Astoria, Or

Thursday was overcast and in the afternoon we even got some drizzle, but that is why it is so beautiful here in the Pacific Northwest. We drove to Astoria and of course when you go to Astoria you need to drive across the Astoria-Megler Bridge to Washington. This bridge is truly a wonder.

Astoria Megler Bridge

The bridge spans 4.1 miles across the Columbia River. On the Oregon side it raises 197 feet above the water to allow ships to pass under it and move up the Columbia River. It then lovers down to just above water level for the rest of the way to Washington. In the below picture you can see how it drops down and stays level to  the river.

Bridge

Here we are entering the tall bridge span. They are working on the bridge so it goes down to one lane here.

Tall Span

Dropping down for the ride into Washington.

Workers on the Bridge

We made it to Washington!

Welcome to Washington

We took this picture from the Washington side.

Washington Span

We are getting ready to go up the hill back into Oregon. I like this picture that Patty took. 

Back to Oregon

The best view in Astoria is the Astoria Column. We have been there twice before. Once with Barry and Suzie Miller, and once with Scott and Terri. It never get's old.

You can see the column at the top of the hill.

Column in the center of the picture

First you need to drive up the hill to the column.

Steep streets of Astoria

The road to the column is beautiful. 

Road to Astoria Column

The column is high on the hill and has great views of all of Astoria.

Astoria Column

 Looking up the column at all 164 steps!

Staircase

Lets get started!

Starting up the spiral staircase!

Someone offered to take a picture of us at the top. You can really see how long the bridge is.

See we made it!

The bridge you see in this picture is a draw bridge.

 We then went down to the boardwalk and went to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. It was $12.00 per person but well worth it.

Museum

This U.S. Coast Guard rescue boat was retired after 19 years of service. It is self righting and self bailing. It overturned several times, and even flipped head over heals before. It just kept on working. Amazing!

Rescue boat

This is the bridge from the USS Knapp. It was placed here whole before the museum building was built. They actually built the museum around it.

USS Knapp

The Columbia Lightship is part of the museum. You show your tickets and you can tour the lightship. A lightship is a ship that is placed somewhere that a lighthouse is not feasible. They anchor it and light up a sandbar or harbor or some navigable area.

Columbia Lightship

The crews of the lightship would work 6 weeks on and 3 weeks off. That gave crew members that lived in California a chance to be with family.

Lightship Tour

After the museum we did some shopping in Warrenton which is about 11 miles from our campground. They have a Costco and a Fred Meyers. 


After the Astoria Column the Jacuzzi felt good. 


We hope you enjoyed following along with us.
God Bless,
Brian and Patty