With a clear sky we decided to stop early in the afternoon at Cape Disappointment State Park, situated at the mouth of the great Columbia River. Following a short hike out to the lighthouse we returned to our seaside campsite to watch the sun go down while enjoying some sangria. I went out to chat with a Colorado couple who were clamming.......the process involves walking along the shore and watching for your foot pressure to create nearby sudden indentations or air bubbles in the sand which indicates the presence of a razor clam digging further down to escape. Then you push your clam gun (a 2 foot plastic / aluminum tube) into the wet sand (it goes down easily) and pull up the sand which hopefully contains a clam. It looks easier to do than digging with a shovel which I had seen previously. This particular couple wasn't having a lot of luck, only 5 clams in a couple of days. The previous day in Westport, I spoke with a couple cleaning their catch in the campground and they had both caught their limit of 15 razor clams (each) in one walk along the coast.......almost 3 pounds worth. With fresh clams selling for $19 / lb. we understood why so many people were out clamming.
The next day we headed inland along the north coast of the Columbia River which turns into a gorge after 50 km's making for a beautiful drive. We hiked up to the top of Beacon Rock, a volcanic creation, where the 360 degree views were wonderful. There was also lots of windsurfing and kitesurfing activity along the very wide Columbia River. About 150 km's inland we crossed over the river to Oregon and drove west along the south side of the river which also had spectacular views and another state park with a waterside campsite. Then it was on to Portland where we spent the day walking around the city........Chinatown, Old Town, Pioneer Square and the International Rose Test Gardens (a highlight with hundreds of different species, many of them still in bloom). We found Portland to be much older looking than Seattle with lots of destitute street people throughout the city. We decided to leave after one day and stay overnight south of the city in Wilsonville where we stayed in an RV park very close to the Xerox facility, the former Tektronix headquarters.......it reminded me of the Xerox training centre in Leesburg, Virgina.........a large campus set back in the woods and not visible from any roads.
Our next destination will be the Willamette Valley, home of over 200 wineries and some nice hikes.
The next day we headed inland along the north coast of the Columbia River which turns into a gorge after 50 km's making for a beautiful drive. We hiked up to the top of Beacon Rock, a volcanic creation, where the 360 degree views were wonderful. There was also lots of windsurfing and kitesurfing activity along the very wide Columbia River. About 150 km's inland we crossed over the river to Oregon and drove west along the south side of the river which also had spectacular views and another state park with a waterside campsite. Then it was on to Portland where we spent the day walking around the city........Chinatown, Old Town, Pioneer Square and the International Rose Test Gardens (a highlight with hundreds of different species, many of them still in bloom). We found Portland to be much older looking than Seattle with lots of destitute street people throughout the city. We decided to leave after one day and stay overnight south of the city in Wilsonville where we stayed in an RV park very close to the Xerox facility, the former Tektronix headquarters.......it reminded me of the Xerox training centre in Leesburg, Virgina.........a large campus set back in the woods and not visible from any roads.
Our next destination will be the Willamette Valley, home of over 200 wineries and some nice hikes.
No comments:
Post a Comment