Astoria to Seattle

Leaving Portland we headed down to the coast and followed it all the way up to Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River. The town reminded us of Kirkenes in Norway, perhaps not so cold but with plenty of history, such as the shipwreck of the "Peter Iredale", a steel barque that ran aground in 1906. The remains are still on the beach but are now eroding rapidly.

Shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park

Astoria Column

We also took in the Astoria Column, a 125 foot tall concrete and steel tower overlooking the town, decorated with an ornate and detailed frieze depicting significant events in early Oregon history. Originally built in 1926 but only recently re-opened to the public after having been refurbished, the view from the observation platform on top was well worth climbing the 164 step spiral staircase for.

Leaving Astoria we crossed into Washington state over the Astoria-Megler bridge. Spanning just over 4 miles across the Columbia River, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. 

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Mount St Helens

Heading inland we visited Mount St Helens, probably most famous for its destructive eruption in May 1980. To see and learn about volcanic history that has happened in our lifetimes was quite amazing and gave us a real concept of the power and force that the eruption had. Volcanic ash lies up to 600 feet thick around the base, covering former forests and leaving a barren moon-like landscape. Life is returning to the area as we could see from old photos, and we were lucky to see a herd of wild Elk on the flanks, but the blanket of dead trees still lying as they fell are testament to the power that was released here.

Whilst in this area we also drove through Mount Rainier national park, to see the Mount Rainier, and active volcano and considered one of the most dangerous in the world.  With an elevation of over 14,000 feet it towers above the remains of Mt St Helens and is an impressive sight that a photo really cant do justice to from the ground.

Finally onto Seattle where we returned our rental car on time to Sea-Tac Airport. Taking the light rail train straight into downtown is very easy, and our first stop was the Skyview Observatory at the Columbia Centre. Twice the height of the famous Space Needle, it is the tallest skyscraper on the Seattle skyline by far, and gives tremendous near 360 degree views over the city and surrounding areas. 

Panorama over Downtown Seattle and Harbour Area

Fish Market in Seattle

A short walk led us to Pike Place Market, a bustling centre of activity in one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the USA. Built on the edge of a steep hill and on several levels, one of the big attractions is the Pike Place Fish Market where employees throw fish to each other rather than passing them by hand. Its quite a sight to see, and entertaining too.

Where Starbucks first started

Another attraction is the original Starbucks cafe where people can queue for up to two and a half hours to order a coffee. Its good to see where it all started but you'd have to be very keen to wait that long, and many locals say there is much better coffee elsewhere.


Finally, and our most bizarre place that we've visited so far has to be the gum wall. Its the outside brick wall of a theatre in a lane behind the market,  50 feet long and covered in used chewing gum up to 15 foot high and several inches thick. Authorities tried removing the gum twice but have now deemed it a tourist attraction. Pretty gross we reckon, though the wasps love it.

The Gum Wall

We're here for another day of exploring and then head of to Alaska via the inside passage, on a round trip cruise for 7 days that we got for a great deal at the last minute. It will be nice to not have a car for a bit and let someone else do the transport for a change. We won't have internet connection on board so this will be our last post for a week or so, but we are going to stop for another few nights in Seattle when we return, before heading of to .... well you'll just have to wait and see.