On to Oregon

I met a fellow traveler on the road a few weeks back in Alaska (Micah from a previous blog). He was from Oregon, headed north with his dog, Huck, to Prudhoe Bay. He provided several great recommendations for the OR coast, but forgot to include Astoria, the town I’m in now and, might, perhaps, be staying in for another night or two. Route 101 So. from Washington takes you across a nearly four-mile bridge that spans the width of the Columbia River. Lewis and Clark spent more than two weeks there overlooking the river in 1805, waiting out a merciless winter storm before forging onward, referring to their stay as the “dismal nitch.” Astoria, at the other end of the bridge, is a gritty town of about 10,000, perhaps less gritty now than in its heyday when commercial fishing operations brought in millions of dollars. Its outstanding maritime museum recalls the town’s — and area’s — rich history in waters that have been described as among the world’s most dangerous. Astoria is also the film location for “The Goonies.”