Walks in His Gardens--Fort Stevens Area

Across the bay from Astoria and along the most northwesterly coast of Oregon are a few more places worth visiting (only some of which we were able to fit in during our time there). The main destination for us here would be Fort Stevens, a large state park which borders both the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River. It is amazing place with a shipwreck (everyone survived it), a rock jetty with an observation tower--good for seeing whales, lots of seabirds and the mouth of the Columbia, beaches along both the river and ocean, a beautiful lake and more!
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When I was a child we used to come here and 'Farmer Boy' and I brought our own kids here when they were younger too--in fact somewhere I have a photo of them by the wreck of the Peter Iredale. It is time to start scanning again photos in our scrapbooks I think.

But before I show you Ft Stevens, I want to show you photos of the Lindgren cabin at Cullaby Lake. Since we have Lindgrens (not this line though and Swedish not Finnish) in our extended family ancestry, and since I love log cabins, I definitely wanted to do at least a drive-by before heading onto the park. I am not sure if the cabin is ever open for tours but I would dearly love to go inside someday:)

The Lindgren cabin.

This was built by a Finnish immigrant and his neighbor per the sign to be found here. It is made of axe-hewn cedar logs and was later moved to this site. .

Have I said enough that I LOVE it:)
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And now Ft Stevens---

Coffenbury Lake.

I thought there was a huge sand dune here by the lake but I didn't really see much of one. Perhaps things have changed or maybe I am thinking of Honeymun State Park near Florence which also has a lake. Or maybe all things look bigger to small children:)

The Peter Iredale shipwreck.

Another child perspective thing--it seemed like the wreck was always surrounded by the ocean whenever I saw it. Maybe this was the case and the shoreline has changed or maybe we always came at high tide.

What is challenging is trying to get a photo without any people in it--this spot has been popular for as long as I remember! As it was I had to use photo editing software:)

More info on the shipwreck and some more photos can be found here.

Inside the shipwreck (bow section)

Yes it was a little foggy here; not the pretty wispy white fog though.

I think I'm getting into the fall mood already--I miss showers and pretty, wispy white fog--the kind that you get in early autumn on the mountains :)

Photo taken from the remains of the stern

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Along the Clatsop Spit--this might be Trestle Bay or the Columbia River.

Info on the Columbia River is here.

Another area.

The mouth of the Columbia River.

Sorry about the very poor quality of the photo; my camera is not doing well on some distance shots. While we were there we saw a huge amount of birds, as I have said and a whale. We also saw ships on their way towards the river's mouth. Now I know why my 'gut instinct' said to bring a pair of binoculars with me; what I don't know is why I didn't listen to it :(

Ya know--this photo looks more like a watercolor then a photo; strange.

The South Jetty

There is an observation tower here where you can view both the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River.

This is part of the Battery Russell.

You start your visit here climbing a flight of stairs that lead you up to this area where you'll find really old buildings that are pretty interesting and if you are 'lucky' (like we were) maybe even a dead rat. Yuck..and in keeping with my luck I almost stepped on it. I did force myself to take a photo of the dead one but I am thinking of enlarging my 'no reptile picture posting policy' to include rodents too. so NO photo here!

And that is final.

I might also add that before you get into this area, there is a sign warning of dangers like holes, drop offs and so forth. It is worth a trip but the warning is real; this place was last used in WW2.

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We both climbed to the top section of this building--my best friend via the stairs and I by a earthen ramp. I think at one time you could see the coastline from there but the trees have really grown and it is no longer visible. It may come as a surprise to some that this area was shelled during World War II by the Japanese; the Americans did not return fire and no one was killed. Some info about the Battery can be found here and here too along with more photos..

Part of the Peace Memorial.

And on that note I will close and say good night!

Blessings,

Aimee