Our Pacific Northwest Road Trip Begins [1/18]

There is something alluring about the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Maybe it's the evergreen forests that crown the inland, or the lush waves of the Pacific ocean that burst into the rugged shoreline. In the end, maybe it's the freedom and lust for life that washes over you as you drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. For me, this journey was different from my previous travels in many ways. This time i spent one whole month in the States, the longest I had ever been away from home and work.

It was a month filled with many wonderful sights and places. I loved every second of it. Our trip started on a sunny day in Belgrade. We had a flight to Frankfurt, Germany and then a 10 hour flight for Seattle. While the journey was long, the first day of our road trip made up for it right away.

This is only a part of our travel series to the Pacific Northwest

Click here to view the other parts 

Visiting Long Beach

We started our trip on the Oregon Coast Highway. The first town we explored was Long Beach. It was a cloudy day, but it was still great for sightseeing, as we had some dramatic views of the ocean. But Long Beach in Washington State is not only a beach town. The town is part of the Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition took place from May 1804 to September 1806, and it was the first American expedition to cross the western portion of the USA. It began near St. Louis, made its way westward, and passed through the continental divide to reach the Pacific coast. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the expedition shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to explore and to map the newly acquired territory, to find a practical route across the western half of the continent, and to establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it. The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to establish trade with local Native American tribes.

Long Beach marked the ending portion of that trail but the beginning of ours. We took a stroll on the popular boardwalk while enjoying the view of the majestic ocean and pristine beach. Crossing beneath the Boardwalk leads to the Discovery Trail which travels through dunes from north Long Beach into Ilwaco. This trail is just one of the monuments dedicated to Lewis and Clark located through town.

When we visited the town was still sleeping. But I didn't mind. It gave me plenty of opportunity to have the sights to myself, to take photos of the houses and stores. There is a lot to see here. In the late 80's, the Marsh's free Museum was made to show people wonders of the northwest. You can see it in the images above. It's more of a store then museum.

North Head Lighthouse

For those of you who have been following this blog for a while may know of my love of lighthouses. Washington State and Oregon offer up a lot along the coastline. The first one on our journey was the North Head Lighthouse a few miles south from Long Beach. North Head Lighthouse was built to provide an aide to navigation for ships approaching from the north. Those ships could not see Cape Disappointment lighthouse, two miles to the south, in time to safely enter the Columbia River channel.

The views of the surrounding cliffs are just amazing. We had a moody first day but it wasn't too cold. We just loved standing here and gazing into the wast open Pacific Ocean.

Life at the Lighthouse

At the same time the lighthouse was being constructed, construction workers built two oil houses just to the east of the lighthouse. A keeper’s residence, a duplex to house two assistant keepers, a barn, and outbuildings were also constructed at that time. All of the original buildings are still located on site. Lighthouse keepers and their families had a remote and hard life. Keepers would traditionally work 8 hour shifts if there were three keepers. If one of the keepers left, the hours would become much longer. The light was lit from dusk to dawn with cleaning and polishing being done during the daylight hours. The cleaning and maintenance of the light and lens was the most important duty of the keepers.

This would mark the last sight along the shores in Washington State as our journey along the Pacific Coast Highway would take us now into Oregon. Next stop was the town Astoria, then a shipwreck and a lovely sunset at Seaside. But more on that in the next part...

End of Part One

To be continued...

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