Sept 20 - Long Beach Peninsula and Cape Disappointment, Washington

  The north side of the Colombia River is in Washington, and the southern tip of Long Beach Peninsula is Cape Disappointment.  They built the North Jetty, going into the mouth of the Colombia River, across from the South Jetty.  Apparently, the mouth of the Colombia River is one of the most dangerous places for ships as it flows into the Pacific Ocean.  The intense flow of the river out and the inrush of the ocean in, makes for lots of shipwrecks, as well as  moving sand bars.  Actually, this area is known as the Colombia  River Bar and the "Graveyard of the Pacific".  Thus, they built the two Jetties. 
  Today, we drove back across the Astoria bridge, and crossed back into Washington State, and over to the Cape Disappointment State Park.  On the way, we stopped in the coastal town of Ilwaco, and ate lunch outside at the marina.  In the State Park is the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.  A great museum that documents the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 - 1806, which ended up at Cape Disappointment.  We learned a lot about this expedition--its mission, the hardships, the trails and waterways they took, the natives they encountered, and success they had in getting to the Pacific. 
  The Center is located at the top of an ocean/river side cliff, so it was all uphill to get to it.  Then, we walked the 1/2 mile over to the Cape Disappointment Light House--first downhill to the ocean level, then uphill to the Lighthouse level.  Peter didn't quite make it all the way, and rested while I continued on to the Lighthouse.  Glad I did.  Beautiful views.
  The next stop was at the North Lighthouse, still on the same peninsula, but further north, and around the bend.  But, instead of walking 2 mile round trip to that Lighthouse, I chose to walk the 1/2 mile walk to the Bell's View overlook.  Another incredible coastal view.
  On the drive back to the RV, we encountered an auto accident, and were stopped, on the main road, for an entire hour, until the road was cleared.  Yikes!

Lunch in Ilwaco marina photos:

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center photos:

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse photos:

Bell's View Overlook photos: