I set off in a wet sea mist. For the first time in weeks the sunglasses were stowed and the rain jacket on.
I was pleased that I ended my trip at the same point Lewis and Clark ended their westward journey. The Corps of Discovery reached the Pacific Ocean in November 1805 and wintered at Fort Clatsop. First though I rode through Seaside where they established a salt making camp to flavour and preserve food. The salt kettles have been preserved.
From Seaside I followed the 'Lewis & Clark Road' which was much quieter than the main highway. I visited Fort Clatsop where the 31 men plus the Indian guide Sacagawea and her baby spent 4 months in the winter of 1805-06. Of the 106 days the explorers spent at the fort it rained every day but 12!
A replica Fort has been built on the site. It must have felt like small quarters and also taken an immense amount of work to build only to be used for 4 months.
From then it was onto Astoria and a finish at the maritime museum in the sunshine.
Is it the same Astoria as in the song "so long Astoria" (by the Ataris), I wonder? I imagine there´s a fair few places with that name though
ReplyDeleteAh Imo, in the days of google we no longer have to wonder about these things. According to the internet, the song alludes to the 1895 film 'The Goonies' which was set in Astoria, Oregon. Google does take a bit of mystery out of life - maybe I shouldn't have looked!
DeleteI've not seen The Goonies, maybe now I'll have to watch it.
Oh yes, Google, I really should have checked that first. If you don´t know the song you should have a listen. I think if I was cycling across the US I´d be making a playlist of all the songs mentioned in the places I was going through. Hehehe
Delete