Cape Disappoinment Lighthouse

Cape Disappointment, Washington ~

March 28, 2004

A few days ago I showed one of the views from the railing next to the lighthouse. Here is the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse itself. This is not to be confused with North Head Lighthouse, which is only a couple of miles to the right around the cape. The short trail to today's lighthouse takes you past the incomparable Deadman's Cove.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A View from Cape Disappointment

Cape Disappointment, Washington ~ September 14, 2008

There is a lighthouse on Cape Disappointment, and I'll show it another day; I was standing near it when taking this picture. It's a different lighthouse, but not far from North Head lighthouse, which I posted a few days ago.

All of the water in the foreground is still the Columbia River. The actual mouth of the river is a ways to the right, outside the photo. You can see a white line on the right just below the mountains (especially if you enlarge the photo). Those are the breaking waves of the beach beyond South Jetty. North Jetty is farther to our right. The hump in the middle of the horizon is Saddle Mountain, the top of which I showed in this post. By the way, the name "Cape Disappointment" is obviously not derived from the view or the scenery, but because an English fur trader named Captain John Meares could not find shelter here from a storm at sea; the river was so wide, he didn't recognize it as a river, and thus found no shelter. He knew that a river was supposed to exist here, but apparently in the storm and low visibility, he concluded that it was not a waterway.

Astoria is at the far left of the photo. The Cape Disappointment link above includes an image identifying various places in this scene and some that you can't see here. It's worth a look.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Hardly Disappointing

Deadman's Cove ~ September 14, 2008
Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington

About half an hour's drive from downtown Astoria, across the Columbia River, and past Ilwaco, you come to a trailhead in Cape Disappointment State Park. Not far along, the trail opens onto this incredible cove that looks like it was designed for a pirate movie. There's an even more romantic touch than you can see here - a small island within the cove bearing artistically-placed rocks and trees. Mother Nature did an outstanding job. (Hollywood, eat your heart out!) The cove opens onto the Columbia River, but it's not too far from the ocean. In fact, it's very near the natural mouth of the river before the jetties were built.

I imagine this location has been used in a number of films, but I couldn't tell you which ones. I'll be sure to visit again this year when it stops raining, and also dig through the archives for more photos of this enchanting park. There's lots to see here, and trails to walk. And, with names like these, how can you go wrong?

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Mouth of the river

August 14, 2006

As seen from this vantage point, it's other mouths one has in mind besides that of the river. It looks like an idyllic day. The weather can be changeable and a storm or shower come along at any time, but at the moment all looks balmy and bright.

We're in the river here, facing the spot where the Columbia pours into the Pacific Ocean. The bit of land to the left is the spit near South Jetty. On the right is the very picturesque Cape Disappointment in Washington, which I havn't shown yet.

The fishing boat is approaching Hammond, which you reach from Astoria by crossing Young's Bay Bridge and turning right.

The fish? Salmon.

Hood Photo Blog came to Astoria. We didn't meet, but she posted a pic of our beautiful city on her blog today. Check it out!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.