After having the new seals installed on the truck and getting a couple more pictures of the bald eagle near the Ford dealership we drove up 16th St. in Astoria to the Astoria Column.
The Astoria Column is the twelfth and final historical marker placed from St. Paul, MN to Astoria, OR to commemorate the drive of early settlers and explorers to the Pacific Northwest. The monuments were conceived by Ralph Budd, president of the Great Northern Railroad. The Column is made of concrete, stands 125 feet tall on a hill that is 600 feet above sea level and there are 164 interior steps to the viewing platform (Denny counted them). There are 14 scenes curling around the Column describing the early history of the area and its people.
I was hoping to get pictures from the viewing platform as it overlooks the mouth of the Columbia River and you'd have a great 360 degree view, but the fog rolled in heavily and wouldn't clear even though the sun fought hard. I guess the best time to go would be early afternoon when the mist clears and before the evening mist rolls back in. So we traipsed back down and drove back to Long Beach where we stopped at the Cranberry Museum and Research Center.
The Cranberry Museum is a tiny building with several exhibits explaining the planting, fertilizing, irrigation and harvesting of cranberry crops. While not as extensive as the Ocean Spray museum in Plymouth, MA it offered a good overview of the process. There is a gift shop with a tantalizing display of jams, mustards, marinades and relishes made from cranberries as well as lotions, candles and crafts. To the rear of the museum are the experimental crops of cranberries and a couple of "bogs" of cranberries. It would be fun to be here in the fall when they flood the fields to see them harvest the crop.
Hmm, now I'm hungry for cranberry salad.
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