Lewis & Clark Trail

Day 41: September 30th, 1999 Seaside — Port Angeles

Amazingly I wake up not too late. I ask for a nice restaurant for breakfast during checkout. I get the advice to try Rob’s Family Restaurant, It’s just a short distance down the main road. The breakfast is really good, but the price is a bit high for the amount you get. Probably this is due to being in a tourist area along the coast. I leave the restaurant around half past eight and start the last leg of my Lewis & Clark Trail.

Highway 101, Astoria–Megler Bridge, OR

Highway 101, Astoria–Megler Bridge, OR

I drive back on Highway 101 to Astoria. The 4 mile Astoria–Megler Bridge crosses the Columbia River and takes me all the way to the other side. I expected to pay a fee but the ride is now free. Not too long ago you had to pay for crossing the bridge.

Ilwaco Channel, WA

On the other side I follow Highway 101 again. At Ilwaco I make a brief stopover at the port to take pictures of the Ilwaco Channel.

North Head Lighthouse, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA

Pacific Ocean, North Head, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA

The next destination is Cape Disappointment State Park. I start my visit with the North Head Lighthouse. There are great views of the coast line from this spot. Then I drive down to the Lewis & Clark Interpretative Center. Again I see a documentary about the whole trail in pictures. There is also a slide show of the journey. All in all nothing new for a Lewis & Clark expert, which I am in the meantime after following their trail for four long weeks. On the upper level of the Center is an exhibit about the history of this area for vessels. A lot of them missed the entrance to the Columbia River in heavy storms and were wracked on the cliffs.

Pacific Ocean, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA

Pacific Ocean, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA

Next I hike down to Camp Disappointment Lighthouse. There I have again great views of the Pacific coast line. Then it’s time to hike back to the car. This is now the last part of my Lewis & Clark trail. Now it’s time to slowly get into the mood of flying back home from Seattle…

Pacific Ocean, WA

I leave two hours late. I follow Highway 101 to Raymond. From there Highway 105 follows the coast line. The landscape is awesome. Currently the tide is low and most of the bays are dry. I met Highway 101 again at Aberdeen. For the next 140 miles this will be the highway to follow. It takes me all the way to the Olympic National Forest. As I am reaching the afternoon the clouds roll in from the Pacific into the forest. It really looks spooky. Especially if you suddenly see the Pacific Ocean through the trees beside the road.

Hoh River, Highway 101, WA

Now I enter the Olympic Mountain area. I turn onto Highway 113 at Sappho. Usually this should be a less traveled highway. But Highway 101 is closed to the east and all the traffic is now rerouted via Highway 113 — bummer! Otherwise this would have been a great part of the day trip.

Above the clouds on Highway 113, WA

For some time the road is even above the clouds. This gives real great views! After a couple of miles I reach Highway 112 which takes me down to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is the boundary between the US and Canada. Just before I reach Port Angeles the highway unites with Highway 101 again.

It’s already dark and I decide to stay at the local Super 8 Motel which is at the east end of Port Angeles. The total is almost 320 miles for today and I am not in the mood to drive further on. I ask for a decent restaurant for dinner and they recommend the Joshua’s Restaurant down the road. As I am lazy and do not want to walk more today I decide to drive the short distance. It’s too late when I discover it is the building just next door! But it looks pretty expensive and I am already in my car. Therfore I drive into the city to look for another place. Nothing jumps into my eye on a first glance, so I drive back to Joshua’s. The look into the menu confirms my price expectation of being expensive. But the service and dinner is excellent. I also have a nice chat with my server. He is also able to speak a couple of words in German and he is really proud to announce my menu in German. Around nine I leave the restaurant and drive back to the motel.