American Cruise Lines Encore - Columbia and Snake River Cruise Day 4/10 – Astoria, Oregon - Columns and Capes
We sailed overnight from Kalama, Washington, to Astoria, Oregon, a distance of 53.9 miles. We awoke docked and alongside in downtown Astoria. Named for John Jacob Astor and founded in 1876, Astoria maintains a deepwater port and safe harbor for commercial vessels to anchor freely while waiting to load or unload.
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| The Astoria Megler Bridge |
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| Commercial ships waiting to load or unload |
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| Cormorants were fishing below our balcony |
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| Caught breakfast |
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| Ready... |
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| Duck... |
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| ...and Dive |
This morning's tour took us to the
Astoria Column. The Astoria Column, located atop Coxcomb Hill, is a monument to the natural riches of the Pacific Northwest and the people who settled there. It was completed in 1926 and is celebrating its centennial year in 2026. The Column is 125 feet high, with 164 steps to climb to the observation deck.
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| Our bus, waiting to go |
We took in some sights in the port as we walked to the bus.
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| Astoria Regatta Monument |
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| Columbia River Maritime Museum |
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| Our first view of the Column as we approached in the bus |
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| Restored in 2015, the painting on the Column depicts Astoria's history |
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| As we rode back to the port, we saw many houses that were designated as historical houses |
We saw that the town was very close, so rather than take the next bus tour that looped through the town, we just walked.
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| Nordic Heritage Park honoring the Nordic settlers here |
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| They love their trolls |
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| The 1924 Astor Building |
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| Liberty Theater |
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| Captain George Flavel House Museum |
Built in 1885, this 11,600-square-foot mansion is now a museum. We toured the first and second floors, avoiding the pop-up rain shower that started as we arrived.
We walked back to the ship, spent a little time in the room, and then grabbed a light bite in the Sky Lounge before taking our afternoon tour to Cape Disappointment.
Our first stop was Dismal Nitch.
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| It was named by Lewis & Clark after they were stuck here for a week with severe inclement weather. |
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| A monument to the expedition |
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| There are lots of sparrows here |
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| Pilings from old docks and the Astoria-Megler Bridge in the background |
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| Wild roses |
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| Wild hyacinth |
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| California poppy |
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| More roses |
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| As we continued on, we passed a set of canoes showing the difference between the native canoe (center) and the expedition canoes - the native canoes were superior for running rapid water |
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| We arrived at Cape Disappointment and were able to take in a view of the Pacific where the Columbia River flows into it |
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| We spent time at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment, watching a movie about the expedition, and viewing multiple displays about the arduous adventure |
Cape Disappointment - kind of a weird name, isn't it? They explained why. On July 6, 1788, British fur trader Captain John Meares searched for the river (The Columbia) charted by Heceta. He mistook the mouth of the river for a bay, which his ship could not enter due to shallow sand bars. He named the tall headland beside the bay “Cape Disappointment,” for his failure to locate the river.
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| The Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment |
They said that it was about a 1.1-mile walk to the lighthouse and back, so we decided to make a trek.
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| Giant Hogweed - they advised us not to touch it as its sap is caustic and causes great discomfort |
The trail to the lighthouse went significantly down. We kept walking down, down, down, and never found the lighthouse. We knew we had to be close, but it looked like it was a climb up to the lighthouse, followed by the walk down to the trail, and then the climb back up to the Interpretive Center. We bailed, turned around, and returned to the Interpretive Center.
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| To compensate, I took a couple of additional photos of the lighthouse |
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| We saw a large rock down at the ocean, whitewashed with bird poop |
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| It was littered with cormorants, taking a break from fishing |
After we got back to the Encore, we took a short break before going downstairs for happy hour and dinner. Right before we went downstairs, I caught a glimpse of a sea lion swimming by. Before I could grab a camera, it submerged and didn't surface until it was a long way away.
Just as we were about to walk out, I looked outside and saw a buoy going by with another sea lion.
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| Living the life, watching cruise ships sail by |
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| Back to snoozing |
I published a couple of menus the past few days. I won't do that every day because it is a little bit of a pain to do.
The rain made another appearance, absolutely pouring for a short while. We enjoyed a cocktail in the River Lounge and headed to dinner in the Restaurant. Right after we were seated, the sun reappeared and treated us to a nice partial rainbow.
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| As the sun got brighter, so did the rainbow |
After dinner, I sought out Margie, the excursion manager on the ship. Tomorrow, we will be in The Dalles, Oregon. We have signed up for a guided gorge kayak tour. The issue is that the weather forecast for tomorrow is 62°, 17+MPH winds, and a 78% chance of rain. Uh...no. Arlona, being the more intrepid of the two of us, said that she was still good to go. Me, not so much. So tonight, I made a change and will be doing the Bonneville Dam Experience while Arlona braves the elements in a kayak. Details to follow tomorrow.
We returned to our room to catch the port talk for The Dalles and check out tonight's entertainment. We'll arrive in the Dalles around 1:00 pm tomorrow afternoon, after transiting the Bonneville Lock for the second time.
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