Our month long stay in Garibaldi, Oregon is coming to a close. We have had many fun adventures while here, including exploring the towns of Cannon Beach and Astoria along the coast.
We headed out to visit Cannon Beach on a beautiful, sunny morning. It's only about 30 miles north of the campground, but when we got about 10 minutes away, it turned cloudy. We walked along the beach to see the famous Haystack Rock in cold, windy, cloudy weather. Oh, well. The scenery was still amazing. Here is Haystack Rock.
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| Kevin and Evelyn in front of Haystack Rock |
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| Brad, Martha, Kevin and Evelyn attempting a selfie at Haystack Rock |
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| More rocks with Haystack Rock |
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| Beautiful, expensive homes along the beach across from Haystack Rock |
Fog was hanging low over the shore. All of the fog on the Oregon Coast makes for some really unusual and pretty views.
A sign at the parking lot explained about how puffins come to Haystack Rock to nest in April. It takes about 100 days for the babies to mature. Then they head back out to sea. I was hoping to see them, but no such luck. Since we were here in August, I'm guessing they've already left. So, all you get is a picture of the sign.
I liked this wood carving of a sea caption in front of one of the hotels.
We had lunch at Mo's, a popular chain of restaurants along the coast. The clam chowder was very good. Kevin and I came back another day and had lunch at the Public Coast Brewing Company. The food wasn't the greatest and pricey. The beer was okay.
On our return visit, we visited Ecola State Park. I had read there are some great tide pools at Indian Beach in the park. All I saw was this single sea anemone. This is what they look like open.
And, here's what they look like closed. Some very good camouflage.
Indian Beach was a beautiful spot in a bay. There were lots of surfers and people enjoying the beach. The sun was kind enough to peak out every once in a while. Several movies have been filmed here including The Goonies, Point Break, Kindergarten Cop and Twilight. Much of The Goonies was filmed in Astoria, and there are several locations that can be visited. We didn't have time for that. It's a fun movie from the 1980s about a group of kids that find an old pirate ship full of treasure.
We picked a great day to visit Astoria. It was sunny and over 80 degrees while we were there. The warmest day by far since we've been on the coast. Astoria is the furthest north town along the coast before crossing into Washington on the Astoria Bridge. It is a busy port city near the mouth of the Columbia River. It was founded in 1811, is the oldest city in Oregon, and was the first permanent settlement west of the Rocky Mountains.
We visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum and learned a great deal about the fishing industry, shipwrecks, the Coast Guard and lots of other maritime history.
I had never heard of the bar where the ocean and rivers meet. The sand coming down the river and the waves pushing in from the ocean create sandbars and waves which can be very dangerous for ships. The Columbia Bar, also called the Graveyard of the Pacific, is one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world. Many ships have sunk here. Years ago jetties were built and sand is continually dredged to make the crossing safer, but it can still be treacherous.
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| Freighters lined up waiting to move down the river |
The Coast Guard uses the area as a training station for learning how to rescue ships and people in some of the worst conditions possible. I felt the museum was very interesting and definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area.
Included in the museum admission was a visit to the Columbia Lightship. This was a floating lighthouse at the entrance to the river channel to guide boats to the safest way to enter. It was used from 1950 to 1979. It was replaced by the electric light seen in front of the ship. Now they use a GPS sonar to guide the ships.
There is a nice river walk along the river with shops and restaurants. The original city was built on pilings, but burned down twice. Some of the old pilings are still visible.
We had lunch at Astoria Brewing. The beers were good, the clam chowder was excellent, but the fish and chips was not too good being overcooked and dry. After lunch we drove up to the Astoria Column for some magnificent views.
The 125 foot column was built in 1926 by the Great Northern Railway as a monument to the riches of the Pacific Northwest and the people who settled there. Attilio Pusteria was the artistic genius behind the 525 foot long mural that wraps the column. Pusteria was an Italian immigrant with expertise in the sgraffito method, an engraving technique used by potters. The mural depicts 14 significant events in the history of Oregon as well as 18 scenes from the history of the region including the Lewis and Clark expedition.
There are 164 steps to climb to the top. Martha and I were up for the challenge and made it with a few stops to catch our breath. The views from the top on this sunny day were spectacular. We were even able to see Mount St. Helens in Washington.
Our friends, Leonard and Ione, from the resort in Yuma live south of Portland in the summer. They brought their boat to Garibaldi and took us out crabbing. We had a great time and caught our limit of 36 crabs within a few hours. Then we had to cook and clean them all. What a marvelous bounty. They were delicious!!
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| The crab pots were so full it took the two of them to pull them up. Heave ho!! |
Chicken legs work very well for crab bait. After we had our limit, the leftover chicken was tossed to the seagulls waiting nearby. They were fighting to get that chicken!
Leonard left the boat at the campground with us and came back a few days later to go salmon fishing with a few of the guys. Kevin has only fished a handful of times in his life, but was willing to give it a try. He caught the only fish! We estimate it was about 15 pounds. The guys helped him filet it, and we split it up between the three guys who went fishing. Great job, Kevin!!
This is the roe from the female fish, which is the fish eggs. That's a lot of eggs. Some fishermen treat the eggs with some kind of solution, and then use it as bait.
There is an old steam train that gives rides along the coast from Garibaldi to Rockaway Beach. One day there were these cute little cars sitting on the track. I asked one of the ladies what was going on. These little cars are the type used to repair the tracks in days gone by. Private parties have purchased and refurbished some of the cars and have a club of owners. They get together in different areas and ride the rails. Fun!!
Tillamook has a farmer's market on Saturdays. This cute cow bench is on the sidewalk. It would fit in just as well in Wisconsin.
Tomorrow we head further south for a week in Florence along the coast. More adventures await!
Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!
