Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Sojourn to Oregon Coast, Part 1: Fort Clatsop

(Image:  Fort Clatsop's Main Gate)

Last weekend my girlfriend and I took a trip to the Oregon Coast.  While the West Coast may not have the plethora of battlefield parks the East Coast does, there are some significant historical landmarks on this side of the country.  One of the earliest, non-Native American sites is Fort Clatsop, the winter quarters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

(Image: Exterior of Lewis and Clark's room)

After a 3-4 hour drive, we managed to reach the national park a few hours before it closed. 

(Image: The Back Gate)

The "fort" was rudimentary at best.  At least the expedition leaders got the deluxe accommodations...



...such as it was.  And they still had to be roomies.

The "Couple's Suite" belonged to Sacagawea and her hubby, Toussaint Charbonneau. 


I have to admit, I know very little about Sacagwea and was surprised to learn she was already married while on the expedition.

(Image:  The fort's well)

There were a handful of reenactors on hand to answer questions from us tourist-types.  The best part was the rifled-musket demonstration, where the gentlemen, pictured below, regaled the small crowd on the expedition's first encounter with a Grizzly Bear.  The bear chased several men into a river and was finally brought down on the eighth shot. 



We left the fort 15 minutes before closing time.  After checking-in to the hotel, we had dinner at Doogers, where I had razorback clams for the first time.  Then it was a "race against time," as we drove to the beach to catch the sunset...



There's plenty to do and see on the Oregon Coast and we're looking forward to visiting this area again. 

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