We went exploring in the park today. Fort Stevens was originally a military facility which consisted of a myriad of gun emplacements and blockhouses intended to protect the Columbia River from bad guys. I doubt any shots were fired because the Columbia River bar, just beyond the long breakwaters, is a formidable hazard to shipping with massive waves, swirling currents and nearby shorelines littered with wrecked ships that failed in their efforts to cross from the Pacific Ocean into the Columbia River. The fort was used by the Army from 1904 to 1944 when it was decommishioned. When the Army finally gave up the unneeded property, the state turned it into a glorious state park.

The first place we visited was Coffenbury Lake, a gorgeous fresh water lake perched in the sand dunes near the ocean. There are great picnicking sites here with very nice views of the lake and abundant birds. We had just eaten so we then headed for the Pacific shoreline where we could see the rusting hull of the Peter Iredale, one of the ships that had the bad luck to unsuccessfully cross the bar, ending up smashed on the beach instead. The water is quite cold here. I don’t know if any survived.

We also took a spin up to the Columbia River where we could see large oceangoing vessels struggling upstream with lots of frothy wakes but very little forward progress. The Columbia is a monster and drains a huge watershed extending to Montana. All of the water comes out here so there is

a formidable current running toward the sea. Across the river in Washington State, we could see little dots moving around which we determined were cars and trucks. The river must be five or more miles across here at the outflow. At the end of the land in Washington it is called Cape Disappointment which seems suitable, considering the difficulty of crossing the bar offshore.

We also took a spin into the old headquarters area of the fort. Many of the buildings have been demolished but there are some that still remain, most notably the brick guardhouse with thick bars used to keep miscreants inside the brig. There are many gun emplacements built such that the cannons could be fired over the tops of the walls but reloaded by grunts who could hunker down out of the way of any return fire. These were sturdy, cast-in-place concrete structures and still stand in their original condition.

To end up the day, we cruised into the nearby town of Hammond, where we found a fish joint called Buoy 9. My fish and chips were great and Peggy was delighted with her clam strips. Prices were good (about $15) and we found they have WiFi so we will probably return so I can post this blog stuff.

There’s two pix. Click the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/K3ZQkcDTF5Zof1q37