling Terry the phone is for him.

We could not remember the last time we saw a phone booth
 that was actually for public use.

A closer look at Haystack Rock.

Tillamook Lighthouse

Haystack Rock is 235 feet tall and can be seen in Cannon Beach.

The Bowpicker Fish and Chips in Astoria, Oregon
where they serve Albacore tuna lightly battered and fried.
No fancy restaurant just really good fried fish.  We hit it lucky because normally there is a
very long line with only 2 tables outside and if they are taken then
you eat in your vehicle.

I loved their sign.  11ish to 6 unless we run out of fish.

Going to watch the sunset.

Joe and Crickett
 Joe and I were  getting creative with our cameras trying to get silhouette shots.

 

Terry and I enjoying the sunset. 
 

Here I am again looking through my viewfinder waiting for the right moment to click and Terry with the binos.

This is what I waited for to catch the light in the lighthouse.
North Head Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment State Park
Long Beach Peninsula, Washington

The park is located on Cranberry Road and there were several cranberry bogs just down from the park.

Moving out in the rain is not fun.