Today we explored the lower reaches of the Colombia River, an area rich in natural and cultural history.
At Fort Clatsop, we strolled under towering spruce trees. Amazingly they were less than a century old, fast-growing in this bountiful environment. On the river, we saw pelicans, terns, gulls, and cormorants, divvying up the Columbia's largess.
Though biologically beneficent, this region was not so kind to early European sojourners. Lewis and Clark hated it. Endless rain, fleas, and rotting provisions made their Oregonian winter a misery. The awful bar of the Columbia kept explorers at bay for decades. Captain Meares, having convinced himself that no river emptied here, named a nearby promontory "Cape Disappointment."
The Cape disappointed us not at all. From its heights we gazed at the great bar of the Columbia, now partially tamed. Brandt's cormorants studded the cliffs below us, and huge waves, perhaps generated by New Zealand's storms, surged and dribbled around them.
Nearby, Cape Disappointment Light still winks at lonely mariners. Though the oldest on the Pacific shore, it is coupled with a modern Coast Guard control post. This apt reminder of the river's power ties us in history to all who have struggled in this beautiful, interesting, and dangerous place.
At Fort Clatsop, we strolled under towering spruce trees. Amazingly they were less than a century old, fast-growing in this bountiful environment. On the river, we saw pelicans, terns, gulls, and cormorants, divvying up the Columbia's largess.
Though biologically beneficent, this region was not so kind to early European sojourners. Lewis and Clark hated it. Endless rain, fleas, and rotting provisions made their Oregonian winter a misery. The awful bar of the Columbia kept explorers at bay for decades. Captain Meares, having convinced himself that no river emptied here, named a nearby promontory "Cape Disappointment."
The Cape disappointed us not at all. From its heights we gazed at the great bar of the Columbia, now partially tamed. Brandt's cormorants studded the cliffs below us, and huge waves, perhaps generated by New Zealand's storms, surged and dribbled around them.
Nearby, Cape Disappointment Light still winks at lonely mariners. Though the oldest on the Pacific shore, it is coupled with a modern Coast Guard control post. This apt reminder of the river's power ties us in history to all who have struggled in this beautiful, interesting, and dangerous place.
