Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Fort Clatsop -- Lewis and Clark's Winter Fort

We entered Astoria and were once again amazed at the bridge that crosses the Columbia River. This is the longest continuous truss bridge in the United States and is 200' above the river! It is kind of eerie driving over this one.

TJust south of Astoria is Ft. Clatsop, which was the wonter fort built by Lewis and Clark. Named after the Clatsop Indians, this is a great restoration and shows exactly how they lived some 200 years ago.

The Visitor center has a series of great displays that cover the entire expedition which started in 1803. This sculpture shows Lewis, Clark, an Indian scout and ever faithful dog Seaman (Cody was really happy to learn that).

This recreation is actually the second fort that was built here. A few years ago, the initial recreation burned in a very tragic fire. Fortunately, volunteers began work right away and were able to re-build the fort as seen here.

Volunteers work to recreate the camp experience by wearing period clothes and showing how they lived day to day. Here, a volunteer shows how a flintlock rifle was fired -- look at that smoke!

Orinda shows how the Fort looked from an overview perspective. Lewis and Clark explored this entire area and in the spring of 1806, returned to St. Louis. The end of an incredible trip.

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