Astoria, Oregon
CHANGES – YEARS PASSED
Astoria was the first settlement on the Pacific coast that was to become the Pacific Northwest, and was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1811. The guests of the M/V Sea Bird explored the Columbia Maritime Museum and visited the winter headquarters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Fort Clatsop. We looked at the abandoned pilings and were reminded of a by-gone era, an era that included huge old-growth timber floating in the bay waiting for the mill, hundreds of fishing boats hauling fish to the canneries situated on pilings shown in this picture, and small boat basins filled to the brim with pleasure craft used for salmon sportfishing. There is still a bit of commercial fishing; the sportfishing has been replaced with whale watching and the timber industry is using small second-growth logs. The highway, which is tall enough for even the largest ocean-going ships to pass under, replaced the ferry that linked Oregon and Washington. Before heading upriver we ventured out to the edge of the ocean to the Columbia River Bar, considered one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world.
CHANGES – YEARS PASSED
Astoria was the first settlement on the Pacific coast that was to become the Pacific Northwest, and was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1811. The guests of the M/V Sea Bird explored the Columbia Maritime Museum and visited the winter headquarters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Fort Clatsop. We looked at the abandoned pilings and were reminded of a by-gone era, an era that included huge old-growth timber floating in the bay waiting for the mill, hundreds of fishing boats hauling fish to the canneries situated on pilings shown in this picture, and small boat basins filled to the brim with pleasure craft used for salmon sportfishing. There is still a bit of commercial fishing; the sportfishing has been replaced with whale watching and the timber industry is using small second-growth logs. The highway, which is tall enough for even the largest ocean-going ships to pass under, replaced the ferry that linked Oregon and Washington. Before heading upriver we ventured out to the edge of the ocean to the Columbia River Bar, considered one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world.
