"Ocean in view--oh the joy!"

Cascade Mountains in clouds


Fort Clatsop


Mouth of the Columbia River looking at the Pacific Ocean

The Columbia near wher ethere used to be some major falls that L&C had to get over/around. Now the whole river is crossed and calmed by a series of dams.

Well, L&C, the Corps of Discovery, and Daisy and I finally made it to the Pacific. We left yesterday from Kennewick, WA, and got to the Columbia River quite quickly; we followed it to Vancouver, WA (across the river from Portland, OE). L&C spent the majority of their time on the north (Washington) side of the river until the very end.

Today we went about 100 miles past Vancouver where L&C stopped at Cape Disappointment, having been beset by storms all along the way. They took a vote (first time in US history that a slave, a woman, and a Native American voted in a democratic election) about what to do: stay there, go back to the falls (about 100 miles east of Vancouver/Portland), or cross to the south side (what is now Oregon) and see if they could find a better place.

They voted almost unanimously and crossed over and within a few days began building Fort Clatsop. Here they had better protection from storms, access to the ocean to make salt, and ample game to eat, mainly elk--and dogs and fish they bought from the local Indians.

The winter was pretty awful. They finished the fort just before Christmas, and in the 4 months they stayed there they had only 12 days without rain, and saw the sun on only 6 days. They kept busy finding and eating food as well as preserving some for the return trip, making clothes and shoes for the return trip, making salt, etc. They were in almost constant contact with local Indians and didn;t much like them. They wished they were back among their friends the Nez Perce or Mandans.

Unable to stand the dismal spot any longer, they headed east on March 22. They got to the Weippe Plain and their friends the Nez Perce by mid-May but then were stalled till late June by enduring snows in those awful Bitterroot Mountains. After crossing them, they split into separate groups on July 3 (I have mentioned this previously) and met up again near the junction of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers on August 12. From there most of them made a fairly quick journey back to St Louis, arriving Sept 23. Sacajawea, her son, and her husband Charbonneau stayed at the Mandan villages, and John Colter, one of the privates, requested and was granted permission to head back west. He subsequently discovered what is now Yellowstone National Park, although it was several years before anyone would believe his fantastic tales of steaming earth, spouting geysers, etc.

So, we're done with L&C, for now. It's been an amazing journey. They only lost one man--Sgt Floyd, on the expedition; made friends w/ most of the Native Americans with whom they met--notably not w/ the Blackfeet, of whom they killed one or two. They survived near starvation, blizzards, uncertainty, the great Unknown, etc. One question I have: what did Seaman (Lewis's Newfoundland dog) think about all the dogs they ate during their time on the Columbia?

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will go to Mt. St. Helens and, time permitting, see some of Portland. We have an appointment for oil change, tire rotation, etc at 4 tomorrow at a local Honda dealer. On Saturday we'll explore more of Portland and make plans for our trip to TX, via several more national parks.

My blogs will have more varied themes, and for sure I want to get back to the inspiration for the title of this blog: John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley: In Search of America." Has anyone read it?