8/24/2014
We took a ride up US 101 from Nehalem Bay, OR to Leadbetter Point, WA yesterday. This route takes you along the Pacific coast, through several small coastal towns, across the Columbia River via the Astoria Bridge, and then north along a tiny peninsula with the Pacific on one side & a beautiful Bay on the other.
It being Saturday, there was a fair amount of traffic, we think mostly from the Portland area, and several festivals going on. There was also a 5K/10K run in Seaside, OR and a major Kite Festival in Long Beach, WA, so there was plenty of traffic to contend with. On the ride back, we got involved in a traffic jam in Gearhart/Seaside that made a 3 mile drive take 2 hours. But we love people watching and there was plenty of that to go along with our day. We stopped at the Kite Festival too, mostly as it was wrapping up for the day. My brother & I did a LOT of kite flying as kids, so it was fun to see what the professionals were up to. I saw a $1200 kite for sale, a far cry from the ones we spent $.10 on as kids...wow!
The highlight of the day was the ride across the Astoria Bridge and back and the a trip to the Astoria Column and the accompanying view from the top of that location. The Column is a tribute to the Lewis & Clark expedition that make made it to the mouth of the Columbia River before heading back to St Louis. The folks out here make a big deal about the Lewis & Clark Expedition and rightfully so, it was a major deal at the time. There is a huge amount of recognition out here, which is fun to explore in its own right.
We had a beautiful day, and watching the weather change several times was pretty amazing. There is a tunnel we drove thru that had cloudy, misty weather on one side and bright sunshine on the other. This an very unpredictable area weather-wise, but very beautiful & interesting too. Enjoy the pictures.
Our hearts go out to the folks in Napa, CA who are dealing with an earthquake this morning. We spent time there several years ago and stayed downtown in the area with the most damage. Looks like a lot of damage.
Steve & Barb Larson
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| Astoria Bridge on the Oregon side |
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| Literally 100s of fishing boats on the Washington side |
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| Long Beach, WA and the kite festival |
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| A beach-going firetruck |
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| Kites galore |
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| Astoria Bridge on the Washington side |
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| The bridge from the Astoria Column site |
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| Astoria Column |
Those kites didn't cost a buck, the paper ones were $0.10 and the box and plastic kites were $0.25. The cotton string was cheap but utterly worthless as it usually broke from it's own weight at about 500'. But yes, Mountain Lake was GREAT for kite flying and with a 4-way bridle rigged right, you could fly one out of sight in just minutes.
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