Sunday morning, I woke thinking I would drive
to Fort Columbia, up Chinook way. It would be a long drive – and a long day,
but that did not deter me.
I pulled my Sassy Pants on … and off I went 😉
Off on my Sunday~Funday adventure …
I left the house very early, and I didn’t have
time to make a breakfast; so, I stopped along the way for a quick breakfast – and
a snacky lunch.
My actual goal for Daytrips is to have
breakfast stuff ready-made and in the freezer for quick pullouts/reheats/and
in-hand munching as I am pulling out of the carport. That is what we used to do
– and I will again. But, this Sunday~Funday, I bought junkfoods along the route
…
I bought and scarfed a junk-food 'pig-in-the-blanket' breakfast, at Gragg’s in Cathlamet as I passed through.
We had never stopped at this store just out of Naselle as we passed this way, though it had been here for decades; so, Sunday morning, I decided to check it out …
Slim pickings: I'll keep stopping at Johnson’s 1-Stop gas station/mini mart in Naselle: the pickings are better quality.
As I was passing along the river, this side
of Dismal Niche, I saw that the river was heavy with boat traffic. There were
some sailboats, and speedboats … but the bulk of the river traffic appeared to
be black painted fishing boats - and they covered the water like mosquitoes on bare skin. I’ve never seen anything like it before:
I was informed later by a woman I was talking to at Fort Columbia, that there was a Fishing Derby taking place on the Columbia River.
In no time at all past that bobbling spectacle, I was
parking in the upper parking lot of the Fort; and walking the compound. For a Military Brat, like me; it promised to be a fun day …
Pretty fancy digs for enlisted men in the 1800’s.
Battery Ord Building
I didn’t go into the Battery Ord building, or
the underground bunkers – I do not do well in confined areas (the rooms are
barely more than cubbyholes): I have to have wide open spaces all around me
– even my house has to have the windows free of curtains. I can’t stand to feel
penned in. So, I am sharing this YouTube vid of a person who did go into the
buildings. The vid makes the building seem a little sinister – and it really
isn’t. But, the rooms are kinda like cell rooms – very small/very tight
quarters.
Another vid giving a detailed description of
what each underground room was used for in the Battery Ord Building: http://www.fortwiki.com/Battery_Ord
Ft. Columbia Welcome Plaque with buildings’ legend.
Explanation of the Fort’s operation.
Trail Map Plaque: I snapped a pic of it before I set off to keep me on “the straight and narrow” when I started hiking the Trail 😉
Sand island & East Sand Island in the distance: both are actually in Oregon waters … off Cape Disappointment, which is in Washington State. State boundary lines are in the Ocean.
Battery Gun. These things are HUGE.
Battery Gun “guts”.
Battery Gun Info Plaque.
The only attack on an American mainland
military site, was on June 21st, 1942; during WWII. An imperial japanese
submarine I-25 made its way to the mouth of the Columbia River by trailing
behind American fishing vessels unobserved; to bypass minefields. Once in the
clear, the submarine began a bombardment of Fort Stevens on the Oregon side of the
Columbia River’s ocean entrance.
Video about the big Battery Guns: https://parks.state.wa.us/506/Fort-Columbia
It had been a long drive, and walking all
over the compound – up and down the steep terrain and step after step … my
bladder was asking for relief. A woman who had struck up a talkative
conversation with me, mentioned where the restrooms were located; so, I made
tracks in that direction:
Very fancy restrooms.
Looking at the fancy ceiling tile in the restrooms
(which used to be the Guardhouse), you can imagine what the other building
must look like inside.
From what I can recall, they are very opulent
and richly decorated with good-quality furniture. But they are all shuttered now
during the covid madness.
After touring the upper grounds, I descended
the stately manicured blufftop and explored the lower elevation of the compound.
When Bob and I had visited here, we’d only
ever walked through the fancy buildings. Sunday, I wanted to see the whole
compound:
I was surprised to see the water this close.
Trail to the River.
Facing my water fears.
The Columbia River is one of the most
dangerous rivers in the world – it is a greedy river with a murderous bent ... my
fears of this river are justifiable. I found out later when I stopped at Middle
Village, that this spot is where the Chinook Indians would cast off their fishing
canoes.
Turning and heading back uphill to the upper
parking lot where my car was, I passed the Theatre Building and glanced out
over the river from the cliff; and watched the cormorants for a little while …
Cormorants on old pilings.
Cormorants have webbed feet, they live in the water, and they eat fish … but a cormorant is not a duck.
The climb back uphill in the scorching heat
was brutal.
It was a very STEEP climb in punishing
100-degree weather with no shade at all ‘til I reached the top of the hill – my
lungs & heart got a pretty good workout. I decided, as I huffed and puffed
my way uphill ... to update the paper I carry on my person, and in my wallet, that
details my final wishes. The compound’s uphill terrain … and myriad of steps
everywhere really had me struggling at times and wondering if I’d make it back
to the car without my heart giving out – it WAS THAT STRENUOUS; and I’m a
go-getter-hiker. I did have water with me, and my walking stick, but I was
wishing Bob was there to lean on when it got tough-going. Between the heat and
the constant steep terrain ascent, it got dicey hard and fast; I was gasping
like a fish out of water and praying I would get back to the car before I
collapsed.
I updated my final wishes this morning, got
it printed off, and back in my wallet. Now, if I actually DO have a heart
attack while out and about, it won’t be a major concern.
I am ready to go Home when Yeshua calls – I have
always been ready – but I want to be SURE my physical remains lay next to Bob’s
in the Family Cemetery. I had to have my personal information updated because
things have changed drastically over the past 20 months – people I thought I
could count on have proved feckless and unreliable. The people they have been
replaced with, are stable and reliable: I know they will do right by me if they
ever have to make life-n-death decisions for me … or pick up the pieces and
ferry them to Eden Valley.
Back on high ground of the Compound, again.
The Columbia River Bar (seen in the near
distance of the video above) is the world’s most dangerous entrance to a
major waterway – this is where the force of the mighty Columbia River meets the
great Pacific Ocean: it is, literally a ship’s graveyard.
Breathing easier after resting on the
tailgate of the Highlander; sipping water and people watching for a few minutes,
refreshed and energized me enough to tackle the Trail 😉
E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. at Fort Columbia is
UPHILL – but the Trail, at least, is shaded. Thank Elohim for his merciful
grace. As I walked, there was an offshoot skinny trail at the right of the
Trail junction, and I walked down it a bit; I could hear a waterfall, but a
tree was across the skinny trail and I could not see a safe way around it … so
I backtracked to the Trail junction and went left – uphill:
Loop Hike – SHADE at last!
I'm more comfortable with the forest than near the unruly Columbia River or the tempestuous Ocean.
Very strenuous walking – only 780 elevation gain … but it is a STEEP gain: burning gain.
View of the Fort from the old high, winding Military Road.
Walking downhill went smoother … I could breathe easier.
I had company on my way back down the Trail 😉
It was a cool short walk in the shade - the shade was a good thing. My youngest sister - when I told her I have been solo hiking - said I need to carry Mace with me. So, I will buy some, and add that to my hiking items and carry it with me when I go out solo loboing.
It was good to revisit, but it's not worth dying for. MPO
It was a tough day out, but it was enjoyable,
too. It would have been more enjoyable if the buildings were open to the public.
But, I remember what they looked like inside, so those memories will have to
suffice because I am not going back. My lungs, heart, calves, and butt
muscles got worked hard today. I don’t feel the need to repeat that exercise.
I don't feel the need to flirt with the Grim Reaper to whip my body into shape 😉
Exiting the tunnel and coming up on Middle Village, I decided to nip
in and sit there for a while – maybe try to recapture some of the memories that
were so rudely interrupted last time I was there in July…
And I am glad I did pull in!
A flock of Brown Pelicans flew overhead off
the river as soon as I parked the car 😊 I was excited to see them – I’d only seen 1 my entire life here
in the PNW … and that was decades ago:
Brown Pelicans! Middle Village, Chinook.
They are pretty big birds.
Brown Pelican
st. mary's catholic church in Chinook. I am not a catholic though my mother, and her family were/are. But I do like this building’s architecture. It would have been a shame if it went up in flames a few weeks ago, when I was here then.
Scene of the firecracker brush fire, July 19th, 2020.
Where I was sitting - eating a dounut - when the fire was deliberately started by firecrackers thrown for a car window, last time I was here; July 19th, 2020.
I think these doors are cool ...
Chinook dugout/fishing canoe. Carved from a whole Red Cedar log.
Salish Tribal Canoe. Carved from a whole Red Cedar log.
I think this thing is supposed to resemble a slug. Slugs are very prevalent in the PNW.
Chinook Identification/Recognition Plaque.
Chinook appearances when Lewis & Clark trekked through this part of the PNW.
Ancient Asian influences in the Chinook region.
I almost stepped on this encouraging little yellow flower. “Bloom where you are planted” ran through my thoughts. I am accepting that encouragement as a personal challenge.
Pulling out of Middle Village, I saw a group
of cormorants perched on the pilings between Middle Village and the
Megler-Astoria Bridge; and a flock of Seagulls a little further on …
More Cormorants, in Chinook; the Astoria-Megler Bridge in the background.
Patriotism ... glad to see it. Patriotism, to me, is not a dirty word. I was heartened to see that patriotism is not yet dead.
Seagulls on old Cannery pilings.
Coming up on Rosburg, I decided to drive out
to Eden Valley.
I felt Bob’s cremains calling out
to me – I couldn’t just drive on past.
20 months.
It seems like only yesterday … and at the
same time, it seems like a lifetime ago.
His cremains were calling; I had to go.
I promised I would never forget: I don’t want
to forget.
And I wondered, ‘Is this how
Abraham felt every time he passed by Sarai’s burial cave’?
When I stopped at Eden Valley, I was glad I placed these site markers on our Family Plot – I would not know where to look otherwise, because the sod patch has totally blended in now.
I am thankful for Bob & Yeshua’s love.
It was late when I finally pulled into the
carport at home. It was not yet, sunset, but it was late. By the time I got
everything out of the car, and into the house and put where it belonged – the sun
was beginning to slip over the horizon.
It was a lovely pink-clouded-sunset:
**SUNDAY~FUNDAY POSTS (2020) –
(plus 1st thru 8th SUNDAY~FUNDAY links)**
