11/22/20

Sightseeing at Cape Disappointment

 As I mentioned in yesterday's post, our Thursday afternoon turned bright a sunny. We grabbed the opportunity to get out and do a little sight-seeing. Our first stop was this lookout above the state park. Looking to the north, we saw this:


A few of you have expressed curiosity about how Cape Disappointment got its name. The sign pictured below explains it.
 

If you're interested in reading about the quest to settle this part of the world, I can recommend two good books: Astoria, by Peter Stark, and The Men Who United the States, by Simon Winchester. Both are excellent. Just by coincidence, I read them sequentially, although I can't remember which I read first.

Looking to the south, we saw this:


From there, we drove to where the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center was located. Sadly, the museum is closed because of COVID, but it was still worth the trip. We saw some things we'd previously been unaware of. There was a short hike from the parking lot to the museum. Along the way, we read these two signs.



At the top of the hill, one could visit the museum in different times. I liked the quote from Jefferson on the side of the building.


Here, a sign explained what we could see from the ocean side of the building. (Remember that you can make the image larger by clicking on it.)



Looking north, we could see the north jetty:


Looking south, we could barely see the south jetty. I wrote some about this when we visited Fort Stevens this past summer. Also, we were as close to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse as we've ever been. It's possible to walk out there closer, but the trail was closed without explanation.


Here's another difficult-to-see image showing you what we're looking at.


And another closer view of the lighthouse. You can read more about it right here, and you can also learn of how treacherous it is to navigate these waters. 


As we turned to walk back, we were standing above Fort Canby. Looking down, we could see where one of the hidden cannons was once mounted to protect the coastline during World War II.


So, let's just take a little walk through Fort Canby, shall we? But first, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the many ways you could die out here today. Please watch your step.


Sorry about all the sun flares on the image below. I couldn't see them until I took the pictures off the camera, but here's Fort Canby. It's smaller than Fort Stevens on the Oregon side. We visited there a few years back. You can read more about it and compare the two right here.


Here are a few informational signs. Sorry to post so many pictures of signs here, but this stuff all interests me. If you're not up for reading signs, then please scroll on by. There's more below.




Here's a little information about Fort Canby. Remember that this area along the Oregon coast was the one place where the United States homeland was attacked during World War II. Also, there was concern about enemy ships navigating the Columbia River to reach farther inland.




In this next image, I'm standing inside Battery Harvey Allen looking out. On the right is where one of the cannons was mounted.


These next signs were inside the structure and they explain the layout of the place.


Here, I'm standing outside the entrance.


This next image shows the interior of the battery. The two subsequent images explain what you're seeing in the lettered sections.





Here, I'm standing outside the structure. The cannon was mounted on the center right structure.


Here are a few of the rooms inside. In this next image is the room identified above as the "guard room." The "office" was its mirror image. Both rooms had fireplaces.


This room is a storage room. Looking out, it looked like this.


To my left were these shelves.


I like seeing these images of the old uniforms and equipment. My father was a WWII vet, and it gives me some idea of his life long before I was born.


If I'd been alive, and we'd been stationed here, we would have lived like this.



There are other forts farther north in Washington, but these are the three in the local area. We have not yet visited Fort Columbia.


So once we'd seen our fill, we walked back to the truck and drove into Ilwaco in search of something for lunch. As we were leaving, a mother deer passed in front of us along with this young fawn.


We stopped off for some fish & chips. This little cafe known as the Loose Caboose was kind of a lucky find. With Washington restaurants shut-down for all but take-out food again, they brought menus to our truck, and then we called in our order. In a few minutes, the food was served up piping hot, and we drove back to the RV to eat it. Yum. There's nothing like fresh seafood when you're visiting the beach.


After lunch, I sat and stitched the binding for Friendship's Garden in one sitting. And that there's a finish. I started this quilt on March 9, 2018, while we were on our USA perimeter tour.


On our final morning at Cape Disappointment, I stitched down the binding on my challenge piece. You'll have to wait until February 1st to see it. Sorry.


Also, I stitched this far on Calendula Patterdrip's Cottage. This section is 50 inches wide, so there's still a long way to go. Recall that the bottom portions of the stitchery will be completed when the blocks are sewn together.


The wind died down for our trip home, and so we crossed the tall scary bridge in Astoria. It's not so scary from the Washington side.


And that was our trip. It was well worth it, even though the weather didn't cooperate much. It was nice to get a change of scenery, and I have no complaints about spending most of the time stitching. It was very relaxing. 

The RV is unpacked now, and I can start getting back to normal, such as it is in these COVID times. I have some housework to do, and I need to make up a shopping list for our drastically scaled down Thanksgiving feast. I'll say more about that later.

19 comments:

Barbara said...

I will not play tug o' war. I'd rather play hug o' war. Where everyone hugs instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins. ~ Shel Silverstein

JCH said...

Very interesting and informative. Thanks for the tour.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Thank you for sharing - this would something I would love to visit, but a coastal trip would make for a long, rough trip for me. So nice to see it thru your eyes. Yeah, a second finish!! More hand work is on my 2021 goal list.

QuiltShopGal said...

Thank you for sharing local history with us. I've been to Fort Stevens and some in Washington, but not this one. Quite interesting perspective and beautiful photos. I'm glad you were able to get away and outside for a walk, but mostly for those yummy fish & chips. I can almost smell them and I'm a wee bit jealous, yet happy for you.

Julierose said...

Your Friendship quilt is simply gorgeous...Love those little cornerstone pieces--they really set off the blocks beautifully.
Happy you got a little getaway respite...
hugs from afar cross country Julierose

Cathy Smith said...

I'll admit to being a cruise nut! I've been to Astoria several times via ship. Have also missed Astoria a few times via ship! The winds at Columbia Bar can be strong enough to deter a large ship from even attempting to sail the short distance to Astoria. They can also give you one heck of a ride leaving the channel and entering the open ocean! It is known as "The graveyard (for ships) of the Pacific" because of the number of ships lost in the area. Astoria has a whiz bang maritime museum that is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Lyndsey said...

Thank you for sharing Barbara. I love the history and I always read all the information boards when we visit anywhere. Love the Friendship Garden quilt. A great finish

MissPat said...

Thanks for the informative tour. I, too, always read the information boards everywhere, museums, art galleries, historic sites, quilt shows, botanic gardens. Any one traveling with me is always finished way before me. Forgot to mention on the last post that we'll be spending Thanksgiving home alone, but then we've been doing that the last 5 years or so, nothing new for us. And I always cook a traditional turkey dinner. It's tradition. I got a 13 lb turkey for $6.00 so there will be lots of leftovers and soup, too.
Pat

Quilting Babcia said...

So interesting to revisit this place that we last visited nearly 22 years ago, the girls were 16 then, not much interested in reading all the signs. Thanks for sharing all the photos. And the Shel Silversteen quote. Gonna borrow that for my FB page, it's needed by all of us right now.

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

I so much enjoyed your trip. What an interesting place and you have given so much detail. We are locked down so it's very refreshing to be reminded there is still a world to be discovered out there :)

piecefulwendy said...

So much fun to read the post and remember the visit. I remember trying to figure out the jetty and wrap my head around why that was so treacherous when it doesn't look that way. I'm also reminded of the restaurant we visited in Astoria; now I need to go check to see if it's still in existence. Welcome home!

Christine said...

Thank you so much for sharing your trip. I love all the history, makes a change from English and European; I didn't know that there were enemy attacks on the land. Fascinating!

Quilter said...


Oh my gosh I feel like I just went on a trip - Thank you so
much for taking the time to give such wonderful details of
all of your adventures - I learn so much about places I have
never been and may never get to - it like a wonderful trip
without packing or getting lost of any of those things tha
make for a bad day... So glad you all were able to get away
and have some time to kinda do nothing but something so
interesting... Have learned so much from all your wonderful
trips and look forward to more.. Thank you so much
and have a Wonderful Thanksgiving as we are staying in also...
MaryLou

Nancy said...

Thanks for the interesting tour! That channel sounds quite treacherous for navigation. I love the photo of the soldier with all his gear on the motorcycle. And it's fun to read the narrative plaques on your tour. I chuckled at one that said they used one room to store needed supplies like cans of paint. Cans of paint?? Interesting that it made it on the list of important supplies. You got a lot of stitching done-yay.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I love traveling through your eyes - places that I, of course, will never see on my own. Thank you! It was fascinating to read all the signs that you shared. Glad you're home safely!

AnnieQuilts said...

I'm an avid sign-reader. Thanks for sharing.

QuiltGranma said...

My cousin is, or has been a licensed bar piolet for some time. He has some interesting stories! Offered me the job, I said NO THANKS. In spite of the rain, I'd say you had a wonderful time. Welcome home.

Tammy Hutchinson said...

Very interesting post Barbara! We will add Cape D to our list! And I appreciate the book the recommendations, I always like to read about the area while getting there.

Kate said...

Another interesting place. My Guy was walking by as I was reading and he asked where the pictures were from. He said to put Cape Disappointment on our travel list for when we can actually go places again. Sorry the weather wasn't cooperative, but you got a great finish out of the trip and a chance to get out of the house.