Blogs from Astoria, Oregon, United States, North America - page 3

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North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria August 29th 2008

Fort Stevens was our camping accommodations on Thursday night, as we rolled into town at around 9:00. Being right before the Labor Day weekend, the ranger told us we were lucky to get a spot. Starting Friday, they were booked solid. This was the largest campground west of the Mississippi, and the fourth largest in the country, with well over 500 campsites. Because of the lateness, and the rain, we decided to sleep in the car. In the morning, amidst the gray skies typical of the Pacific Northwest, and a fair share of sprinkles, we proceeded to Astoria, where we had a wonderful tour of the local laundromat. Astoria was named after John Jacob Astor, and is the oldest town in the American west, founded only five years after the Lewis and Clark expedition. It's also ... read more
Astoria
Banana Slug
Lewis and Clark

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria August 21st 2008

The Oregon coast is renowned for its ruggedly picturesque border with the Pacific. We will have to take this for granted because when we drove down it, the weather was horrific with gales, driving rain and not enough blue sky to make even a sailor's hankie, let alone trousers. However all was not lost as there was a secondary reason for our visit. A few hours south of Seattle is the small coastal town of Astoria, which has pimped itself to Hollywood on amny an occasion, and has hence appeared in a number of celluloid horrors such as Short Circuit (Number 5 Alive!), Kindergarten Cop and Free Willy. However it redeems itself as the setting for possibly the greatest childrens adventure movie ever, The Goonies . Written by Speilberg, a bunch of kids (The Goonies) go ... read more
GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE!
From the film
From the film

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria January 3rd 2008

Believe it or not, birding can be a sport. As an activity where there are winners and there are losers and there are stats, birding is indeed a sport. Allow me to elaborate: In the world of birds, there occurs a phenomenon where, on occasion, a particular bird will have some wires crossed (just as humans do), and they get a little lost in life. Instead of returning to their wintering grounds or sticking with their conspecifics en route to their breeding grounds, they find themselves on vacation hundreds of miles from where they belong. On occasion, birdwatchers run across these "vagrants," as they're called, and report to fellow birders of their serendipitous find. When it comes to rarities, word travels fast throughout the birding community, as it means "tickers," or "listers," have the opportunity to ... read more
Taking Flight
Northern Shovelers
Pintails in Flight

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria December 28th 2007

I love arriving at new places in the dark and discovering them in the morning. We did not have high expectations of seaside, as it was merely the first place we came to and we needed to stop driving. But it was a really cute low-key seaside village. Maybe the main street was slightly prettied up for the tourists, but if so, it was done sensitively enough. No Shopping mall ugliness or gold coast style high rise development. Just little coastal shacks and old bagged brick hotels whose peeling walls had seen years of salt and rain and wind. We woke up and walked to the beach. It was sooooo good to see waves again for the first time since Hawaii. You wouldn’t want to be going swimming without a full winter weight wet suit, booties ... read more
Chiang
There must be some good stuff in that water
Jono

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria October 9th 2007

I will be setting off on a solo, self-contained bike tour in June 2008. I'll be following the 4,255 mile (6,848Km) TransAmerica Route from west to east. It will take me through the states in this order: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Virginia.... read more

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria September 22nd 2007

It seems that no matter where we go there is road construction. Yesterday we couldn't get into Oregon because it was closed. Sorry! Actually it was just the bridge from WA but it has become a joke. No matter how small the town, there is road construction. Orange barrels rule America! Thanks for the info. Windie. We were in Astoria last night, which seemed pretty nice. Cannon City is close by so we'll check it out today. We drove along Lake Crescent twice going to Olympic but we didn't stay there. Maybe next time. It reminded us of Loch Lomand in Scotland (except the hills had trees instead of being bare). Olympic was great. We had marvelous views of Mt. Olympus and the Olympic Range and did two hikes in the rain forest. Incredible! I cannot ... read more

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria September 16th 2007

Here are some pictures from the wharf in Astoria. ... read more
Dinner
Bold birds
Traffic

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria September 15th 2007

Bob and I went to Astoria today, only to find out there’s way more to do than can be done in one day! That area is rich in history, and we saw just a glimpse of it. There is the Astoria Column which is 125’ tall, and has 164 steps in the spiral staircase. That’s 112 more steps to climb when you first think, “Enough already!” But the view at the top is gorgeous, and well worth the climb. We went on a cloudy day and it was still breathtaking. Coming down that spiraling torture chamber made me very very dizzy. We spent most of the day on the wharf. They have lots of tourist shops (hi, Rosie!) and places to sit and watch the river traffic. We saw several sea lions, and watched them ... read more
Astoria Bridge
View from Top
Guess who!

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria June 10th 2007

We crossed the Astoria/Megler Bridge spanning the great Columbia River and into a really good Sunday Market, lots of pleasant interesting people and goodies. We loved the old derelict timber pilings. The timbered Riverwalk with tracks in the middle for a 1913 self-powered tram that runs in season. The Astoria Column on the hill behind the city is covered in a mural depicting 14 scenes of important events in the history of the city. The 164 circular steps to the top of the 42 metre column are worth climbing. There’s a viewing platform offering great views of the Columbia River, the Astoria/Megler Bridge, the Pacific Ocean, Washington State to the north and Oregon to the south. We also visited the Columbia Lightship and Maritime Museum. We’d intended to visit Fort Clatsop but ran out of time. ... read more
Derelict timber piling
David on the Riverwalk
Columbia Lightship

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria May 10th 2006

Fort Stevens is strategically located at the mouth of the Columbia River on the Oregon side. The Fort was commissioned in 1863 to defend against the possible attack from Canada should England enter the Civil War on the Confederate side and was active until decommissioned in 1947. On June 6, 1941 a Japanese submarine fired several 5.5” rounds at the fort, causing no damage, but making Fort Stevens the only military installation on US soil to come under enemy attack since the War of 1812. Today it is a State Park, Oregon’s largest, and you can tour the vast network of gun emplacements, underground batteries, and a museum covering the fort’s long history. An interesting sidelight is the “Gratitude Train”. In 1949, France presented the US with 49 narrow gauge railroad boxcars loaded with artworks and ... read more
Biker Babe
The Gratitude Train
The Astoria Tower




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