Sept. 18 & 19, 2010

4,000 miles to the Pacific Ocean!  That's what Lewis and Clark accomplished, and so have I.  And the weather conditions they encountered are ... well ... pretty much what Jim and I are encountering.  For the last two days there has been fog, rain, and wind!  The drive on Saturday, especially during the last hour in the dark to Ilwaco, was not fun ... the road was serpentine, a bit hilly, and it was very dark and rained the entire way.  What should have taken an hour, took a good hour and a half.

But the trip around the Olympic Peninsula, though in rain and fog, had moments of stunning beauty.  The most magnificent was of the Olympic Range.  We had been assured by a park ranger that Hurricane Ridge was clear, but on our way up the mountains we were skeptical.  It was misty the first part of the climb, and foggy the entire way ... until we rounded the last switchback!  There in front of us was the sun shining on the most glorious of snow-capped mountains.  It looked as if we'd driven all the way to Switzerland!

This doe and fawn (Black-tailed Deer) are used to people, no doubt!

Perspective is from a higher point on a short hike.

Only time caused us to pull ourselves away from this awesome place, but with the draw of the rain forest and a long drive ahead of us, we descended into the rain and fog once again.  But we made it to the ocean, catching glimpses through pines along the coast.

Pushing on, we arrived in Ilwaco, on Cape Disappointment, after 9:00, relieved to have made it, and appreciating that Lewis and Clark had made it possible for us to arrive at a motel instead of a campsite drenched in a soaking rain.

On the 19th, we awoke to an overcast and potentially rainy morning, which in  fact materialized at times.  We visited the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center on the Cape (a wonderful interpretive site with lots of information).  It sits on a high peak overlooking the confluence of the Columbia and the Pacific.  From the deck we watched pelicans in flight ... headed south toward California.

Our hiking was cut short because of rain, but we did make it to the top of North Head Light House.  A volunteer was informative about all sorts of interesting light house "stuff" ... he was really good!  He told us stories of ship wrecks, light house lenses, technological improvements, historic care of lighthouses, etc.  One funny story involves the three-month inspection by the Coast Guard.  In the 1800's, the lighthouse keeper had laundry hanging on a clothesline when the inspector came and was written up for the infraction.  It apparently was a day with sun and the wife was trying to take advantage of that.  Of course, today lighthouses are totally automated; Coast Guard inspections are still conducted every three months, but all the inspector does is change bulbs and make sure the mechanics are in good working order!

From the light house we went north along the coast to a couple of sites with sculptures to commemorate Lewis and Clark, one of which is a bronze tree with the carving that Clark left in 1805.

Who knows what the original carving was like, but the words are Clark's from my understanding.

Having spent a good day on Cape Disappointment, we headed toward Astoria, OR, which is only 15 miles away, so that in the morning we'd be set for a tour of Fort Clatsop.  If it rains, it will be like Lewis and Clark's experienced ... they had something like 60 days of rain out of the 80 spent at their fort.  Wow!