SUNSHINE START, SCOTCH BROOM SCENERY, SLUGGISH STROLL, SPA SUNSET
It was a beautiful sunny morning when we left Everett and sailed down I-5 through downtown Seattle with hardly any heavy traffic. When we got to the State capital city of Olympia, we turned onto Highway 8 toward the west coast.
This two lane road took us through Satsop, site of a never-completed nuclear power plant, whose horizon is dominated by two enormous smokestacks (picture the Three Mile Island or China Syndrome type) high on a hill. We followed the Chehalis River along a lush and boggy valley as it flowed toward Grays Harbor. And, the sun disappeared. It got cold, breezy and a little misty.
The highway was lined with various wildflowers, including a quite colorful invasive shrub known as Scotch Broom. Apparently, it was introduced in the 19th century to help control erosion. Now, they can’t get rid of it as it continues to spread.
At the lumber town of Aberdeen (also home to the famous late grunge rocker, Kurt Cobain), we turned south on Highway 105 and hugged the west coast through the towns of Westport (we had picnic lunch at a surfers spot called Westport Light State Beach), Grayland (home to many cranberry growers - see picture of dormant cultivation bog on the corner of Turkey and Cranberry roads), and Raymond (where the Willapa River empties into Willapa Bay).
From there, we caught Highway 101 south to Cape Disappointment State Park. This headland is at the southwest corner Washington and is one of the places explored by Lewis and Clark when they reached the Pacific Ocean. We walked along a couple of trails and saw the North Head Lighthouse and some ruins of WWII-era buildings that were used as observation positions to guard the entrance to the Columbia River. I also came across a fairly good sized mollusk on one of the trails.
It was so overcast by this time, that it felt like night at 5pm. So we got back on 101 south to Astoria, OR. This meant we had to cross the Columbia River. The Megler Bridge is 4 miles long and is a spectacular way to travel across the water.
The Cannery Pier Hotel and Spa will be our home for the next few nights. We are at the base of the Megler Bridge on a pier overlooking the entrance to the Columbia River. From our room we can watch large container ships sailing by in both directions.
NEXT: Down to Tillamook and Back
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