Day 6&7: Back to the Coast!

When we left Mt. St. Helens we had to make a decision as to where to head next.  We could go straight to Portland and spend the rest of our vacation there or we could go back to the coast and see the northern most part of the Oregon coastline that we had missed at the beginning of our trip.  Of course I was 100% willing to go back to the coast for a couple of more days.  We headed to Astoria, Oregon which is one side of the mouth of the Columbia River and Washington is on the other side.

 

I don't think that I have mentioned that you cannot pump your own gas in Oregon.  This is one of our lovely gas station attendants :)

The Port of Astoria, just inside the mouth of the Columbia

 

 

The Astoria Column...it has carvings that tell the story of the Pioneers and Westward Expansion

 

The bridge that takes you to the other side of the Columbia River and Washington

 

We had dinner at this restaurant, Baked Alaska on the waterfront

 

We ordered Kellan his first meal of his very own at a restaurant.  Grilled salmon with zucchini and squash.  He ate all of the salmon and a little of the vegetables.  I don't think they were cooked soft enough for him.

 

 

 

 

The next morning we crossed the bridge back over into Washington to go to the Lewis and Clark National Park (it includes lots of pieces of land in both Oregon and Washington) and to see two lighthouses.

 

Yep it happened again...the North Head lighthouse is having new glass installed

 

 

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse...I disagree...North Head was the disappointment

 

I forgot to post about Kellan's Mt. St. Helen's National Parks passport stamp (although it is not a National Park it is a National Volcanic Monument so they have a stamp).  We traveled back over the bridge into Oregon and visited Fort Clatsop (the Oregon part of the Lewis and Clark National Park) to get Kellan's stamp for his passport book.

 

The Flavel House built in 1885 by George Flavel, one of Astoria's first millionaires.

 

All of the trashcans in downtown Astoria look like cans of salmon!  I was obsessed...Michael was less than impressed.

 

 

Shipwreck of the Peter Iredale from 1906 still sits on the beach at Ft. Stevens outside of Astoria

 

We kept driving south to Seaside, Oregon...the end of the Lewis and Clark Trail.  We didn't visit any historical centers here but I guess this was as far as Lewis and Clark's exploration could take them once they had reached the Pacific Ocean.  And what a place to stop...it is beautiful here!

 

Kellan and Michael hanging out with Lewis and Clark

 

We had lunch at the Seaside Oceanfront Inn and Restaurant.  It was the perfect little inn and I wish we had time to stay there.  It was right on the beach and you walk right out onto the boardwalk.

 

They have starfish lights hanging from all of the light poles in their downtown.  It is just an adorable little ocean side town.  Lots of inns and little shops.  They also had a small outlet shopping center.  We already had tons of luggage so we couldn't go crazy shopping but we did go to Carter's and Osh Kosh to get Kellan a few cold weather outfits.  It was hard to say no, when did I also mention, that Oregon has NO SALES TAX?  Its a crazy looking receipt I tell ya!  Whatever your food, clothes, etc. costs is what you pay...no tax.  Very strange...but nice.

 

The beach has a view of this cliff that you can see off in the distance.  Portland was our final destination for the evening so we left Seaside and headed to Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock at sunset before we said goodbye to the Pacific Ocean.

 

This is where our trip began so many days ago!  We have circled Oregon and somehow ended up back where we started!  I am so glad that we did.  The sunset over these rocks was amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was sad to say goodbye to the coast (for a second time) but we were both excited to spend our last few days in Portland.   The best thing about it...we stayed at the same hotel and didn't have to unpack and repack the car every morning and night!



Day 6: Mount St. Helens

We arrived in the surrounding area of Mount St. Helens after dark so we found somewhere to stay and looked for a place to eat dinner.  We were kind of in the middle of nowhere so our options were scarce.  The man at the hotel kept going on and on about the wonderful hamburgers at a little place just a couple of miles down the road so we decided to give it a try.  Well...we tried.  We walked in and sat down.  The place was completely empty except for 2 people at the bar.  When the owner/manager/waiter came out from the kitchen he told us that he couldn't serve us because we had a minor (Kellan).  We found this so funny and at first we thought he was joking...nope he was totally serious.  We had to take a picture of the Country Corner Kitchen and Tavern.

 

Kellan is the only 11 month old that I know that has already been kicked out of a bar for being underage :)

We had to drive a little farther but we did find somewhere else to eat!  Before we went in search of dinner we got a cabin at Silver Lake Resort.  I'm not going to lie, it was a little creepy at night.  Not because of the place...it was an adorable little hotel with 10 cabins right on Silver Lake.  However, like I said before, we were in the middle of nowhere (there isn't a whole lot around Mt. St. Helens) and on top of that its the off season for most travelers.  The entire hotel was completely empty and only one other cabin had someone in it.  So we were in the middle of the woods, beside this lake and an empty hotel, and surrounded by virtually empty cabins.  Of course the next morning, it seemed silly for being freaked out because its such a cute place.

The hotel and dock

Our cabin, lucky number 7, right on the water :)

Nothing fancy but definitely cute

We got ready, packed the car, and headed towards Mt. St. Helens.  The lady at the hotel came by our cabin to give us a coupon for another nearby restaurant called Patty's Place (The couple at Silver Lake were so nice) and she said it would be on our way.

Patty's Place was SO GOOD!  We actually ate there twice...on the way up to Mt. St. Helens for breakfast and on the way back down for lunch.

The man at Silver Lake also told us to be sure to check out Clearwater Lake on our way up the mountain.  This completely natural lake did not exist before the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980.  Several lakes were totally filled in and no longer are there because of the blast.  On the other hand, the eruption also created new bodies of water like this one.  It was very interesting to hear the park rangers talk about how nature is correcting itself and is slowly working to rebuild the habitats that used to be here.

Just so that you can compare the before and after...this was a picture of Mt. St. Helens the day before the eruption.  USGS Photograph taken on May 17, 1980, by Harry Glicken

Mt. St. Helens, 2 years after the eruption.  Isn't it crazy how much of this mountain came off?  I also learned that it technically wasn't blown off...some of it was blown off, but a lot of it slid down the side causing a massive avalanche.  USGS Photograph taken on May 19, 1982, by Lyn Topinka.

Now back to our pictures (not nearly as impressive), it was difficult to get clear pictures because of a haze due to the wildfires all over the Pacific Northwest.  We were able to see a lot better than the pictures show.  It was amazing to see the before and after shots of the mountain and all of the changes that the blast caused inside the museum. 

32 years later you can still see the damage that was done.  Trees still lay over on their side and you can see tiny little toothpick forests on the tops of nearby mountains where trees were singed to death and left standing in place.  There is also a huge pumice field that surrounds the nearby area too...just like Crater Lake.  It is amazing that after all of this time, scrubby grass is the only thing growing on this land that used to be covered with thick forests.  This whole area was either covered with mud from the avalanche, entire forests were leveled, or entire forests were burned to death but left standing.  It is absolutely amazing to see the destruction in person.

Our adventure continues tomorrow...