Trip Report
Departing at 8:00 a.m., our coffee-snack stop was at Helmick State Park. Then north on Hwy. 99W, using Hwy. 22 to the Coast and with a drive through the Grand Ronde Reservation and a view of Spirit Mountain itself. John McManigal guided us through dairy country where we saw several herds of Dutch-belted cattle - all black with a wide white stripe around their middles. Via Netarts and Oceanside to Cape Meares State Park for lunch, a walk to the Octopus Tree and the Lighthouse. The Tillamook County Pioneer Museum is delightful, with a variety of exhibits. Next we were fortified with ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory, north on Hwy. 101 with several scenic stops, highlighted by Bette Hack’s sharing stories about her hometown of Wheeler. Following a stop at the Lewis & Clark salt works replica in Seaside, we checked into the Shilo Inn, Warrenton, for two nights.
Day #2: First to the Astoria Column (164 steps to the top for 360° view, including Saddle Mountain). Then to Ilwaco Heritage Museum, a most interesting hour. Next, the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment which overlooks the Columbia River and marks the place which the expedition visited in November, 1805. We lunched in Long Beach with Doogers Restaurant the winner. Then to the Cranberry Bogs and Museum, associated with the W.S.U. experimental station. We learned amazing things about cranberries, one of only three berries native to North America. We completed the day at Astoria at the ornate Flavel House, home of a successful bar pilot.
Day #3: An early a.m. arrival at Fort Clatsop Memorial where Lewis & Clark wintered in 1805-06. Stan Dean was an excellent volunteer guide. East on Hwy. 30 to Clatskanie for the Flippin Castle, the former home of a well-known lumberman and now a Senior Center. We enjoyed a delicious hot lunch plus a tour of the house - all for $5 per person … wow!! South on Hwy. 7 through logging country, stopping at the mill pond site in Vernonia. Then to the Buxton Trestle for snacks. This picnic park area is on the Banks-to-Vernonia Linear Trail, which was the old railroad, 22 miles. Driver John Bunker returned us at 5:45, after three days of gorgeous weather at the coast.
Riders were: Ethel Allen, Marian & John Borchardt, Nicole Chase, Florence Douglas, Rachele Fiszman, Bete Hack, Dora Harris, Pat Jeffries, Rosella Jones, Ben Kirk, Gloria Layden, Dodie Leppmann, John & Lenore McManigal, Cleora Mersdorf, Joyce Mixer, Frances Newsom, Mike & Velma Shirk, June Smith, Janet & Dick Speelman, Millard Thomas, Kay Ullman, Doris White and trip leaders Ray Jensen, Liz Reanier and Ben Jeffries.
