June 25, Tuesday Several years ago we visited the Graveyard of the Atlantic – today we headed for the Graveyard of the Pacific! Tom had to wait around until I decided to get up at 8:30. He walked the dogs around the campground – the biggest campground in the United States! First stop: South Jetty. From the observation tower, a park volunteer told us the whole story of this 6-mile long (longest in the world) Jetty. It was begun in the 1890’s to tame the water where the Pacific Ocean met the Columbia River – the most dangerous section of waterway in the coastal USA! From where we stood on the tower, there were 2,000 wrecks in the area . . . each one with a story. The jetty has made the waterway consistent and predictable so that the channel does not change with each storm, and allows the river to flush its heavy load of silt. While there, we saw a large freighter navigating from the ocean to the river. We drove a short mile to the Columbia River access and followed a trail back to the Wildlife Viewing Bunker! It was a pleasant boardwalk, with lots of wildflowers in bloom . . . but the only signs of wildlife we saw was scat! We saw the freighter up close as it continued up the Columbia River. Lunch stop: Grizzly Fish & Chips. The fish is deep-fat-fried Tuna! Excellent! A drive out to Ecola State Park and Indian Beach gave us another high-up ocean view of beaches, craggy rocks, and the very short Tillamook Lighthouse – the only privately owned Oregon coast lighthouse on the National Register of Historical Places! After viewing the beach from the high cliffs, we drove the bouncy, narrow, wooded road down to the beach itself for a totally different view. Our last sight-seeing stop of the day was the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park – the last stopping point of Lewis and Clark at the end of their 4,000 mile trek of exploration in 1805. Here they built Fort Clatsop which provided shelter as they waited out the winter, and gave them good facilities to work on their journals, to analyze gathered specimens, and to prepare for their trip home. On our way back up the coast (we had drifted about 25 miles from our campground) we stopped at a fish market for Chinook Salmon and some scallops. We have been spending about $30 on our self-prepared seafood meals, and by the time we add our side-dishes, happy hour rations, and casual campsite seating . . . we are dining in cheap splendor.
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |