Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
21.
Fort Clatsop National Memorial
“Great joy…we are in view of the ocean…which we [have] been so long anxious to see.”
So wrote the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in their journal on November
7, 1805-19 months and 4,000 miles after their party of 33 had begun its epic journey from
St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Ocean. But before long a taste of winter in the Northw-
est turned their glee into gloom. “O! How horriable is the day…waves brakeing with great
violence against the shore…all wet and confined to our shelters.”
Lewis and Clark built their log cabins and stockade, known as Fort Clatsop, beside a
riverthatnowbearstheirnames.In1955thesestructureswerefaithfullyre-creatednearthe
original site—a damp, sun-dappled forest of spruce and hemlock. Also re-created here are
the daily crafts that were practiced in the early 19th century. On summer days, interpreters
dressedinperiodgarbdemonstratesuchskillsascandlemaking,canoebuilding,andfiring
a muzzle-loader musket
THE FINE ART OF WHALE WATCHING
More than 20 species of whales parade past the Oregon coast, but only a few come
close enough to shore to be seen. The most common of these, gray whales, migrate
6,000 miles to the nutrient-rich waters of the Arctic between February and June and
thenreturn,fromNovemberuntilJanuary,tothewarmlagoonsoffthecoastofMexico
to breed. About 400 “resident whales” gray whales that do not migrate—can be seen
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