Day 26 - August 17, 2013

This is a photo of my 6' x 10' space, aka "Roomette" 

aboard the M/V Kennicott

A view from the dock of Fishermen's Terminal

Seattle, WA

Overlooking the Columbia River and Longview, Washington 

from the Oregon side of the river.

Another photo of Longview and the Columbia River

This one is farther up the overlooking hill.

A photo of the exterior view of the replica of Fort Clatsop

An interior view of the replica of Fort Clatsop

August 17, 2013

Day twenty six.  All is well.  Back on the bike.

I am back on the bike, and headed home....almost.  

The M/V Kennicott arrived in Bellingham , WA at 6:00 a.m. this morning, and by 6:30 the bike was loaded and I was off the ship, headed south on I-5.  I stopped for a cup of coffee a short ride down the interstate, and then I stopped for brunch at The Fishermen's Terminal in Seattle, which is approximately 90 miles due south, and it was almost two hours travel time, in part because of heavy traffic.  Brunch was excellent, and I enjoyed the short tour of the terminal area.  Very scenic.

After brunch I set my sights on getting to Fort Clatsop along the banks of the Columbia River, which is the Washington-Oregon border, and almost 200 miles south (over four hours travel time).  Fort Clatsop (named for the local Indian tribe) was the winter encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (aka Corps of Discovery) in the Oregon Country, near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805-1806. Although the Corps of Discovery made it to the Pacific Ocean as they planed, they retreated to near the location where the replica is built for shelter and security.  The replica was constructed based upon drawings of Merriwether Lewis in his journal, and is the same size as the original (50' x 50').  It took the men of Discovery three weeks to construct the original, and they were in and sheltered by Christmas Day, 1805. They remained at this location as long as they could, awaiting the spring thaws to allow passage through the mountains for their return home.

A visit to Fort Clatsop was an important part of my travels, as it gave me the opportunity to view the Corps' 1805-1806 winter home on the same trip that I had viewed their 1804-1805 winter home at Fort Mandan (North Dakota), which I saw on July 26, 2013.  Photos and notes of this visit are posted elsewhere in this blog. 

The whole of the Columbia River basin area was/is beautiful, and the small town of Astoria (pop. 10,000), sitting on the south banks of the Columbia River, five miles from Fort Clatsop, is on one of the loveliest sites for a town I have ever seen.  

Astoria has a deep-water port, and the river at Astoria looked to be well over a mile wide.  Today the Columbia River had numerous large sea-going ships anchored in the river at multiple locations from where I crossed at Fairview, Washington to Astoria, Oregon.  

Another good day.