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DISCOVER THE
Port of Ilwaco O N S O U T H W E S T WA S H I N GTO N ' S
Englund Marine
Dining: Ole Bob's Galley Cafe Salt Pub
Lodging: Salt Hotel
Charter Fishing: Coho Seabreeze Pacific Beacon Shake-n-Bake Sportsfishing
Shops/Galleries: Time Enough Books Don Nisbett Art Gallery Marie Powell Art Gallery Purly Shell Fiber Arts Jessie's Seafood Market Ole Bob's Seafood Market ArtPort Gallery Sportsmen’s Cannery Freedom Market RiversZen Yoga Sky Water Gallery & Boat Tours Luisa Mack Jewelry & Art David E. Jensen, Architect
Museums: Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
Saturday Market at the Port of Ilwaco, May-Sept. Plenty of vehicle and trailer parking
Visit Us!
Marine Supply:
Amenities/highlights
Local Businesses
Long Beach Peninsula
Self-service boatyard and haulout facility, including 5 indoor bays Renowned for friendly, helpful service
Reserve slips online today:
portofilwaco.com Learn more about area attractions & services:
visitlongbeachpeninsula.com Many downtown Ilwaco businesses only blocks away
Live bait available Wi-Fi available port-wide Public transit & taxi available
HOME OF THE
Saturday Market
M AY - S E P T E M B E R 1 0 A M - 4 P M • P O R T O F I LWA C O
Annual Events Ilwaco Children’s Parade - 1st Saturday in May 12pm Firecracker 5K Run/Walk - 1st Saturday in July 10am Feel the Thunder Fireworks - 1st Saturday in July Slow Drag - Friday of Rod Run Weekend 5pm Crab Pot Christmas - 1st Saturday in December
Ilwaco Art Walks
VisitLongBeachPeninsula.com
1st Friday 4-7pm June, July & Aug
DiscoverIlwaco.com
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MARINE LAYER MOVES IN Aurelie Fornier admires the view at Hug Point with her son Io. The mother and son were admiring the view of the Pacific Ocean from a small rock outcropping as a band of clouds slowly moved into the area. Hug Point is a popular but less densely occupied spot for tourists as compared to other locations on the Oregon Coast. Colin Murphey photo shot with Nikon D810, 20 mm lens, exposure: 1/500 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100
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OUR COAST
Jim Van Nostrand Contributing editor Our Coast Magazine
A LIFETIME OF MEMORIES WHERE RIVER MEETS SEA hen most people hear the phrase “A river runs through it,” they think of the iconic book and movie of the same name, and flyfishing in Montana. Author Norman Maclean used the imagery of the Blackfoot River to weave a common thread through the tapestry of his life. "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it,” Maclean wrote. “The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs." For me, those words bring to mind a much larger stream — the mighty Columbia itself, the reason for Astoria's existence. I was born at Camp Hanford, Washington, not much more than a stone’s throw from the river’s edge, and attended school in the shadow of the Grand Coulee Dam. My life's journey has taken me through the Mid-Columbia, Hood River and the Gorge, among many other stops. Now I find myself living and working at the river’s mouth. And watching the river roll by, I still feel the same sense of awe that I experienced as a seventh-grader — riding my bike to class over the Grand Coulee Bridge, watching untold millions of gallons of water thunder over the dam’s spillway in the sky high above, pondering the timeless force flowing by in the dark depths under my feet.
W
CAMPING AT THE BEACH My mother and father and uncle, God bless their souls, didn’t live to see me move here. But I know they would have approved — and come to visit every weekend, if not more often, beach chairs and lighter fluid in hand. Somewhere up there, they are overjoyed at my good fortune. We were the quintessential budget vacation traveling troupe. At first we journeyed in a monstrous station wagon, cooking our meals on a Coleman stove set up on the tailgate. The entire family shared the occasional motel room, the kids on trundle beds or sleeping bags on the floor. Always on a shoestring, always happy to be free — at least for a while — of the cares and worries of school and work.
Yes, it was always crowded on the North Coast when we came to visit in the summertime. Showers were infrequent, the campground portapotties were obnoxious and traffic didn’t move very fast. All that was OK, though. We weren’t in a hurry, not when we could hear the surf crashing out there beyond the trees, and the smell of salt water, campfires and pine needles wafted through the air. In 1996, my family held a mini-reunion of sorts, camping at Fort Stevens State Park. My mother had upgraded to an RV. We hit all the usual tourist attractions — the fort, the Lewis & Clark encampment at Fort Clatsop, the Astoria Column. Astoria wasn’t nearly as lively a town back then as it is now, but there was still plenty for wide-eyed out-of-towners to do. One memory stands out, of my teenage niece and nephews boogie-boarding in the surf. “Uncle James! Come join us!” they cried excitedly. Like a fool, I did — and was out of the water in about 15 seconds flat, teeth chattering. Note to self: The North Pacific Ocean is cold. Damn cold. On the same trip, my wife, Lisa, and I drove around Astoria, admiring all the old houses and the town’s gritty charm. We wondered what it might be like to live here one day.
COMFORTING SOUNDS Now I survey the river at night from my easy chair in my living room. The cargo ships at anchor form a line upstream, each a floating city of lights reflected on the water. I watch as they slide by in the darkness, the wake of the pilot boats glimmering as they make their way alongside. My colleague Matt Winters has written of the sounds of this place. They are unique and comforting. The foghorns piercing the mist, the barking cacophony of the sea lions echoing over the waterfront.
CAMPING OUT Visitors to a beach near Gearhart build a small fire under the stars. — Colin Murphey photo
I’ve also discovered the joys of winter storm watching. When you live year-round at the confluence of the ocean and one of the world’s most powerful rivers, you learn to embrace the majestic. (A Gore-tex jacket and waterproof boots are very handy.) The air is fresh and elemental, scrubbed clean by horizontal rain.
You don’t have to live on Our Coast year-round to enjoy its charms. You don’t have to live here year-round to enjoy these charms, however. While the coast is certainly more expensive than it was in my youth — try getting a hotel room in the summer for less than $100, or $200 in some places — numerous low-cost options exist for budget-conscious travelers. Particularly if you’re willing to rough it a little, or travel in the offseason. As I prepare my own list of things to do and see, I start with Our Coast Magazine and our new destination travel website at DiscoverOurCoast.com. Our staff and contributors have worked hard to put together what we think is the ultimate guide to Oregon’s North Coast and Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. We hope you’ll agree. Jim Van Nostrand is editor of The Daily Astorian.
Our Coast Magazine 2019:OCM2019
3/4/19
PUBLISHER Kari Borgen EDITOR Erick Bengel DESIGN DIRECTOR/LAYOUT John D. Bruijn ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Sarah Silver PHOTOGRAPHER Colin Murphey CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jim Van Nostrand CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Erick Bengel
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our coast
Number 8 • 2019 • DiscoverOurCoast.com
FEATURE STORIES
Kari Borgen Dwight Caswell Katie Frankowicz
DEPARTMENTS
DO & SEE 12
Our Picks
16
Relic Hunters
26
The Reel Deal
34
Community Theaters
44
Beam Me Up
Here are some of our favorite ways to have fun
Beachcombing and mudlarking opportunties
World-class fishing opportunities await aboard local charters
Columbia-Pacific theater is rich in creativity, rife with mishaps
Lighthouses are a day trip away
Marilyn Gilbaugh
EAT & DRINK
Dan Haag Jack Heffernan Ryan Hume Katherine Lacaze Nancy McCarthy Marianne Monson
50
Our Picks
54
Pour Taste
62
High Life on the Coast
68
A Brew for You
72
Food and Water
The Reel Deal
26 World-class fishing aboard local charters BY LUKE WHITTAKER
Popular places, hidden gems — fabulous foods to inspire you
A wine lover’s guide to the Pacific Northwest Coast
Colin Murphey Andy Perdue Jim Van Nostrand Brenna Visser Patrick Webb Luke Whittaker Jonathan Williams MAP GRAPHICS Alan Kenaga ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES Lisa Cadonau April Olsen Heather Jenson Andrew Renwick
Pour Taste
54 A wine lover’s guide to the Pacific-Northwest Coast BY ANDY PERDUE
GET CONNECTED Interact with us and the community at DiscoverOurCoast.com FOLLOW US facebook.com/ourcoast twitter.com/ourcoast pinterest.com/ourcoastguide EMAIL TO US editor@discoverourcoast.com
Know the Shore
80 What you find on the beach BY KATIE FRANKOWICZ
WRITE TO US 949 Exchange St., Astoria, OR 97103 VISIT US ONLINE discoverourcoast.com offers all the content of Our Coast Magazine and more. Discover all the wonderful attractions, lively entertainment, and local quirks of the Columbia-Pacific region. FIND BACK ISSUES Read up on back issues of Our Coast magazine at discoverourcoast.com/our-coast-magazine Our Coast is published annually by The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer in March. Printed in Portland. Copyright © 2019 Our Coast. All rights reserved. The Daily Astorian: 800-781-3211 Chinook Observer: 800-643-3703 DailyAstorian.com • ChinookObserver.com
EO Media Group Some uncredited images from gettyimages.com
ON THE COVER Lisa Habecker braves the surf off Cannon Beach near Haystack Rock to check on the progress of young seabirds after they were released into the wild following a rehabilitation effort — Colin Murphey Photo
Fascinating Figures in History
The coast’s craft beer boom
An abundance of eateries near the water’s edge
LIVE & STAY 78
Our Picks
80
Know the Shore
84
Columbian Cold
86
Historic House in a Historic Village
92
My Coast
Reserve a room for some R&R, or gather inspiration for your home
What you find on the beach
Winter activities for when the weather outside is frightful
Home once owned by Oysterville co-founder celebrates 150th birthday
Hear why locals call our coast home
HISTORY & HERITAGE 96
Our Picks
98
Fascinating Figures in History
102
98 Charles Cultee, Jane Barnes, Ranald MacDonald
Columbia-Pacific can meet your marijuana needs
103
Get to know the history of the area by visiting these sites and having these experiences
Charles Cultee, Jane Barnes, Ranald MacDonald
‘Known Only to God’ Seaside’s Grave of the Unknown Sailor is an enduring mystery
History in our Midst Visit the lesser-known sites where the past is present
BY MARIANNE MONSON
+ REGIONAL MAPS & DIRECTORIES
• Our Coast Business Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 • Astoria/Warrenton Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 • Long Beach Peninsula Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 • Cannon Beach/No. Tillamook Co. Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 • Seaside/Gearhart Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 • Index of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
ETC. 104
Trash Talk
108
2018 Coast Weekend Photo Contest winners
110
Talk like you’re from here
Program redefines treasure with recycled microplastics
Photographers capture the rugged beauty of the natural world
An indispensable glossary of coastal terms
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OUR COAST MAGAZINE
CONTRIBUTORS
ERICK BENGEL Erick, the features editor at The Daily Astorian, presides over Coast Weekend, Weekend Break and Our Coast Magazine. He is a former reporter at the Astorian and Cannon Beach Gazette.
JIM VAN NOSTRAND Jim is editor of The Daily Astorian and a native of Eastern Washington. His journalism career has taken him from Washington to Oregon, Pennsylvania, California, Washington D.C. and back to the Pacific Northwest. He's done moving.
KARI BORGEN Kari is a recently relocated North Coast resident and the regional publisher for EO Media Group’s coast newspapers. A small-town aficionado, she enjoys discovering out-of-the-way places and roads less traveled.
PATRICK WEBB Patrick began his journalism career as a reporter in his native England and emigrated to the Northwest four days before Mount St. Helens erupted. His career as an editor took him to six U.S. newspapers, most recently The Daily Astorian, where he was managing editor for 13 years. Now retired, he occasionally contributes to Coast Weekend and the Chinook Observer.
KATIE FRANKOWICZ COLIN MURPHEY Colin is the staff photographer for The Daily Astorian. He started his career in Montana nearly six years ago before making his way to the Oregon Coast, where the warmer weather agrees with him. When he’s not photographing something for the paper, he’s looking for something to photograph for the paper.
JACK HEFFERNAN Jack has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 2012. He enjoys hiking, traveling and the written word.
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Katie is a reporter for The Daily Astorian, where she covers Astoria and Warrenton’s city governments and the environment. She moved to the coast nearly a decade ago and will probably never leave.
KATHERINE LACAZE Katherine, a freelancer of several years, lives and writes in Seaside. She enjoys exploring the many topics of the coastal town and its neightboring communities, from arts and culture to environmental conservation and tourism. Her 4-year-old daughter, Juliette, is her sidekick, tagging along as they explore the Pacific Northwest.
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ANDY PERDUE Andy is a native Northwesterner and thirdgeneration newspaperman who now lives in the heart of Washington wine country. He has worked in newspapers in Washington and Idaho since 1985. He is the author of one book on Northwest wine. He regularly serves as a judge in international wine competitions up and down the West Coast.
LUKE WHITTAKER Luke is a reporter and photographer for the Coast River Business Journal. He’s usually chasing light and following the tide, often with his dog, Levi.
DAN HAAG Dan is a freelance writer/would-beauthor who has lived on the North Oregon Coast for nearly 30 years. When not fretting over deadlines, he spends his free time supporting the local beer industry, chasing his dog down the beach and doing his best to get lost in the woods.
MARIANNE MONSON Marianne holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of 11 books, primarily focused on women's history. She teaches at Clatsop Community College and writes from a 100-yearold house in Astoria.
BRENNA VISSER Brenna is the crime, courts and county government reporter for The Daily Astorian. Before that, she was the Cannon Beach Gazette reporter, where she prided herself on becoming a trusted voice in bunny and puffin politics. When she’s not writing, you can find her on the beach contemplating life or eating at one of Astoria's food carts.
JONATHAN WILLIAMS Jonathan is a freelance arts-and-culture journalist. He has contributed to Coast Weekend, Charleston’s Post & Courier, Symphony Magazine, Syracuse’s PostStandard and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
RYAN HUME DWIGHT CASWELL Dwight is a writer and photographer with several books to his name. He serves as pastor of Pioneer Presbyterian Church in Warrenton.
A freelance editor and graphic designer, Ryan is also a frequent contributor to Coast Weekend. His fiction has appeared in Tin House, Juked, Portland Review and other publications. He teaches writing at Clatsop Community College and is the faculty advisor of Rain Magazine. He lives in Astoria with his wife and daughter.
MARILYN GILBAUGH NANCY McCARTHY Nancy’s journalism career spans more than 50 years, with the best portion of those years working on the North Oregon Coast. She is the former editor of the Cannon Beach Gazette and Seaside Signal and covered south Clatsop County as a reporter for The Daily Astorian for seven years.
Marilyn, a North Coast freelance writer, has written for Coast Weekend for more years than she can remember. As she explores what’s new and noteworthy in our area, she is continually thankful to keep discovering, keep learning, keep writing and keep being nosey with purpose.
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DO & SEE
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OUR PICKS
Oswald West State Park
Wheel Fun Rentals
TILLAMOOK COUNTY
SEASIDE, OREGON
Patrick Duhachek photo
Colin Murphey photo
By Dan Haag
By Katherine Lacaze
Oswald West State Park lies just off U.S. Highway 101, shortly past the point where Clatsop County becomes Tillamook County. It’s the perfect spot for day trippers — 10 miles south of Cannon Beach and about three miles north of Manzanita. Miles of trails begin at the park, and you could spend days traversing them with hikes to Cape Falcon, Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain and the popular surfing spot Short Sand Beach. There’s even a stretch of the Oregon Coast Trail that winds its way through the park. But the park is so much more than a destination or a snapshot posted to social media. It’s a living, breathing history lesson, named for the Oregon governor who began the crusade to keep Oregon’s beaches public in perpetuity. Part of that history forever overlooks Short Sand Beach, a memorial to Associated Press writer Matt Kramer, whose articles helped put a finishing stamp on the work Oswald West began. The park is also the gateway to Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, which lies just off the shores of Short Sand Beach and extends about two miles out into the Pacific. The second largest of Oregon’s five marine reserves, it encompasses more than 12 miles of ocean habitats and another eight miles of two marine protected areas. Most of all, Oswald West State Park is a feeling. It’s a retreat into a cleaner, greener place. Just off the highway, you feel instantly removed from the world the moment you are surrounded by the protective stands of old growth that ring the trails. Like all Oregon Coast jewels, Oswald West needs our consideration. In 2017, the park welcomed 1.7 million visitors, bringing wear-and-tear with so many happy feet. When visiting, walk softly, talk softly and, above all, leave no trace. That way, we can ensure Oswald West will remain a shining jewel for generations to come.
When it comes to exploring the coastal town of Seaside, it is common to walk, bike or drive. Year-round, however, another type of vehicle can be spotted coasting along the streets, particularly in downtown Seaside. Colorful surreys bearing one, two or three rows of seats are one of several products rented out by Wheel Funs Rentals, and the most popular for travel by land, owners Denise and Patrick Duhachek said. Families are drawn to the surreys because they can accommodate several people at a time, making them a fitting group activity. Another most popular item is their fleet of waterborne pedal boats in the shape of giant swans. They are harbored at the Quatat Marine Park, ready and waiting to be used on the scenic Necanicum River between the First Avenue and Avenue G bridges. If they are taken beyond those points, the tides and wind can make the return journey difficult. Along with Wheel Fun Rentals’ other water vehicles, such as standup paddle boards, water trikes and kayaks, the swans are regularly available from Spring Break through Labor Day, and then only on weekends until they are retired for the winter in mid-October. If tourists want to travel the Promenade, the approximately 1.5-mile boardwalk along the beach, they opt for bikes since surreys are not permitted. For beach outings, Wheel Fun Rentals offers fat tire bikes, boogie boards, beach wagons and beach wheelchairs. Since the Duhacheks purchased the business in 2013, they have expanded the inventory, but the company’s goal has long been to serve as a family attraction, where several generations can join in traversing Seaside at a leisurely pace, pedaling a surrey down Broadway Street or taking to the river in a large swan. Wheel Fun Rentals also attracts businesses and organizations that rent items or go on a tour for field trips, corporate team-building activities and other group outings. Wheel Fun Rentals has three locations: 407 S. Holladay Drive, 21 N. Columbia St., and 153 Avenue A, and the watercraft are available at Quatat Park near the Seaside Civic & Convention Center.
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Artistry. Outdoors. Adventures. Pastimes.
Fort to Sea Trail
Astoria Underground Tour
LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
ASTORIA, OREGON
Alex Pajunas photo
Colin Murphey photo
By Jonathan Williams
By Colin Murphey
The 6.5-mile (13.5 mile down and back) Fort to Sea Trail from Fort Clatsop to Sunset Beach is an unsung gem of breathtaking beauty on the North Oregon Coast. The unbeatable views are more than worth the trek that Lewis and Clark once made during the winter of 1805-06. A sense of adventure is all around as you journey through vast swaths of Sitka spruce, over streams and ferns and open fields, before arriving at the golden grass leading to the beach. The trail starts in a lightly wooded section that begins to incline before flattening at the Clatsop Ridge Overlook, giving hikers a view of the Pacific Ocean. You are then led through a zig-zag that descends to the base of the forest. You’ll cross bridges that go over calm streams that sing different songs: light, pulsing and rushing. The trail continues along a narrowing path carved into the side of the mountain that inclines and declines before flattening and going under U.S. Highway 101, which connects the woods to the sea. Be sure to turn around to marvel at the woods you just trudged through. The trail's second half runs along a wooden fence that takes you through open fields of birds, geese and cows, while elk stand perched on ridges and ducks swim in the lake. You’ll also hear shooting practice at nearby Camp Rilea and see golfers as you cross a bridge that presents views of the Astoria Golf and Country Club. The last leg takes you through a thicket of beach trees that looks as if a giant walked over them — many were toppled during the Coastal gale of 2007 — before taking you through sand and beach grass to the stunning, relieving views of the Pacific Ocean.
There is no shortage of things to see and do above ground on the Oregon Coast. But what about below ground? That is where the Astoria Underground Tour comes in, sharing the history and mystery of part of the abandoned tunnel system beneath the streets of Astoria. Safely escorted through a rehabilitated section of the tunnels by guides Chad Gallup and Jeff Daly, the tour provides guests with a glimpse into the history of Astoria and the people who occupied this subterranean maze. The tour features artifacts and fully restored rooms where people used to live. Add in a little smoke and colorful lights and you have an experience unlike any other in the region. The tours will thrill young and old with plenty of cultural import for the history buffs and a few surprises for young visitors. There are a few spots where you might have to duck your head enroute to discovery, but the tour is largely accessible to almost all explorers. The tour, which takes about 45 minutes, is complete with historical accounts of the origin and purpose of the tunnels and the role the system played in shaping Astoria. And while most of the tunnels are closed off to the public, proprietor Daly has painstakingly recreated a small section of the original tunnels enhanced with visual effects to provide a unique perspective into a place not often seen and, until recently, largely forgotten.
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storia SUNDAY MARKET
Iittaala Iittala rimekkko Marimekko J elrl y Jewe Jewelry una Supplies Suppliies Sauna Fooods Specialty Foods Souvennirs Souvenirs Item ms Gift Items moore & much more
Voted Astoria ria’s Bes Bestst Giftft Shop 1116 Commercial rcial St. • Astoria, OR 97 97103 7103 Open 7 days 503-325-5720 ys a week • 503-325-572 20 www.finware.com e.com • info@finnwar info@finnware.com e.coom
ASTORIA
SUNDAY MARKET EVERY SUNDAY May 12th THRU Oct. 13th, 2019 12th Street Historic Downtown 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. WWW.ASTORIASUNDAYMARKET.COM
303 Sid Synder Drive, Long Beach, WA 360-642-4020 www.worldkitemuseum.com A great destination for fun for all! Experience the history and art of kites through video and interactive elements. Make your own kite and fly it here on the world’s longest beach! Visit today!
Featuring:
• Bold heroes and story characters on kites from Japan • Delicately painted Chinese silk kites • Kites that saved lives in WWII • See new ongoing upgrades and changes to exhibits featuring birds, birds, birds!
Visit Our Museum Store for:
Admission Includes Kite Making!
VisitLongBeachPeninsula.com 14 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
Open Daily, 11am to 5pm April through September Open Friday - Tuesday 11am to 5pm October - March
• Kites for flying on the beach • Books about kite making, flying & history • Postcards, T-shirts, jewelry & posters
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EV
A VACATION! S NEED G O D EN
503-325-0310 1414 Marine Dr. • Astoria www.smileastoria.com
We offer
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NEW PATIENTS WELCOME Emergencies Welcome Available for Cruise Ship Guests • Convenient appointments before or after work or school • Gentle, trusting & caring dentist • Affordable, natural-appearing dentistry • Full Service Dentistry Accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry® Committed to Excellence.
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A tool to help you better protect yourself from tax identity theft.
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ASTORIA 1095 MARINE DR.
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503-325-1166
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DO & SEE
Relic HUNTERS BEACHCOMBING AND MUDLARKING ON THE NORTH COAST Words: Katherine Lacaze • Images: Colin Murphey
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A
fter millennia of indigenous peoples living on the land, two centuries of European exploration and inhabitancy, and scores of shipwrecks off the coast, the Columbia-Pacific has a treasure trove of historical artifacts waiting to be uncovered.
Locals and visitors search for these relics as active hobbies, as ways to tidy up the environment, and as part of living and playing in a region where mountains, river and sea converge. The methods they use vary, from diving and beachcombing to metal detecting along riverbanks and in parks (aka mudlarking). Robin Montero, of Seaside, makes picking up trash the primary focus of her beachcombing. When she first moved into her house near the Seaside Cove in 2011, she would be on the beach, notice the marine debris washed ashore and frequently think, “I should have brought a bag,” she said. “That’s when it dawned on me: ‘I’m doing this the wrong way,’” she said. Now, each time she prepares for a daily hunt, she wears the essentials: gloves, boots, garbage bags and a soundtrack to listen to. Because of the Oregon Beach Bill passed in 1967, the land along the Oregon Coast is publicly owned, though managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. “We are really lucky, in that way, to have (the beach) as a public park,” Montero said. “With that comes responsibility as far as I’m concerned.” When she gets rewarded by finding exquisite shells, seal teeth and sea glass for jewelry-making, “I’m tickled pink,” she said. “What more could you ask for?”
ONE OF THE BEST TIMES TO FIND
TREASURES
ON THE BEACH IS AFTER
A STORM.
Robin Montero searches the surf near Seaside for debris to use for her art projects.
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DO & SEE ALWAYS ON THE HUNT With an arsenal of metal detectors, Astoria native Don Kelly has combed the Astoria region, hunting for interesting artifacts, which he frequently shares in the Northwest Artifact Recovery community on Facebook. He calls it “dirt fishing.”
Robin Montero walks along the beach at The Cove in Seaside.
Robin Montero shows some of the items she has found on the beaches.
18 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
I WOULD GO ‘DIRT FISHING’ FOR HOURS WITHOUT REALIZING TIME HAD PASSED. THAT’S HOW YOU KNOW YOU LOVE IT. His interest was sparked at age 14 when he was given a metal detector. Scouring his backyard, he had dug down about a foot when he felt a World War II ammunition case. Inside the box, wrapped in a beige naval blanket, were the preserved remains of a Siamese cat. “When I reached in that hole, and I found that metal handle on the box, I was hooked,” Kelly said. “Even though it was a dead cat, it could have been something else.” There have been occasions over the last five decades when he would go dirt fishing for hours without realizing time had passed. “That’s how you know you love it,” he said. Since the Siamese cat, he’s discovered a plethora of items, including vintage jewelry, military paraphernalia and foreign coins roughly three centuries old. Kelly’s most treasured find is a 19th-century six-pound cannon ball, discovered in June 2018 on private property (he promised the landowner he would not disclose the location). Through research and with the knowledge of a local historian, he learned the British brought that style of cannon ball to the area around the time Fort Astoria was acquired by the North West Company and renamed Fort George. The cannons were removed from the Astoria area in the 1860s, giving him a good idea of when the cannon ball could have been fired from a ship or stored on land with other ammunition and become trapped underground. At times, Kelly’s finds are less than intriguing: old railroad spikes, rusted tin cans, scraps of metal. He still removes such items to dispose of them, which is better than having them in the ground, he figures. “That’s one great thing about the hobby, if you do it right,” he said. “I think we’re doing a service.”
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Don Kelly practices the art of mudlarking on a friend’s property near Astoria.
MIND THE LAW The best times for finding treasures (and trash) on the beach are at the beginning of summer or after a storm. In Seaside, the Cove is the place to go: West swells cause driftwood, floats and other items to wash up, and they often get funneled there. Jeff Jarrett, who works for Seaside Surf Shop, doesn’t consider himself a beachcomber by hobby. But, living near the ocean, he often walks the tideline with his dog and looks around. Sometimes he photographs interesting
finds rather than remove them, except for the occasional aluminum float, glass bottle or piece of driftwood to incorporate into his home décor. “I’m pretty critical of what I want to drag home,” Jarrett said. Whether scavengers are prone to come across their treasure through beachcombing, diving or metal detecting, they should be aware of both maritime salvage laws and laws that govern the finding of antiquities on public lands.
Anything of cultural origin, including human remains, belongs to the state, even if found by individuals, according to Jeff Smith, a curator at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. “If you find something that may be of historical interest, you contact the authorities,” he said. Divers and others can get in trouble if they don’t go out with “a group that knows the rules,” Chris Dewey, president and founder of the Maritime Archaeological Society, said. DiscoverOurCoast.com • 19
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DO & SEE EXPLORING THE ‘GRAVEYARD OF THE PACIFIC’ People who happen upon interesting artifacts will frequently contact the Maritime Museum — they have more pieces of the Peter Iredale than they can use, for example, Smith said. The institution is currently displaying two carronades from the USS Shark, which was shipwrecked at the mouth of the Columbia in 1846. Short cast-iron naval cannons, the carronades were discovered by visitors along the beach in Arch Cape and nearby in 2008 and, after several years of conservation, placed in the museum in 2014. The Maritime Archaeological Society, comprising 60 to 70 volunteers, finds and documents the remains of such shipwrecks in the Pacific Northwest and beyond using sonar data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Along the Oregon Coast, the histories of several countries and cultures collide. One of the society’s main foci is the mysterious Beeswax Wreck Project. Over time, a wreck site located off Nehalem Beach in Tillamook County has been identified as belonging to a Spanish galleon used in the Manila Trade in the late 1600s. The Spanish used a route that involved China, Southeast Asia and Acapulco. Ships would leave from Asia, go north across the Pacific, then head south when they neared shore. Only two Spanish galleons were unaccounted for in the north Pacific, according to Smith. One of them, believed to be the Santo Cristo de Burgos, drifted too far north and wrecked near Nehalem. The site is still buried, but “evidence is coming to shore all the time — ceramics and beeswax,” Smith said, adding, “If we ever find the ship, that will be exciting.” Montero, who is fascinated by the Graveyard of the Pacific — the stretch from Tillamook Bay to Cape Scott Provincial Park on Vancouver Island that’s responsible for more than 2,000 shipwrecks — finds the Santo Cristo de Burgos wreck enticing. She went beachcombing for beeswax during the last extreme low tide of 2018 in August. Unfortunately, she said, when she got to the beach in Nehalem, the fog was so thick she couldn’t see 10 feet in front of her. The society remains dedicated to discovering the site of the shipwreck. In the meantime, Dewey said, they take on other projects in Youngs Bay and elsewhere, reporting on “isolated finds” (areas with less than 10 historical artifacts) and archaeological sites (areas with 10 or more artifacts and/or one feature). While Kelly searches for historical artifacts and Montero cleans up trash and finds jewelry-making material, the fruit of the Maritime Archaeological Society’s labor, according to Smith, is for accurate, detailed information to find its way into Oregon and Washington archives to guide further research and investigation.
THE ART OF MUDLARKING Photos at left from top: Don Kelly moves his metal detector slowly over the ground looking for buried items. Kelly then digs in the ground after his metal detector pinged on something buried. He shows off one of his favorite finds with a metal detector: an antique cannon ball.
Check out additional beachcombing and mudlarking photos at
DiscoverOurCoast.com 20 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
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TREASURE FROM THE USS SHARK Photos at left: 1. A model of the USS Shark in the U.S. Navy Museum. 2. An excavator lowers one of two cannons from the USS Shark into an Oregon State Parks vehicle Feb. 19, 2008, in Arch Cape. The Shark was a survey schooner that ran aground in 1846. 3. Oregon State Park employees battle incoming waves Feb. 19, 2008, to excavate the second of two cannons from the USS Shark found on the beach in Arch Cape.
1
2
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4. An estimated crowd of 80 people gathers around one of two large tubs containing a historic cannon from the USS Shark Feb. 26, 2008, at the Nehalem Bay State Park maintenance shop in Manzanita. After being excavated from the beach in Arch Cape, the cannons were submerged in salt water for a week, leaving behind a layer of rust at the base of the tub.
3
5
5. Jeff Smith, the Columbia River Maritime Museum’s curator, pushes the trunnion into place on the second of two cannons belonging to the USS Shark and connecting it to a replica wooden carriage. The trunnion is used as a pivot point from which the cannon's muzzle can be raised or lowered. 6. Columbia River Maritime Museum staffers, including Facilities Manager Hampton Scudder, right, and Curator Jeff Smith, middle, provide instruction to Mike Abrahams, not pictured, owner of ABA Construction, who operates a forklift to lower the second of two 1,300-pound iron cannons from the USS Shark into a replica wooden carriage. The two cannons, found in Arch Cape in 2008, were lost when the USS Shark broke apart on the Columbia River Bar 168 years ago. 7. Miranda Petrone, right, and her father Mike were strolling along the beach in Arch Cape in 2008 when they discovered a cannon that was last seen 168 years ago. Another cannon was also found that weekend. Both are now on display at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Our Coast Magazine file photos
6
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DO & SEE
Reel Words & Images: Luke Whittaker
Whether it’s the suspense of hooking a colossal halibut, the sound of a screaming drag from a deep-diving tuna, the awe-inspiring acrobatics of an airborne sturgeon or the thrill of catching your own Dungeness crab, unforgettable river and ocean charter fishing opportunities abound nearly year-round in Clatsop and Pacific counties.
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Fishing pressure typically peaks in the early and late summer on the Columbia River during the sturgeon and salmon seasons.
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DO & SEE
Lingcod, as well as rockfish and halibut, are among the species targeted during bottom fishing trips.
acific rockfish are the most commonly targeted species during spring charter fishing trips. Black rockfish, one of more than a dozen varieties inhabiting the waters off the Oregon and Washington coasts, are the most routinely caught, often two at a time using a top and bottom rig. The Washington state record black rockfish (10.72 pounds) was caught in Ilwaco in 2016, and charter customers routinely return a limit of the mild-flavored fish. Lingcod are also a popular species targeted by bottom fishing trips throughout the spring and summer. The toothy, crevice-dwelling fish are coveted among chefs and have a flavor
P
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compared to lobster. Lingcod are commonly caught on plastic worms and metal jigs, typically in the 2-to-3-foot range. Hefty Pacific halibut typically begin to land on port scales in late spring each season, after annual quotas are announced. The powerful flatfish can weigh several hundred pounds and measure more than 8 feet long. Most recreationally caught fish weigh in the 30-to-40 pound range. Keeping the bait down is essential for catching these bottom dwellers, sometimes requiring more than 2 pounds of weight. Once hooked they can feel like pulling up an anvil, often requiring some muscle to hoist the biggest fish from the bottom. Some charters are equipped with electric reels to lessen the burden.
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n late spring attention turns to a true river monster that lurks in the Lower Columbia’s depths. White sturgeon — capable of reaching more than 12 feet long — inhabit the cold waters around Astoria and Ilwaco. The start of the season initiates a late-spring pilgrimage of fishermen to the river eager for an opportunity to reel in a prehistoric fish. After a couple of consecutive closed seasons due to conservation, a keeper sturgeon season returned to the Lower Columbia in 2017, allowing fishermen to retain two fish annually in the 44-to-50-inch range. A firm fillet without a “fishy” flavor, sturgeon is among the most popular to be smoked and canned. The fish has a light bite, but is renowned for putting up a spectacular fight, often going airborne during repeated runs. Combined with their colossal size and power, catching a sturgeon is truly a remarkable experience for any angler.
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DO & SEE
Left to right: Patrick Cleary, Elizabeth Anderson, Sean Cleary, Jill Cleary and Tom Cleary pose with some of their catch after a successful trip aboard Ilwaco-based Shake N Bake charter.
hinook and Coho salmon take center stage during the summer months as the annual run culminates around the mouth of the Columbia, made famous for the Buoy 10 fishery. The size of the annual runs varies year to year with quotas set accordingly. However, the fishery is legendary among anglers regardless of the predicted runs. Tackle Time Bait and Charters owner Gene Kane believes the Columbia River fishery is among the best anywhere, preferring it to prominent salmon rivers in Alaska. “There’s nowhere like it anywhere,” Kane said. “They have nothing compared to here because it’s so long.” The central location of the Columbia makes it an ideal staging ground for salmon all over the West Coast. “Most of the Puget Sound, Sacramento and Rogue River fish come by here, everything up and down the Northwest coast,” Kane said. “That’s the difference between here and any other port on the West Coast.” Unique underwater geography like the Astoria Canyon, roughly 10 miles from the mouth of the
C
30 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
Columbia, upwells nutrients near the mouth of the river, playing a crucial role in providing a food source attracting and keeping the fish around longer. “The fish stop here and bulk up before continuing their run,” Kane said. Offshore fishing also heats up in summertime as schools of migrating albacore tuna — once the backbone of the former Bumble Bee canneries in Astoria — are chased by recreational charter boats. The schools of tuna follow fingers of warm water as they make an annual migration from the eastern Pacific, often coming within 40 miles of the coast, a relatively short reach for recreational boats. The action in albacore can be fast and furious, particularly when a school of fish is found. “It’s the only fish I know where six guys can be hooked up at the same time,” said Shake N Bake charter captain Mike Colbach, who considers albacore among the hardest-fighting fish anywhere. “Pound for pound, nothing fights as much as albacore — maybe yellowtail.” The success of the fishery over the years has made albacore trips increasingly popular.
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Schools of rockfish and crevice-dwelling lingcod are targeted around Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, a popular destination for charters on bottom fishing trips.
s the foliage begins to drop, so do the crab pots. While other fisheries begin to reel in for the season, recreational crabbing is only beginning. Trips typically begin in September and continue until December, the usual start of the commercial season. Some use chicken, others swear by salmon, and many believe chopped razor clams make the best bait. No matter which you choose, the crabs are always biting and you don’t have to worry about getting your hands dirty on a recreational charter, unless you want to. “We’ll let you pull the pots,” Coho Charters owner Butch Smith said. “You can get as involved as you want or uninvolved as you want.” Learning how to identify, measure and properly hold a crab is part of the experience. From baiting to dropping pots, the biggest hassles of crabbing are handled by skilled deckhands. But the best part — coming home with fresh-caught Dungeness crab — is all left to the customer. People prone to seasickness or seeking a calmer experience on the water should consider a crab charter, Smith said. Combination fishing and crabbing trips are available on some charters depending on the season.
A
A deckhand prepares fishing rods as a charter boat departs the Port of Ilwaco.
Check out additional charter fishing photos at
DiscoverOurCoast.com
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DO & SEE
SHOW the
GOES ON
COLUMBIA-PACIFIC THEATER IS RICH IN CREATIVITY, RIFE WITH MISHAPS Words: Patrick Webb • Images: Colin Murphey
When they say “Break a leg,” it’s just a theater way of wishing actors luck. Cindy Flood wasn’t so lucky. Appearing in the musical “She Loves Me” in Chinook, Washington, a couple of years ago, the former Los Angeles dance teacher fell before a performance and wound up in the emergency room. Her talented college-trained daughter, Brooke, sang her mother’s lead role that night — and the remainder of the summer schedule — to prove “the show must go on.”
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An Astor Street Opry Company production of ‘Scrooged in Astoria’
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DO & SEE Josie Posey and Dawson Yukon Shadd strike a pose during a dress rehearsal of ‘Shanghaied in Astoria’ at the Astor Street Opry Company Playhouse.
T
he story, now legend with the Peninsula Association of Performing Artists, isn’t unusual. When The River Theatre staged “Macbeth” in Astoria some years ago, founder Nancy Montgomery had to remind cast and crew about Shakespeare’s “cursed” play as they wandered backstage with sharp-pointed daggers and axes. The Scottish Play’s bleak reputation is no myth. Director Edward James, a professional actor who retired to Astoria more than a dozen years ago, recalls a Portland production in his youth when Malcolm was in a car accident, Banquo’s ghost performed while bleeding from a stab wound and Macduff, who had the flu, swooned during a sword fight. Backstage “dramas” are nothing new. Some 75 years ago, the Astoria newspaper reported police responded to 36 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
the Merwyn Hotel after a report of gunshots, only to learn they were blanks fired during rehearsals of an amateur theatrical. But despite occasional mishaps, live theater is alive and well in the Columbia-Pacific region, providing work for a cadre of experienced directors and pleasure for a corps of amateur actors. Some, like Bill Ham and Bill Honl, shift from show to show, often performing in one while rehearsing the next. Others, like Sheila Shaffer, Lisa Fergus and Katherine Lacaze, direct one show, then act in another. “I like to do both,” said Shaffer, whose work at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse in Cannon Beach dates back to 2002. “People ask, ‘Do I prefer acting or directing?’ They are completely different. Sometimes I see a script that I have a vision for, but I also like to be an actor and work with other directors and pick up skills.”
Despite occasional mishaps, live theater is alive and well in the ColumbiaPacific region.
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Cannon Beach and Astoria Clatsop Community College has long since given up productions. So two successful troupes, the Coaster and the Astor Street Opry Co. in Astoria, continue to form the backbone of the Clatsop County theater scene. Their niches are complementary, rather than competing. The Coaster has existed since Maurie Clark, a Portland arts patron, purchased the roller staking rink in Cannon Beach in 1972 and attracted Portland State University Summer Stock Co. On Clark’s death in 2001, the playhouse became a nonprofit organization. Now it has paid staff — led by Patrick Lathrop — who coordinate a year-round season, including a lengthy summer repertory, which this year features Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” with the musical “Nunsense.” Ahead of those, they will stage “Bunbury” about literary time-travelers in May, and as fall arrives, producers will offer a Southern comedy, “The Savannah Sipping Society,” before “Annie” arrives to warm our hearts before Christmas. Shaffer said sometimes actors drop out because of a personal crisis like a family
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Cast members with the Coaster Theatre production of ‘The Odd Couple’ perform a scene.
death. Inevitably they must be replaced on short notice, meaning lines have to be scribbled on scenery, sets and props. “When you do a musical, you have to cast kids and
Bennett Hunter, seated, and Frank Jagodnik rehearse a scene from ‘Deathtrap’ at the Coaster Theatre.
have understudies in place. During any Christmas show, everybody is a walking petrie dish!” Once, staging a “whodunit” a dozen years ago, she received phone calls from two actresses both announcing they were expecting. Luckily, one was playing a rotund gentleman, so her bump wasn’t a problem. “What are the odds of two women in the same show pregnant at the same time?” Astor Street (known to the theater crowd as ASOC) operates a playhouse in Astoria with three Vaudeville-style shows a year and bonus productions like Shaffer’s “The Birds” sandwiched in between the runs. The original “Shanghaied in Astoria” has been running 35 years, with a 12-year Christmas show, “Scrooged in Astoria,” plus a spring Lewis and Clark parody that rewrites the history of the explorers with a distinctly Scandinavian accent. “Robin Hood: The Musical” was this year’s children’s show. While stalwart director and writer Judith Niland still helps, today’s ASOC backbone is second generation. New casts are recruited for each lengthy run, with actors substituting to allow colleagues to take family vacations or a few nights off. Guests, like now-retired District Attorney Josh Marquis, often appear.
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Sarah Schott and Jonathan Cole during a scene from ‘Beauty and the Beast.’
On the Peninsula Two amateur groups thrive on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, each with a slightly different mission. The Peninsula Association of Performing Artists stages an annual summer musical at the refurbished theater at Fort Columbia State Park in Chinook. Last year’s lavishly costumed “Beauty and the Beast” was among its most ambitious, though it has staged “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Wizard of Oz” twice each in the last decade. It branched out into straight drama last fall with “Enchanted April,” the swan song of director Brooke Flood, who has since moved out of the area. This summer the troupe will stage “Mary Poppins.” The Peninsula Players stage a varying season, featuring a musical and one-act play evenings at its playhouse in downtown Ilwaco. 38 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” were among recent hits. Members are gearing up for Gilbert and Sullivan’s “HMS Pinafore” this spring, with carpenter Andy Tauber building a sailing ship on their tiny stage. The group’s latest incarnation began in 2004 when Wilma Vardsveen encouraged a group to put on skits at the Senior Center, then the group shifted to talent shows led by Rob Lindberg. It became a traveling Peninsula troupe, but eventually found a home in 2010, accepting the old American Legion Hall from River City Arts and Crafts. “It is a challenge to keep up with the maintenance of owning our own building, but it has been a fun challenge and we have many wonderful volunteers to help,” said Rita Smith, board president, who directs or appears in many shows.
Lavishly costumed “Beauty and the Beast” was among the Peninsula Association of Performing Artists’ most ambitious productions last year, though it has staged “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Wizard of Oz” twice each in the last decade.
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Sue Neuer, left, and Emily Dante during a rehearsal of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
Squirming in the seats Aside from these four groups, the theater scene ebbs and flows. The River Theatre began in 1997 with “Vita and Virginia” at the college’s Performing Arts Center (PAC), then opened its own 90-seat playhouse under the Astoria Bridge a year later. Its productions ran through 2008. Shakespeare’s demand for a large cast didn’t daunt producers, with the occasional professional lured in. Astoria’s Mick and Rhonda Alderman appeared in “Macbeth” and a quality version of Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler.” Later successes included “Nine Parts of Desire,” a poignant show about Iraqi women that sparked enthusiastic discussion on the political scene while showcasing talents like Patricia Shannon and Carol Newman, who promotes the arts on her KMUN radio show. Karen Bain recalled playing Virginia Woolf in that first show, and Montgomery’s thenhusband Tim Hurd plying arriving audience members with samples from the family coffee business. When an actor forgot his lines, Bain tried to get back on track by saying the next line she could recall. Unfortunately, that
skipped ahead into the second act — nixing the intermission — and made for an uncomfortable finale. “The audience was squirming in their seats with coffee up to their eyeballs,” Bain said. “I got loads of grief for that. So much so, I thought about making a T-shirt that said, ‘I Survived ‘Vita and Virginia.’”
When The River folded, Susi Brown, who had been a school drama teacher in Astoria and Knappa, launched Pier Pressure Productions. It enjoyed a run of smaller-scale, cutting-edge offerings that stretched the skills of local thespians, many who were not ASOC regulars or didn’t want to make the drive to Cannon Beach.
From left: Dena Tuveng, Julian Thomas, Lexus Blackston and Madison Beauparland in a past production of ‘Shanghaied in Astoria.’
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Shocking audiences More drama came to Astoria about four years ago when Partners For The PAC, a coalition of North Coast musical and other groups led by Charlene Larsen, began a campaign to keep the PAC viable. Assisted greatly by the Pacific Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, which made the former Trinity Lutheran Church its headquarters, the effort has produced director Bain’s “Waiting for Godot” and Shaffer’s “Twelve Angry Jurors.” Brown and Daric Moore, a versatile actor with a construction background, announced late last year they were revamping Pier Pressure Productions, remodeling a storefront at 10th and Commercial in the Astoria Odd Fellows building. Moore described the concept as “a black-box theater with regular shows, as well as a venue for music, art installation space, class space or other performance art.” KALA has also proved a suitable venue for intimate productions, thanks to Dinah Urell, a year-round supporter of the arts who publishes HipFish monthly magazine. Other drama downtown at Astoria’s remodeled Liberty Theatre is dreamed up by Sen Incavo, a director who aims high, blending new and old talent for smaller-scale productions. Alderman draws on professional-technical skills to construct the lighting for multiple productions, as well as directing and acting. He and his father, Jerry, collaborate on sets, most recently a revolving one for the Coaster’s “Noises Off.” In 1998, when the college’s Arts On Stage program featured Alderman’s original play “Road to Nowhere,” they built a special rig to hoist a hollowed-out 1987 Chevrolet Spectrum sideways through the narrow lobby of the PAC onto the stage. “Audience members entering the auditorium were shocked to discover an honest-to-goodness car displayed before them, and were frequently overheard speculating as to how it got there,” he said.
Jerry Alderman and Mick Alderman, right, discuss the movement of the complex wooden set they built at the Coaster Theatre. Patrick Webb photo
The show went on While that was a notable success story, like the Flood family, who improvised when Cindy broke her knee, actors revel in stories of what went wrong. Acting for The River, Bain recalls a tree toppled over in “All My Sons,” causing her to simply toss it offstage. “Without a beat, we resumed the tense scene as if nothing had happened,” she said. James, the director-actor, recalled a frantic phone call from a Portland actress during flooding in the 1990s. “Is there a possibility we can cancel the matinee?” “Yeah,” I said reluctantly. “What’s the problem?” “Well,” she said. “My aunt drove to the store this morning. She got out of the car and fell in a ditch and drowned.” “Oh my God!” I said. “I’m so sorry. Listen. It’s up to you.” There was a long, considered pause. “Well,” she said. “She wasn’t my favorite aunt. I really didn’t like her much. So …” The show went on. Find details of the North Coast and Long Beach Peninsula theater productions at
Columbia-Pacific theater groups Astor Street Opry Co. asocplay.com
Coaster Theatre coastertheatre.com
Peninsula Association of Performing Artists papatheater.com
Peninsula Players peninsula-players.com
Pier Pressure Productions Find us on Facebook
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About the author Patrick Webb is the retired managing editor of The Daily Astorian. As well as writing about the regional theater scene, he has appeared in two theatrical shows at the Performing Arts Center in Astoria and portrayed Malvolio in The River Theatre’s production of “Twelfth Night.”
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DO & SEE
Words: Katie Frankowicz • Images: Colin Murphey
he light shot out from the side of the cliff and slid over the ocean’s face, pulling ragged wave peaks out of the darkness and illuminating the jaws of the rocks around Heceta Head. At first I thought I was looking at headlights, someone parked close to the edge of the cliff at a pullout somewhere up ahead in the early morning, rainstorm black. Then as I drove around another corner, I could see how the beams swept out and far away. I have visited nearly all of Oregon’s 11 historic lighthouses, but this early morning drive back to Astoria from Coos Bay was the first time I had ever seen one at work.
T
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NORTH HEAD LIGHTHOUSE sits just a few miles from another lighthouse at Cape Disappointment on the Long Beach Peninsula. Photo illustration by John D. Bruijn
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CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT LIGHTHOUSE The hike to the lighthouse at Cape Disapointment rewards those who make the trip with expansive views of the mouth of the Columbia River. Patrice Eberline photo
alk into any boutique or gift shop on the Oregon Coast and chances are high you’ll see a lighthouse — pastel-hued and benign, on a keychain, formed into a ceramic miniature, printed on a welcome mat, embroidered on a pillow, stamped on a coffee cup. Along with shells and sandcastles, a lighthouse is visual shorthand, a sort of hieroglyphic, for all things beach. Seeing the real thing at work in a vast, ocean-loud darkness was different. A mortal stumbling upon a watchful giant crouched between wave-warped rock and wind-twisted forests. Most of Oregon’s lighthouses were built by the Army Corps of Engineers in the mid-to-late 19th century, all that stood between ships and sailors and the state’s rugged coastline. Many are open to the public and some are still operational. The Heceta Head Lighthouse is a bit of a trek from Astoria, but if you are lucky enough to live on the North Coast, or if you are visiting the area, a handful of Oregon’s lighthouses — and two in Washington state — are an easy day trip away. Do yourself a favor and go see them.
W
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Cape Disappointment — named, perhaps, in a fit of pique, after Captain John Meares’ first failed attempt to find the Columbia River — in Washington state is about a 30-minute drive from Astoria and home to two historic lighthouses. Depending on how you enter the park, North Head Lighthouse can be one of your first stops. Follow state park signs out of Ilwaco, turning onto either North Head Road or Robert Gray Drive/Washington State Route 100. It is located at the end of North Head Lighthouse Road off North Head Road. A multi-use trail winds through the woods parallel to the road. The structure itself is under repair through June and visitors will not be able to tour the interior, but they will still be able to see the lighthouse as well as its numerous outbuildings. North Head, which is more than 120 years old, is one of the few lighthouses on the West Coast where these facilities remain intact. It served as a primary navigation aid at the mouth of the Columbia River, a companion to the even older Cape Disappointment Lighthouse after ships continued to run aground, according to park staff. The historic Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is accessible by a trail of easy to moderate difficulty (depending on your hiking experience) from the Lewis and Clark Visitors Center, located above the Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment. Coast Guard watchmen still keep an eye on boats coming and going across the Columbia River Bar from a facility near the lighthouse, and you might see them at work during a visit.
Left: Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in continuous use on the West Coast.
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TILLAMOOK ROCK LIGHTHOUSE, AKA ‘TERRIBLE TILLY’ The decommissioned Tillamook Rock Light as seen from Ecola State Park.
Back in Oregon, Cannon Beach residents get daily views of the historic Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, or “Terrible Tilly,” a structure built in the late 1800s on a sheer outcropping of rock and ocean tunnels where natives believe spirits lived. Construction of the lighthouse got off to a tragic start. The mason brought out to survey the rock prior to construction slipped and fell into the ocean. His body was never recovered. Locals refused to work on the project. Once built, it gained a reputation as a terrible place to work, with conditions taking a physical and mental toll on the keepers. Still, Terrible Tilly functioned as a lighthouse for around 77 years before it was decommissioned in 1957. It was sold several times and then used as a columbarium until around 2005, a final resting place for your ashes if you had several thousand dollars to spare. To get the best view of the lighthouse, hike the Tillamook Head Trail, a steep, sometimes strenuous trek that takes you through forests of Sitka spruce and Western red cedar. The trailhead begins at the Elmer Feldenheimer Forest Preserve on the south side of Seaside. The view arrives four miles in. Hop down a short spur trail just past the four-mile mark and you’ll see Tillamook Rock and the lighthouse perched precariously on top of it about one mile offshore. Or, just drive to Indian Beach in Ecola State Park and walk down onto the beach south of the parking lot with some binoculars. 48 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, aka “Terrible Tilly.” Photo courtesy Seaside Museum
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CAPE MEARES LIGHTHOUSE
The Cape Meares Lighthouse, located about two hours from Astoria outside of Tillamook, is a squatty little structure that looks more like a cartoon character than a beacon of life and safety. It has the distinction of being Oregon’s shortest lighthouse — its tower stands a mere 38 feet high. It is open to visitors daily from May through September at the Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint. This site also includes the “Big Spruce,” which is an estimated 750 to 800 years old, and the Octopus Tree, a massive Sitka spruce whose branches tangle outwards like tentacles. Built in 1889 and no longer operative today, the Cape Meares Lighthouse features its original red Fresnel lens made in Paris, France. The lens was shipped, hauled and lifted to the site with great effort. When in operation, the light could be seen 21 nautical miles at sea, according to the Friends of the Cape Meares Lighthouse. Access is easy — simply park and walk down a short, broad path.
The Cape Meares Lighthouse is open to the public. Photo courtesy Headlight Herald
YAQUINA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is the tallest in Oregon at 93 feet.
YAQUINA BAY LIGHTHOUSE
Photo courtesy Newport News-Times
The garden at the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. Our Coast File Photo
The Yaquina Bay-area lighthouses make for a longer trip, but are worth the effort. There are two in the Newport area, about four hours from Astoria: Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head. If the Cape Meares Lighthouse is Oregon’s shortest, Yaquina Head is the tallest. The tower soars to a staggering 93 feet — that’s 370,000 bricks, in case you were wondering. It was first built in 1973 and is located in the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, which boasts tide pools and birdwatching opportunities.
Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, just a bit farther south, was built in 1871 and decommissioned only a few years later in 1874. It is believed to be the oldest structure in Newport and functions now as a privately maintained navigational aid. Paved trails lead to the structure, which is open to the public every day except on certain holidays. There is no entrance fee, but donations are accepted. See video of Oregon lighthouses at
DiscoverOurCoast.com
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EAT AND DRINK
OUR PICKS
Corral Drive In’s Tsunami Burger
Reveille Ciderworks
LONG BEACH, WASHINGTON
ASTORIA, OREGON
Patrick Webb photo
Ryan Hume photo
By Patrick Webb
By Ryan Hume
Years ago, when a rival restaurant owner teased Don McGuire about another place having the largest meal available on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, he reacted by creating the Tsunami Burger. Decades later, the Corral Drive In’s biggest menu item is somewhat of a legend. No other restaurant even comes close. The staff at 2506 Pacific Avenue on the north end of town makes about 100 of them a year for vacationing families and meetings of local groups or businesses. And they are so big you must order them 24 hours in advance, in part to make sure the 18-inch sesame bun, custom-baked by the Cottage Bakery, is available. Today’s head cook, Ray Coulston, never tires of reeling off the list of ingredients for his feast. He uses a 5-pound meat patty, regularly prodding in a meat thermometer to make sure it is cooked fully. If ordered with cheese, that’s $5 extra, for about 1 1/2 pounds or 25 slices. Two onions and several tomatoes are sliced and laid on the bun, plus two entire heads of lettuce. Somehow he and his staff find space to add mayonnaise, relish, pickles and mustard. Yummy and filling is the understatement of the year. It feeds up to 16.
Despite the optics of his last name, Jeremy French, owner and operator of Reveille Ciderworks, is deeply immersed in a resurgent American tradition, one with deep roots in our nation’s past. To hear French tell it, hard cider was once more American than, well, apple pie. Hard apple cider was what fueled the pilgrims, explorers and farmers through the dawn of this country, having brought apple starts and recipes with them from the Old World. Sadly, many of these farmhouse recipes were lost during Prohibition, but from the shadows of the craft beer movement, these time-tested ciders have reemerged. French came to cider on a quest, he said, “to find a hobby my wife liked.” (She’s not a beer drinker.) After one of his daughters underwent major surgery, French began to reexamine his life. Realizing he no longer wanted to work in tech, he turned his hobby into a career and Reveille Ciderworks was born in 2016. Réveille means “awakening” or “to wake up” in French. From their downtown taproom at Astoria Station, Reveille concentrates on producing these pre-prohibition farmhouse and countrystyle ciders. Including a guest tap or two, there are usually eight varieties on tap, ranging from the dry, lip-smacking Wallonia Farmhouse, Reveille’s first cider, to the more experimental fruity and botanicalforward I’m Peach. There’s always something new to try. Get to the outdoor patio now, which they share with Reach Break Brewing and a host of food carts, as Reveille may not be there much longer. French plans to expand and is searching for a new space to have a standalone taproom. The current space will be fully devoted as his mad scientist’s laboratory. 750 ml bottles can also be purchased to go and Reveille has a recycling program that he claims has a 48-percent return rate. It probably doesn’t hurt that bringing back the bottle gets $3 off a pour. On Mondays all bottle fills are $2 off. In a town stuffed with breweries, Reveille Ciderworks offers a unique alternative for those craving a libation.
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Feasts. Eateries. Libations. Recipes.
The Logger Restaurant
Wayfarer Restaurant & Lounge
KNAPPA, OREGON
CANNON BEACH, OREGON
Colin Murphey photo
Erick Bengel photo
By Erick Bengel
By Katherine Lacaze
The Logger, located where U.S. Route 30 meets Old Highway 30, is Knappa’s only restaurant, and it’s a special one — a 50-plus-yearold homage to the Oregon timber industry and lumberjack lifestyle. Inside, woodsman paraphernalia makes for rugged decor. You’ll find wall-mounted bow and crosscut saws — a two-man crosscut behind the counter bears a pastoral panorama of “Old Knappa.” A double-headed ax is embedded in the gate separating the restaurant from the rest of the building. Vintage photos of loggers, including owner Shawn Teevin’s family and friends, are prominently displayed. Wood, of course, is always in view, from the walls and ceiling to handcarved models of trucks and backhoes. The dining area’s centerpiece is a chandelier made of ersatz antlers from Cabela’s. And the restrooms are divided into Lumber Jacks and Lumber Jills. The food is hearty and the portions hefty, perfect for fueling up before heading out to fell some mammoth hemlock. When my strapping Ultimate Logger Burger (with tots) emerged from the kitchen during a recent visit, a fellow diner stared in wonder: “That is a masterpiece,” he proclaimed of the muscular meat pile. Chances are good the wait staff will advise you to save room for dessert. Listen to them. The many cream pies — from pecan to coconut — are made in house. The Decadent Peanut Butter Pie has filling so thick you can slice it like bread and individual pieces will remain standing atop their cookie-crumble foundation. Milkshakes, meanwhile, are whipped up in an old-fashioned ice cream machine. The Logger also boasts Knappa’s only bar, The Highclimber Room, where the most popular drink is the plain ol’ vodka cran. The lounge is small but has room for a theater-style popcorn machine, which is pretty cool. The restaurant was founded back when logging was a very visible economic driver in the Columbia-Pacific. Though that era has passed, the burly, bark-covered ethos is going strong at The Logger — Lumber Jill strong. Timber!
One of the best elements of visiting the Wayfarer Restaurant & Lounge, before even perusing the menu or having a bite to eat, is snagging a booth by the window or a seat on the deck, where you are granted an exquisite, close-up view of sprawling sand, surf and Cannon Beach’s iconic seastack, Haystack Rock. The midtown restaurant is open daily with different menus available for breakfast, lunch and dinner, each boasting Northwest coastal cuisine with an emphasis on fresh ingredients grown, raised or caught by local purveyors. For breakfast, that means succulent seafood-inclusive dishes such as the Dungeness crab cake benedict topped with lemon-spiked hollandaise sauce or eggs coupled with Northwest razor clams. For dinner and lunch, you can expect to have your seafood craving satisfied by beer-battered fish and chips, seared Oregon Chinook salmon, potato halibut, razor clams or salmon stew. Even those meals veering toward the “turf” side of things — such as braised lamb shank, cast iron chicken or filet mignon — are replete with side dishes that feature local fingerling potatoes, foraged chanterelle mushrooms and seasonal vegetables. The Wayfarer also is a popular spot for those seeking libations and a lighter dish to munch on. Classic and signature cocktails or a glass of wine from the restaurant’s robust supply pair well with one of several unique appetizers, such as braised short rib poutine with white cheddar cheese curds and Bordelaise sauce, or fried arancini filled with risotto, smoked salmon and leeks. Finish your meal with a cup of coffee and one of the freshest desserts in town — even the honey lavender, vanilla and chocolate ice creams in the hot fudge sundae are made from scratch. With stunning oceanfront views and an authentic taste of the Pacific Northwest’s plentiful bounty, the Wayfarer beckons to both travelers and locals.
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1493 Duane Street • 503.338.7473 Open 7 days a week Kitchen: 7AM-2:30PM Coffee & Bakery: 7AM-4PM www.bluescorcher.coop
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www.hungryharbor.com 313 Pacific Hwy, Downtown Long Beach, WA Free Wifi
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Menu Online! Open Daily 10 am – 9 pm & Sunday 9 am – 9 pm Winter Hours 11 am – 8 pm
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Come Join Us! U One of the mo One most osst unique unique q Cafes Cafe a es in the world. Located Locatted oon n the the Columbia River cannery C olumbia R iver in the West’s Wes Wests ’s oldest W oldeests canne ry bbuilding; uilldingg; the the historic Pier hiisttoriic Hanthorn Hanthorn Cannery Cannery at the the eend nd of o P ier 39
Friendly riendly services ser vices • H High igh q quality ualitty espresso Sumptuous S umptuo ous fresh frresh pastries pastriees Unique U niq que breakfasts breakfas a ts and and lunches lunches
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Monday -Thursday 7AM to 4PM • Friday 7AM M - 5PM Saturday Satur day 8AM - 5PM • Sunday 8AM - 5PM M
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EAT & DRINK
The Wine Shack in Cannon Beach features a wide variety of vintages.
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Pour taste A wine lover’s guide to the Pacific Northwest Coast Words: Andy Perdue • Images: Colin Murphey
One of the beauties of the Pacific Northwest Wine Country is that you’re in wine country regardless of where you are. In California and in European regions, you can find vineyards reasonably close to the coast. Not so in the Northwest, though not for a lack of trying. Let’s take a journey up the coast of Oregon and Washington to explore the Northwest's version of coastal wine country.
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Steven Sinkler chats with a wine connoisseur in the tasting room at The Wine Shack.
good starting point is the Northwest’s favorite coastal village: Cannon Beach. Here you’ll find two winery tasting rooms, a great collection of restaurants, wine shops and more. In the heart of downtown on Hemlock Street is The Wine Shack, which has served residents and visitors since the early 1970s. It was purchased in 2012 by Steven Sinkler and his wife, Maryann. Steven had dabbled with home winemaking, so taking over The Wine Shack fulfilled his love of wine and his love for the Oregon Coast. About 80 percent of his inventory is focused on Oregon and Washington, appropriately. Sprinkled in there are selections from California and a few bottles from Europe. Connected to the shop is a tasting room for Sinkler’s own Puffin Wines, a lineup of eight reds and whites named for the puffin, a curious-looking bird that nests in the area and serves as an unofficial mascot for the town. Sinkler collaborates with a collection of consulting winemakers. The wines are serious efforts, consistently winning top awards at international wine competitions up and down the West Coast.
A
56 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
About 80 percent of The Wine Shack’s inventory is focused on Oregon and Washington, appropriately.
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Jodi Buell pours a glass of wine at the Bridgewater Bistro in Astoria.
Cross Hemlock Street and walk a couple of blocks north to Co., is the Oregon tasting room for Westport Winery. Based in Laurel’s Wine Shop, a longtime stop for wine lovers. Her eclectic Aberdeen, Wash., Westport has two tasting rooms, one on the shop is filled with Oregon wine Oregon Coast, the other on the selections, as well as an Washington Coast. Laurel’s Wine Shop is filled impressive collection of internaThe Seaside location on with Oregon wine selections, tional wines that includes Broadway has the full lineup of Europe and beyond. She owns a wines, all of which are coastalas well as an impressive collection of vineyard in Yamhill County and themed. In the same building international wines. She also owns a has made her own Oregon wine they've opened a kite shop, and for decades. For wine lovers to the beach they’ve buit a vineyard in Yamhill County and has made closer looking for the delight of new home called Westport her own Oregon wine for decades. discovery, wandering through Winery Seaside Retreat that Laurel’s shop is a joy, akin to offers overnight accommodations. In addition to the wines is a selection of oils and vinegars browsing a bookstore. Up north in Seaside, across the street from Seaside Brewing and a well-stocked tasting room and gift shop. DiscoverOurCoast.com • 57
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Laurel’s Wine Shop in downtown Cannon Beach.
The Westport Winery recently relocated to downtown Seaside from Cannon Beach.
Paul Shallon discusses the art of winemaking at Shallon Winery in Astoria.
58 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
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At the main winery between the towns of Westport and Aberdeen in Washington, the winery is an attraction that regularly draws crowds from Seattle and Portland, thanks to its extensive gardens, its plant nursery and fabulous on-site restaurant, the Sea Glass Grill. Last year, USA Today ranked it as the No. 2 winery restaurant in the country. The winery’s distinctively maritime-themed architecture includes a lighthouse. Among the myriad wines made by winemaker Dana Roberts, the most surprising treat is called Rapture of the Deep, a sparkling cranberry wine using fruit harvested along the nearby Cranberry Coast. It exudes purity of fruit and is the perfect foil for Thanksgiving dinner. In recent years, Roberts has gained access to grapes from some of Washington’s top vineyards (including Red Willow, Discovery, Elephant Mountain and Klipsun), resulting in an uptick in quality. When the family purchased 20 acres of land for their farm and winery in 1997 they even planted a small vineyard. It was optimistic, at best. While European wine grapes thrive under the perpetually sunny skies of Eastern Washington’s Columbia Valley, they don’t under the gloomy skies of Grays Harbor County, just eight miles from the beach. Of the original 12 acres planted, just 20 plants remain, with the rest giving way to delightful themed gardens. Those looking for a unique coastal experience will be glad to make the 90-minute trek to Westport Winery. A bit closer to home is Shallon Winery in downtown Astoria. This longtime winery is best described as diverse, thanks to owner/winemaker Paul van der Veldt, who crafts such unusual wines as whey/cranberry and a delicious orange/chocolate wine that sets him apart. Shallon is as unusual as it is extraordinary. There are lots of great restaurants along the coast. One of my favorites is Bridgewater Bistro in Astoria run by Tony and Ann Kischner. Tony rose to fame Bridgewater running restaurant wine programs in Seattle before moving to the Washington coast to continue that success at the Bistro’s legendary Shoalwater Inn in Seaview, Wash. He launched backbone is a Bridgewater 11 years ago, with the backbone being a great wine program that focuses on Northwest selections. great wine
Bottles of wine line the shelves at Bridgewater Bistro.
Andy Perdue is the wine columnist for The Seattle Times. He is the founding editor of Wine Press Northwest magazine and the editor and publisher of Great Northwest Wine, a Washington-based media company. The third-generation Northwest journalist has written or contributed to several books about food and wine and regularly serves as an international wine judge throughout the West Coast.
program that focuses on Northwest selections.
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READERS CHOICE
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A Contempory Art Gallery With A Broad Outlook 60 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
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DiscoverOurCoast.com • 61
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high life
ON THE COAST
THE COLUMBIA-PACIFIC CAN MORE THAN MEET YOUR MARIJUANA NEEDS Words: Ryan Hume • Images: Colin Murphey
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S
teve Geiger, co-owner of Highway 420 in Seaside, has witnessed the slow, steady evolution of Oregon’s marijuana laws firsthand. In 2009, Geiger, then an environmental activist, began to attend National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) meetings. Medical marijuana was already legal in Oregon, but there were no dispensaries yet. Patients had to grow cannabis themselves or get someone else with a license to do it for them. “I wanted to start a club like NORML had done, where medical marijuana card holders could show a card and come into our club and could consume their cannabis and just pay the membership fee," Geiger said. Geiger opened the first incarnation of Highway 420 in Southeast Portland on Foster Road. It would become the first medical marijuana dispensary in the state. Then, “the feds threatened my landlord and we had to move.” Highway 420 moved around a lot after that until Geiger landed in Seaside. After being shut down in his third location on the coast, “I spent the next three years going to City Council meetings, fighting them, trying to open back up again,” Geiger said. Highway 420 reopened in 2015 around the time recreational marijuana became legal in the state. Now the marijuana business is booming throughout the Columbia-Pacific. Marijuana products racked up $520 million in sales in 2017 alone, $8 million of which was just in Clatsop County’s licensed dispensaries. As of
Cody Falk returns a jar of marijuana to a shelf after helping a customer at Sweet Relief in Astoria.
January 2019, the state has taken in more than $173 million in taxes on marijuana sales since being legalized, with the haul dramatically increasing each fiscal year, according to the Oregon Department of Revenue. And this doesn’t even account for local city and county taxes. Besides funding schools, police and addiction services, once-blighted buildings become hubs of commerce and community
when the open green palm of the cannabis leaf lands out front to say hello. Similarly, Washington state has also experienced a green rush, with the state treasurer reporting a whopping $319 million collected in taxes and licensing fees in 2017 alone. This is $112 million more than the state took in on its hefty alcohol and tobacco taxes combined in the same year. As if the grass couldn’t get any greener, a recent report from Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates the cannabis industry, shows that the state is growing twice as much dope as consumers can smoke. According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, this has resulted in a six-year surplus getting shelved and has plunged the price of a gram from $10 to south of $5 — perfect for the budget-conscious bud tourist. And weary, weed-friendly visitors need not fear: From the Long Beach Peninsula’s Freedom Market in Ilwaco to Manzanita’s Oregon Coast Cannabis, the coast has many options for all of your flower, oils, vaping, edible and CBD needs. There are seven dispensaries in Astoria alone. Left: An employee at Sweet Relief holds up marijuana available for purchase.
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Sweet Relief in Astoria is just one of several businesses in the area that sells medicinal and recreational marijuana.
THE GREEN SCENE Walking into a marijuana dispensary for the first time can feel a little illicit or intimidating. Many dispensaries have security foyers where your ID is checked before you are allowed into the showroom. But Samantha Davidson, general manager of Portland-based Five Zero Trees, which has outposts in both downtown Astoria and Cannon Beach, assures potential customers there is no reason to be afraid. “We want people to come in, ask questions and leave with the best possible product for them,” she said. “It’s okay to be a recreational customer and just say, ‘I want something fun.’ That’s okay too!” Davidson left a job in social work a few years ago to join the cannabis industry, but she comes from a family with two generations of marijuana growers. “We get lots of tourism, which is great. We get the cruise ships and the whale watchers. We get it all,” Davidson said. “The educational aspect is so fun because most of the out-of-towners — we get to inform them about the industry and the laws, and they have a lot of questions.” Geiger agrees on the importance of customer service. “A good budtender understands how to recommend things when someone asks for something,” he said. “I’m very lucky that everyone that works for me is in the family, and they have grown up with cannabis and know it really well. I feel really confident that if you come in and ask any one of the people who work for us questions, you are not going to get fake answers.” 64 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
Walking into a marijuana dispensary for the first time can feel a little illicit or intimidating. The general manager of Five Zero Trees assures potential customers there is no reason to be afraid.
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An employee at a Mr. Nice Guy location in Astoria prepares an order for a customer.
Lucas Landry, manager at the newly opened Mr. Nice Guy on Bond Street in Astoria, also sees the importance of out-of-towners in the coastal cannabis industry. While Mr. Nice Guy has a good local customer base at its two Astoria locations who are seeking well-priced bud, things really heat up during the coast’s fairer months. “When the cruise ships come in,” Landry said. “It gets crazy around here.” When he worked at Mr. Nice Guy’s Rockaway Beach location, tourists could sometimes swell his sales twofold in a single day. “We’re here to help you, we’re here to educate you,” Landry said. “If you are looking for CBD products we have anything you could ask for.” Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a compound naturally found in cannabis along with THC. THC is what gets you stoned, while CBD is more of a relaxant and analgesic. Many popular products are now on the market that isolate or extract the CBD through a delivery system, like oils or even gummies. The market is booming and offers many more potential customers to the cannabis industry who don’t necessarily want to get high. “CBD has had an astronomical growth. It’s an amazing thing to see,” Davidson said. “It went from being 5, 10 percent of the market. I think it has grown by something like 700 percent in two years.” Davidson also noted a dramatic uptick in sales of cartridges used for vaping. But for now, flower is still king as consumers discover and learn other ways to get their needs met besides just smoking, which is something tourists should consider as most hotels and motels have zero-tolerance smoking-of-anything policies. Davidson’s recommendation? “Edibles,” she said. “If you are in your hotel room, you’re not smoking anything, and that’s perfectly legal.” For cannabis dispensary locations on Our Coast see page 66
or visit DiscoverOurCoast.com
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DISPENSARIES ON OUR COAST ASTORIA • Hashstoria, 229 W. Marine Drive • Hi Casual Cannabis, 193 Marine Drive • Mr. Nice Guy, 730 Bond St. • Mr. Nice Guy, 690 Olney Ave. • Five Zero Trees, 1169 Commercial St. • Sweet Relief, 1444 Commercial St. • The Farmacy, 2911 Marine Drive
GEARHART • Sweet Relief, 4210 U.S. Highway 101
SEASIDE • Cannabis Nation, 550 S. Roosevelt Drive • Oasis Cannabis, 1111 S. Holladay Drive • Highway 420, 1803 S. Roosevelt Drive
CANNON BEACH • Five Zero Trees, 140 S. Hemlock St.
OUTER CLATSOP COUNTY • Nature's Choice, 49332 U.S. Highway 30 • Canna Beach Junction, 84834 U.S. Highway 101 • Tsunami Marijuana, 36412 U.S. Highway 26 • Mystic Roots, 38012 U.S. Highway 26
PACIFIC COUNTY • Mr. Doobees, 1410 40th St., Seaview, Wash. • Freedom Market, 113 Howerton Way S.E., Ilwaco, Wash. • Growers Outlet, 613 Montana Ave. #2, South Bend, Wash.
66 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
KNOW BEFORE YOU SMOKE In Oregon and Washington, the laws governing the use of marijuana are essentially the same. Anyone over 21 can purchase up to 1 ounce of cannabis from a OLCC- or WSLCBlicensed retailer in a single day. You can have no more than four plants or 8 ounces of usable cannabis in your home or dwelling at any one time, and up to 1 ounce on your person. Most motels and hotels have strict no-smoking policies. You cannot buy or smoke marijuana in public places, including your car. Though weed is legal all along the West Coast, in Washington, Oregon and California it is illegal to transport marijuana across state lines — definitely smoke what you've got before heading to the airport. Some websites that can educate you before you visit and help you find where to go are Leafly.com, a sort of Yelp for potheads, and Weedmaps.com, a similar site that also has a handy guide to the laws and limits on cannabis in all 50 states.
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CANNABIS GLOSSARY SPIT THE STRAIGHT DOPE: HOW TO SPEAK MARY JANE TODAY Like all slang, cannabis culture changes up its jargon all the time. For example, when was the last time someone bought a lid of grass? Maybe 1978? Some of these changes are organic — simple evolutions to refresh stale terms — while others are added to the lexicon to describe new products entering the marketplace. Let this beginner's glossary get you up to speed on the current trends in marijuana lingo. Budtender: A licensed, knowledgeable dispensary employee. As customer service is one of the core tenets of the cannabis industry, any budtender worth their grams should be able to translate the experience you are seeking into the right product to achieve it. CBD: Abbreviate of cannabidiol, one of many chemical compounds unique to cannabis. As opposed to THC, which produces the psychotropic heady “high� off any given bong rip, research has shown great promise for the use of CBD to treat pain, inflammation and anxiety. It is now sold in oils and other infusions. Dab: Contemporary method of consuming hash oils and other concentrates. By placing a small "dab" of the concentrate on a redhot surface, the consumer is "dabbing" when the smoke produced is inhaled. Devices used for this are — wait for it — called "dabbers."
Flower: Once known as a “bud� or “nug,� this is currently the preferred term to refer to the hairy, sticky, crystallized bulb smoked of a cannabis plant. Glass: Common term for smoking devices, such as pipes, bongs and bubblers, that are often made of handblown glass. Hybrid: Increasingly common, a hybrid refers to two or more strains of cannabis that are crossbred. Shatter: Aka “wax� or “BHO,� all three terms are synonyms for butane hash oil. This concentrate can resemble a shard of butterscotch hard candy or a syrupy puddle of honey, just depending on production methods, and is produced by blasting cannabis buds with butane until the THC bonds to the butane. Once the butane evaporates, what’s left is a potent product to dab. (See Dab.)
Edibles: As the name suggests, edibles are pot-infused products, including baked goods, that are consumed rather than smoked.
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EAT & DRINK
Words: Ryan Hume • Images: Colin Murphey/OC File
Not everyone comes to the coast just for the water. The North Coast is also the perfect place for any brew aficionado to sip quality crafted suds. There are about as many breweries as churches in Astoria alone, and once you add in the Long Beach Peninsula, Seaside and Cannon Beach, plus three annual craft beer events, there’s certainly going to be something on tap for everyone of age.
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4200 Pacific Way, Seaview, Wash. • 360-642-4234 • northjettybrewing.com Not only is North Jetty Brewing the only game in town for craft brews on the peninsula, but they play the game very well. Since 2014, North Jetty has offered 18 taps, 16 of which for pouring their own. With both a fireplace and a garage door to open when the weather is nice, North Jetty is relaxing any time of year. Free peanuts and a food truck outside seal the deal.
LONG BEACH PENINSULA
NORTH JETTY BREWING
ASTORIA BREWING COMPANY ASTORIA
1196 Marine Drive, Astoria • 503-741-3040 • astoriabrewingcompany.com Once known as The Wet Dog Cafe, this family-owned establishment, the oldest microbrewery in Astoria, streamlined its menu and rebranded under the umbrella name in early 2018. ABC owns a few other venues across town, including the Desdemona Club and the Chart Room. All three establishments have full bars beyond pouring ABC’s brews like Strawberry Blonde and Poopdeck Porter.
BUOY BEER CO. ASTORIA
1 Eighth St., Astoria • 503-325-4540 • buoybeer.com You cannot beat the river-in-your-face view at Buoy’s one-of-a-kind brewpub, built on pilings over the Columbia in a refurbished cannery on the Astoria Riverwalk. Try their award-winning cream ale or pony up to the full bar. Sea lions often lounge below the swatch of glass floor near the front of the dining room. Full kitchen with plenty of inventive, modern pub dishes.
FORT GEORGE BREWERY + PUBLIC HOUSE
2703 Marine Drive, Astoria • 503-325-2234 • hondosbrew.net This locals’ favorite is much more than just a “nano-brewery,” as they bill themselves. There is a well-stocked bottle shop with more than 100 different beers and wines. There is also a home brew supply post, if you happen to catch the bug and need to conjure up your own pilsner. DiscoverOurCoast.com • 69
ASTORIA
HONDO’S BREW & CORK
ASTORIA
1483 Duane St., Astoria • 503-325-7468 • fortgeorgebrewery.com There is little dispute that Fort George put Astoria on the Pacific Northwest’s map of most beloved breweries. Instead of using this success to expand outside the region, Fort George continually reinvests in the community and its employees. The public house has ballooned into an entire city block with three separate menus in three separate dining rooms — and has a music and event venue to boot. The unique ales, stouts and other concoctions have never failed to concentrate on quality. Great wood-fired pizza upstairs and a heavily rotating smorgasbord on tap.
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EAT & DRINK
ASTORIA
REACH BREAK BREWING 1343 Duane St., Astoria • 503-468-0743 It takes some gall to open a brewery a stone’s throw from Fort George’s blockwide complex, but Reach Breach quickly established itself in 2017 as Astoria’s most experimental suds factory. Rumor has it they never make the same beer twice, but style-wise, people keep flocking here for sours and cloudy IPAs. Food trucks line the ample outside seating patio, and never miss one of the collaborations with Reveille Ciderworks, next door in the old Astoria Station building. Check it out on Facebook and Twitter.
BEER EVENTS
CANNON BEACH
CANNON BEACH
SEASIDE
SEASIDE BREWING CO. 851 Broadway St., Seaside • 503-717-5451 • seasidebrewery.com Conveniently located in a historic weather-worn building at the corner of U.S. Highway 101 and Broadway Street — Seaside’s main drag — and with ample parking to boot, this brewery offers plenty of quippy, beachthemed craft-style beers, along with a menu featuring plenty of gluten-free options, such as a fish and chips dusted with rice flour.
PELICAN BREWING COMPANY 1371 S. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach • 503-908-3377 • pelicanbrewing.com The newest outpost of this award-winning, Pacific City-bred brewery opened in 2016. Offering a seasonal menu of pub favorites and 20 rotating beers on tap, Pelican brews onsite and offers free tours of the facilities by request.
PUBLIC COAST BREWING CO. 264 E. Third St., Cannon Beach • 503-436-0285 • publiccoastbrewing.com Giving a nod to Oregon’s righteous and rugged 363 miles of open, accessible coastline, Public Coast prides itself on inclusivity, which is apparent in the warm, rustic setting of their location, including the large patio. As their motto, literally painted on the wall, states: “Beaches forever. Beer for everyone.” In reality, they go a little further than that by creating a locally sourced menu and a straight-up beer float, no root necessary.
FESTIVAL OF POURING AT DARK ARTS THE COAST In mid-February things get dark in Astoria — really dark. Fort George Brewery’s popular, carnival-esque gala celebrates all that is stout. fortgeorgebrewery.com/festival-of-dark-arts 70 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
Seaside Brewing Co. puts up this event every St. Patrick’s Day weekend at the Seaside Civic & Convention Center. pouringatthecoast.com
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BREW CUP
The last full weekend in September, the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association assembles brewers from all over the region for two days of beer, music and family-friendly fun on the Astoria Riverfront. pacificnorthwestbrewcup.com
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CHEERS FELLOW FANATICS! Pelican P elican Br Brewing ewing C Company ny w was as born a att the beach in P Pacific acific City in 1996. T Today o oday w we’ve e’’ve tak taken en our ompan breweries Oregon coastal where we wake day place breweries and our values valuess to to other Or egon c oastal ttowns owns w wher ew ew ake up each da d y in a plac e that thatt amazing possible. fanatics. This that rreminds eminds us tha a is pos sible. Cheers ffellow e w fa ello anatics. T his is as good as it gets.
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P E L I C A N B R E W I N G .CO M DiscoverOurCoast.com • 71
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FOOD WATER AN ABUNDANCE OF EATERIES NEAR THE WATER'S EDGE Words: Marilyn Gilbaugh • Images: Colin Murphey
Diners enjoy Bridgewater Bistro’s deck overlooking the Columbia River in Astoria. Erick Bengel photo
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he North Oregon and
Southern Washington coasts have eating establishments on docks and harbors, overlooking creeks and rivers, boasting views of the rushing Matt Wastradowski and Carol Zahorsky enjoy a meal with a view of the Port of Ilwaco at the Salt Pub.
Columbia and mighty Pacific Ocean. There are simple sandwich shops,
Long Beach, Washington
casual taverns, and
Pickled Fish Restaurant and Bar, 409 Sid Snyder Drive. Top floor of the Adrift Hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Sip, savor and eat locally inspired food. Kitschy-cool, busy bar and restaurant. Frequent live music.
ubiquitous chowders and fish-and-chips
Ilwaco, Washington
restaurants. There are
Salt Hotel & Pub, 147 Howerton Ave. On the Port of Ilwaco, overlooking the Columbia River. Casual crowd, local beers, seasonal menu.
foreign foods, inventive fusions and chef-orchestrated fine dining. It’s about 57 miles between Long Beach, Washington, and Nehalem, Oregon. That's lot of territory to explore. So get out, eat up and enjoy all that our bountiful region has to offer on
OleBob’s Seafood Grill and Market, 151 Howerton Way S.E. Family-owned fresh menu and seafood market on the Port of Ilwaco dock.
Astoria, Oregon Pier 39, The Pier offers three popular eateries, each with a view of the Columbia that can’t be beat. The trip out to the pier over a wooden slatted bridge is a great scene-setting experience. If the sea lions are around, feel free to bark along with them. Coffee Girl, 100 39th St. A unique coffee house with large deck right over the Columbia. Highquality beverages, pastries, breakfast and lunch. Local favorite. Rogue Ales Astoria Public House, 100 39th St. Handcrafted beers with off-the-wall names. American gastro pub menu in a laid-back setting. Pier 39 Seafood Market, 100 39th St., tucked in a back corner of the pier. Takeout with adjacent tables and an outdoor deck. Fresh seafood menu. Owner Tom Hilton is a good source for information on all things Astoria.
the waterside. It’s a
Old Town Astoria
true twofer
Along a section of the Astoria Riverwalk and the Astoria Riverfront Trolley line are numerous dockside dining opportunities between Eighth and 15th streets.
experience.
Mo’s Seafood and Chowder, 101 15th St. A family-friendly North Coast chain. American food with emphasis on chowder and seafood. Clemente’s Cafe and Public House, 145 14th St., #180. Emphasis on local, seasonal and sustainable food. Family operated. DiscoverOurCoast.com • 73
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EAT & DRINK Gordon Clemente takes in a view of the Columbia River from the dock at Coffee Girl.
More Old Town Astoria Frite & Scoop, 175 14th St., in the 14th Street Pilot Station. Small-batch inhouse ice cream shop. Twice-fried Belgium fries. Outside covered picnic tables available for customers. Baked Alaska, 1 12th St. Woodsy-chic interior serving new American plates and wood-fired pizza. Full-service restaurant and lounge. Slogan: “The only thing we overlook is the Columbia River.” Inferno Lounge and Pier 11 Pizza, 77 11th St., Suite G. Eat in or takeout window located inside adjacent Treasure Alley. New York-style thin crust whole pie or slice. Inferno Lounge features small plates. No minors in the Lounge. Astoria Brewery Company, 144 11th St. Astoria’s first brewery. Casual dining with a kids’ menu. Wave at the Trolley as it passes by. Buoy Beer Co., 1 Eighth St. Micro brewery and brew pub with full American grub menu in a former cannery. Bonus floor-window provides a closeup view of sea lions. Their faces are much cuter than their bellowing barks. Huge glass door in the dining room opens right onto the Columbia when weather permits.
Kassandra Fuog mixes a drink at Clemente’s Cafe and Public House.
Northwest Wild Products, 354 Industry St., off the main drag in Astoria’s West Mooring Basin. A hidden gem sitting on a dock alongside the Columbia. A fish-plus market with a lunch-counter menu. One long table indoors and plenty of colorful picnic tables outside. Reading the exotic products available on the chalkboard is a jaw-dropping experience. Bridgewater Bistro, 20 Basin St., Suite A. Two-story, airy, beautifully remodeled 100-plus-year-old former cannery with soaring window views of the river. Seasonal, fresh regional food and beverages. Fine dining and full bar. Outdoor deck over the river. Frequent live music.
Youngs Bay La Cabaña de Raya, 35431 U.S. Highway 101. Comfortable bayside dining on Youngs Bay looking back at Astoria. Fresh Mexican food from scratch, including homemade tortillas. Friendly, helpful staff. Family operated.
Warrenton Warrenton Deep Sea Crab & Fish Market, 45 N.E. Harbor Place. Seafood market with limited made-on-site menu. Looks out on a beautiful boat basin. One outside picnic table and a fabulous view.
Seaside BJ’s Pizza Palace & Sports Bar, 2490 Highway 101 North. A deck over the tidal Necanium Estuary where the Necanicum, Neawanna and Neacoxie (say that rapidly three times) rivers and creeks come together and enter the Pacific. Patty’s Wicker Café, 600 Broadway St., #7. Tucked away at the north end of a pedestrian alley. Breakfast and lunch served in a cozy atmosphere with a view of the Necanicum.
Patrons at Rogue Ales Astoria Public House on Pier 39. — Erick Bengel photo
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The Bridge Tender, 554 Broadway St. Just across the first bridge traveling west on Broadway. On the Necanicum River. Classic, funky dive bar — no outside tables but great river view. Slot machines, pool table, tavern menu and the embedded smells of a lot of history. No minors.
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Boardwalk Restaurant and Bar, located inside the Shilo Inn, 30 N. Prom at the Seaside Turnaround. Fullservice restaurant and bar with a concentration on Northwest favorites. Live music on weekends.
A group enjoys the ambiance on the waterfront at Buoy Beer Co.
Maggie’s On the Prom, 581 S. Promenade. Sustainable fusion menu. Full bar with a charming outdoor patio. “Chef’s Mercy Menu” dinner every Monday. Buoy’s Best Restaurant, 1800 S. Roosevelt Drive. Fresh seafood selections and more. Indoor seating and an outdoor deck. Adjacent to the Necanicum River. Camp 18, 41362 U.S. Route 26, milepost 18, Seaside. Owned and operated by Gordon and Roberta Smith, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, it also offers a unique look at Oregon’s logging history. The restaurant along with a logging museum, sits adjacent to Humbug Creek. Outdoor dining is plentiful, as are the portions.
Cannon Beach
The Bridge Tender sits right in the middle of downtown Seaside and just down the street from the Promenade.
Wayfarer Restaurant & Lounge, 1190 Pacific Drive. Oceanfront location serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Simple, unembellished Northwest menu featuring local purveyors. Stephanie Inn, 2740 S. Pacific Drive. Though the dining room is located on the east side of the boutique hotel, away from the ocean, the library is oceanside. This intimate high-end fine-dining experience requires reservations. Mo’s Seafood and Chowder, 195 Warren Way, Tolovana Park. Seafood, burgers and pasta, plus a full bar in a relaxed oceanfront setting with an amazing beach view.
Nehalem Buttercup Homemade Ice Creams & Chowders, 35915 N. Highway 101. Four chowders daily and homemade ice cream. Picnic table seating available under a covered deck next to the Nehalem River. Pizza Garden, 35815 Highway 101 N. Italian menu. Outside seating on the Nehalem River. Bayway Tavern, 35895 Seventh St. Local dive bar. Outdoor deck overlooking the Nehalem. Local favorite for burgers, beer and cocktails. Minors are permitted in the restaurant side for breakfast only. More info on dining out go to:
DiscoverOurCoast.com
Diners at OleBob's Seafood Grill and Market enjoy a view of the Port of Ilwaco waterfront. — Erick Bengel photo
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CATCHING THE SURF A fisherman casts his line out into the surf near Gearhart. Fishing from the beach is a popular pastime on the Oregon Coast with several spots known to provide a bountiful catch at the right time of year. Colin Murphey photo shot with Nikon D810, 80-200 mm lens, exposure: 1/2000 sec, f/9, ISO 200
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OUR PICKS
Salt Hotel & Pub
Hotel Elliott
ILWACO, WASHINGTON
ASTORIA, OREGON
Colin Murphey photo
Colin Murphey photo
By Kari Borgen
By Jack Heffernan
On any given weekend at the Port of Ilwaco, you can take a leisurely walk on the boardwalk or find a bench where you can sit, relax and watch charter boats, commercial fishing vessels and pleasure boats gliding in and out of the marina. A small selection of Port shops and galleries offers eclectic souvenirs, interspersed with fresh seafood markets and scattered sculptures, while between May and October the Saturday Market adds local crafts and foods to browse outdoors. Salt Hotel & Pub is tucked in the midst of the Port businesses on the boardwalk, just as laid-back and comfortable as a Saturday stroll. The hotel is reminiscent of ‘50s style, with outside entrances on the two-story U-shaped buildings that open to a courtyard facing the street side of the port. The unfussy accommodations are cozy and simple — and spartan enough not to encourage lounging in your room. Instead, head upstairs into Salt Pub for couches that invite hanging out over a locally brewed beer, or take a window seat for a marina view while enjoying line-caught albacore fish and chips. The Pub has a one-page menu but the choices are fresh and seasonal, with unexpected creativity for pub fare. Take your time here. Your schedule can be flexible since there are many places to visit within a 10-minute drive of Salt Hotel, including Cape Disappointment, the beach and Fort Columbia. There’s free wifi at Salt Hotel, but alarm clocks are only supplied on request, lending to an unhurried stay.
Hotel Elliott’s slogan, painted in large print on the side of the building, is “wonderful beds.” Whether or not that assertion is true, the historic Astoria mainstay offers a few unique amenities. The hotel dates back to the early 1900s and has been remodeled several times. It is situated across the street from the Liberty Theatre and near a host of downtown eateries, watering holes and stores. Local developer Chester Trabucco sold the foreclosed hotel in 2010 for $4 million after major renovations a few years prior. Despite the renovations, the hotel’s design features a few clues about its history. A sizeable, lighted sign bearing the hotel’s name covers the entrance. Above the sign are three flags that, for a second, offer a downtown, big-city feel. Surrounding the first-floor lobby are two lounge areas, including TVs and a fireplace, along with a wine and beer bar. Plenty of reading material is also available. Much like Astoria’s historic underground tunnels, the hotel features a downstairs area that, if guests find it, can offer a few hours of fun. Behind the front desk and to the right are stairs that lead down to a gym, pool tables, a number of movie posters and a conference room. A terrace with a fire pit and tables sits atop the hotel. The height of the building allows guests to enjoy a wide view of Astoria, including the Column, Astoria Bridge and cargo ships on the Columbia River. A large glass panel shields those enjoying the fire pit from wind.
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Homes. Rentals. Hotels. Campgrounds.
Wave Crest Inn
Old Wheeler Hotel
CANNON BEACH, OREGON
WHEELER, OREGON
Our Coast file photo
Colin Murphey photo
By Katherine Lacaze
By Dan Haag
Driving past the Wave Crest Inn in Tolovana Park, Cannon Beach’s southernmost area, one could easily mistake the historic building as a luxurious home. The only feature that marks the structure as a commercial establishment are the words Wave Crest, painted in an old-fashioned font along the northern roofline. The Wave Crest, owned and operated by Daryl Johnson, was built in the early part of the 20th century at the corner of what is now Hemlock Street and Brallier Road. According to Johnson, the deed to the property is from 1920, which leads him to believe the Wave Crest began operating as a lodging establishment around that time. A sign posted in the window of the inn describes its original purpose as “a stop for the motor coach and a gathering place for many people.” Johnson acquired the property in 2000 and changed the name from Wave Crest Hotel to Wave Crest Inn, feeling that “inn made more sense in the way the place operates and the way it looks,” he said. Since that time, he has continually restored and refurbished the establishment, designing it with interesting décor and antiques that are elegantly arranged. The exterior, however, remains close to how it looked when the structure was first built, with the original wood frame and nine pointed dormers giving it a uniquely historical appearance. The inn contains eight sloped-ceiling guest rooms on the second floor — two with private baths and the rest sharing three small bathrooms. Downstairs are three common areas, including a dining area and a room with a fireplace. The beach is around 100 yards from the building and the ocean is visible from the dining room and three of the west-facing bedrooms. According to the website, the Wave Crest caters to adults and wellbehaved teenagers, but no children or pets. The Brallier Road bus stop is directly across the street, giving visitors an easy way to travel to downtown Cannon Beach for dining, shopping and other activities.
Big things do indeed come in small packages. Wheeler may look like a sleepy little village, but nothing could be further from the truth. Lying along pristine Nehalem Bay, it is home to fishing, kayaking, crabbing, rail-riding and a burgeoning foodie scene. It’s a great home base for nearby day trips and a great place to catch a majestic sunset. It’s also a snapshot of early Oregon Coast history: You can look along the bay and imagine the hustle and bustle of the lumber, railroad and fishing industries from the early 1900s. At the center of it all sits Old Wheeler Hotel, an historic boutique hotel with eight unique rooms and a rich history. Built in 1920 and originally dubbed The Rector Hotel and the Hotel Annex, it flourished along with the newly-installed railway system. Though it saw leaner times during the Great Depression and infamous Tillamook Burn, it rebounded as a clinic when purchased by Dr. Harvey Rinehart in 1940. The building became a hotel again in the late 1990s and underwent much-needed refurbishment. Now, it stands regally in the center of Wheeler, overlooking Nehalem Bay and distant Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain. Hardwood floors and stylish décor give it a classic sensibility while conveniences like Wi-Fi and DVD players give it modern touches. It’s a great option for a romantic getaway for two, or large groups can rent the entire space for gatherings like reunions or receptions. There’s even a bit of the paranormal, including a friendly “presence” who apparently enjoys watching television in a guest room from time to time. In 2008, the Paranormal Society of Portland reportedly filmed an apparition in Room 3. Whether it’s luxury or history, you’ll find the perfect escape at Old Wheeler Hotel.
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Know Shore the
WHAT YOU FIND ON THE BEACH
M
Words: Katie Frankowicz • Images: Colin Murphey
y dad always wanted to find one of those glass gleaming. We knew instinctively that it wasn’t just old Japanese glass fishing floats. another puddle or a rain-filled shell. This was the real deal, They were the kind of rare that was the long-expected moment. The glass float. My dad started within our reach. Not as common as a running. sand dollar, sure, but as we walked the tide line, it was The float was magnificent, more green than blue and conceivable that the glimmer we saw up ahead was the sun enormous. It was also broken. We stood next to it for a long glinting off the curved cheek of a blue-green float. It was time, torn between victory and disappointment. Ultimately, only a matter of time. we left it behind. One spring, we spent a We never found another night — six kids and two one. Finding a genuine glass float adults — crammed into a seems impossible. Fortunately, These days, a group in tiny cabin within walking Lincoln City hides around there are plenty of other distance of a narrow, rock3,000 studio-made, brightly strewn beach outside oddities to find at the beach. colored glass floats above Tillamook. the high tide line along seven The next morning, despite the cold and the rain, we miles of beach each year. But these are art pieces, scattered across the beach, the kids pitching seaweed at entertainment, not historic fishing gear. each other while our parents made sure none of us The thought of finding a genuine glass fishing float drowned. washed up by the waves seems impossible now. You’re I don’t remember who saw it first, but it felt like that more likely to find one for sale in an antique store. moment in nature documentaries when herds of wild grassFortunately, there are plenty of other oddities — especially eating beasts suddenly scent a predator and startle together. living oddities — to find on the beaches in Clatsop County Our heads snapped up at the same time. We all saw the if you only take the time to look.
A purple shore crab hitches a ride to the shelter of jetty rocks at Fort Stevens State Park near Hammond. Katie Frankowicz photo
Sea stars at Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach have been hit particularly hard by a disease in recent years.
The Blue Wave organization has removed thousands of pounds of plastic from beaches in the Pacific Northwest.
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LIVE & STAY Crabs: You can keep your anemones and sea stars. My favorite tide pool creature is the purple shore crab. You won’t see these tiny guys until suddenly you do. Then you will spot their amethyst- and ruby-spotted claws everywhere, as they creep deeper into a rocky crevice or scuttle under an overhanging rock and eye you suspiciously from the shadows. Look for them among rocks around tide pools when you visit Indian Beach in Ecola State Park or in near-shore rocks when the tide is low. Weird plastic: This one is a bit of a downer. Once you start looking for plastic on Oregon beaches, you start seeing it everywhere. Plastic is bad news for the ocean, the beach and all the creatures that make their homes there. However, artists have found ways to turn plastic pulled off beaches into some truly astounding art, or even jewelry — all to raise awareness about the impact of plastic pollution. (See Trash Talk on Page 104). Several dedicated groups organize yearly cleanups along Clatsop County beaches, using specially constructed sieves to filter out micro plastics. Dead sea lions: Not everyone’s choice, but dark things happen out there in the natural world and this will be probably the closest you can safely get to these large marine mammals.
Good Samaritans and a police officer try to remove a vehicle stuck in the sand near Gearhart.
Pyrosomes dot the sand near Cannon Beach.
But keep pets away. Oregon biologists noted several cases of leptospirosis, a disease caused by bacteria, in Oregon’s sea lions last year. People and dogs can catch the disease, though dogs are far more likely to be exposed given their penchant for rolling in icky dead things. Good news, pet owners: You can vaccinate for leptospirosis. Bad news for everyone: Dead sea lion is a super-distinct, terrible smell.
Weird jellyfish: Besides the usual milky white Moon Jelly or the stinging, yellowbrown Pacific Sea Nettle, there’s the tiny Comb Jelly. Its globe-like body is usually less than an inch big and seems to hold a spark of sunlight inside. It can’t sting and looks like a strange, delicate bead of water on the sand. Then there is the by-the-wind-sailor or Velella velella, a floating colony with a clear triangular sail above that catches the wind. These guys wash up in huge numbers throughout the year and, once beached, bleach in the sun. One year, they were so numerous on the ocean waves at Fort Stevens State Park that people kept calling the Coast Guard to report capsized boats, mistaking the undulating masses of floating by-the-wind-sailors for oil slicks.
Above: A tiny jellyfish, about the size of a marble, perches on the sand at the beach. Katie Frankowicz photo
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Velella velella wash ashore during a bout of strong westerly winds in 2015. Each velella is actually a colony of hydroid polyps. — Rex and Diane Amos photo
A Velella velella held aloft. Rex and Diane Amos photo
Pyrosomes: If you were here in 2017 and early 2018, you might have seen pyrosomes. These strange colonies look like bumpy translucent hollow tubes made out of jello and are more common in warmer waters. During those years, however, there was an invasion on the North Coast. Thousands — millions — of the creatures washed up for months on beaches in Clatsop County and floated in such densities offshore that they gummed up commercial fishing gear. They ranged in size from the length of a pinky to that of a palm or even bigger. Sightings trailed off in 2018, but researchers are still studying them to figure out why they showed up in such abundance and what impact they might have had on the food chain. Cars stuck in the sand: People can drive on the beach in certain areas in Clatsop County — a controversial issue. If you, like me, are not always thrilled to have a peaceful beach stroll
interrupted by cars and trucks barreling down on you, scattering seabirds, crushing clams and doing cookies in the sand, here is your satisfaction — many times these guys believe their vehicles are invincible to natural forces like soft sand, hills and tides. Turns out, they are not. Often they get stuck and then a phalanx of fellow cars troops down to haul them out while the driver sits there looking embarrassed. Sand fleas: First, they’re not fleas and they don’t bite, though it can be a little gross when
Blueish-purple velellas inundate beaches. The smell of their decomposition becomes very pungent very quickly. — Jenee Pearce-Mushen photo
whole flocks of them (herds?) are jumping in the sand around your feet. The tiny crustaceans are called amphipods, the most common of which, in Clatsop County, is the Pale Beach Hopper — adorable, right? You’ll see them just about any time you’re walking on the sand. They are smaller than a fingernail and highly mobile. They are also the housekeepers of the beach and eat all the marine debris that washes up daily at high tide. Without them, the beach would be a much stinkier place.
Plastic debris lies in the sand near Cannon Beach as visitors to the area build a campfire in the background.
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Columbian Cold WINTER ACTIVITIES ON OUR COAST Words: Ryan Hume • Main image: Colin Murphey
Just because the weather isn’t welcoming doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of fun and interesting things to do when the days are short and the waves are whipping up a frenzy.
S
ome coastal residents actually prefer these darker months as there are no lines, no traffic, the parking is ample and the bad weather can force one inside to work on indoor activities, home repairs and art projects. Speaking of, a spell of torrential rain can be just the thing an artist needs to concentrate on a project with no other distractions. The historic Sou’wester Lodge in Seaview, Washington, offers an artist residency program, which is a reduced rate on a weekly stay. While the program is available year-round, you’ll get the 84 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
most bang for your buck during the offseason. Use one of their vintage trailers or stay in the lodge. Get the final draft of that novel done when you’re not relaxing in their Finnish sauna. Applications for the residency are available on their website: souwesterlodge.com. While the weather can be averse to some, others chase it, looking to get a glimpse of the water and the clouds churning into a single thing. When the jetties get too dangerous and elemental, it’s better to do your storm watching from a cozy, oceanfront room. From Long Beach’s Adrift Hotel + Spa to Cannon Beach’s Stephanie Inn, and many in between, there are plenty of places
to watch the violent Pacific smack the land. Both places offer many packages to enhance your stay, including the Adrift’s clam digging addition. And if seafood is your thing, the fall and winter are often the best times of year to snake up a pot of Dungeness crab. From late October through December, Grant’s Outdoor Adventures takes six-person boatloads out of Hammond, near Astoria, at $110 a head. From the indoors to the outdoors, the coast still offers a lot during the offseason, including arcades and drop-in yoga classes. Our Coast Magazine reached out to some locals to see how they spend their dreary yearly.
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SALLY LACKAFF Sally Lackaff is a visual artist and author who has lived in Cannon Beach and then Astoria for many years. Her latest children’s book, “Sarah’s Circus,” is available at most coastal bookstores. “Winter weather encourages me to hole up in my studio, with a heater at my feet, and sink deeply into the illustrative project of the moment, with fewer distractions from garden and sunshine to keep me from deadlines,” she said in an email. “Running from gallery to gallery with a reusable cup in hand during Second Saturday ArtWalk is always a fun way to up the spirits, too!” Lackaff is also an employee of the Cannery Pier Hotel, which is built upon pilings atop the Columbia River in Astoria. “(It) affords me extraordinary views of the river and the activity on/in it; wildlife and wild lives," she wrote. "All day I, my co-workers, and any guests present get to revel in bald eagles scavenging the mudflats or perched ominously on pilings; the busy antics of the myriad waterfowl that winter on our waters; and the closeup travels of marine traffic just off our terrace. When the winds get heavy I thrill to our expandable glass windows which bulge inward toward the front desk where I stand, anticipating the big gusts.”
SARAH JANE BARDY Sarah Jane Bardy, owner of Coast Weekend Readers’ Choice award-winning Eleventh Street Barber, knows the raw power the weather can produce on the coast. “Nothing compares to the storm of 2007,” Bardy wrote. “I’d just moved up here that fall. I remember watching my greenhouse roof take flight. It was like something out of the 'Wizard of Oz.'” Bardy also is a commissioner on Astoria’s Design Review Committee, which aims to keep Astoria’s development projects authentic to the town’s historic, architectural roots. “One of my favorite things in the winter is sitting inside looking out. Coffee Girl on Pier 39 has a great view of the river. There’s something really magical about the way the fog sits on the river in the wintertime.” As a barber, Bardy probably hears more stories than anyone else in Astoria. “I’ve heard from a few clients that will hike Saddle Mountain every year on New Year’s Day. Even wilder than that, one of our clients does a Polar Plunge in the ocean every year on New Year’s. It sounds like punishment to me, but hats off and kudos to anyone who wants to!”
CHRIS BREITMEYER Clatsop Community College President Chris Breitmeyer moved to Astoria two years ago from outside of St. Louis. “My first winter here was a record breaker in terms of precipitation,” Breitmeyer wrote. “It was a lot, but I expected that and was prepared. What I didn’t expect is the spirit of community that Astorians exhibit. It’s present all year round but particularly evident in the dark wet winter months.” And of course, when it’s wet is a good time to wet one’s whistle. “When the rains start in the late fall in Astoria it’s a good time to go to Fort George, Reach Break, Buoy or any local bar and hang out and chat with whomever you see. You are bound to run into someone you know. Often you meet someone new who is visiting and some of those are great conversations.” Breitmeyer, who has a background as a biology professor, isn’t afraid of a little rain. “What I like to do most is to get out and hike. Hiking in the rain or cold is among of my favorite things,” he said. “Some of my favorites are down towards Cannon Beach or the around the Lewis and Clark sites. There usually aren’t too many folks out on the trails and it allows you to feel a bit closer to the forest.”
ARLINE LAMEAR Former Astoria Mayor Arline LaMear is also an avid hiker. As a longtime member of the Angora Hiking Club, a local club started in 1920 and devoted to exploring the beauties of the great Northwest, LaMear remembers when the club used to plan winter hiking activities, but they no longer do as the hikes kept getting rained out. “It’s kind of frustrating in the winter to plan a hike and go down to meet everybody and nobody shows up because of the weather,” she said. The club is active typically between March and October. “If I’m feeling particularly adventurous, I’ll take off and do a Volkswalk because you know that there’s going to be people always doing them,” LaMear said. “Volkswalkers seem to keep walking no matter what.” Volkswalking, or the “People’s Walk,” began in Germany as a public health movement and is now an international organization. The North Coast’s local chapter is named the Turnaround Trekkers and you can find about upcoming events on their website turnaroundtrekkers.org.
BRUCE JONES With more than 30 years in the Coast Guard, Astoria Mayor Bruce Jones knows a bit about the best places to watch a squall. “When offshore storms have generated big, over-15-foot seas, the observation platform at the South Jetty at Fort Stevens provides great views of dramatic, crashing breakers. Cape Disappointment State Park is another great storm and big sea-watching location,” he wrote. Jones also piloted a helicopter for the Columbia River Bar Pilots for two and a half years after retiring from the Coast Guard. His favorite things to do in winter? “Put on a good raincoat and go to any of the Fort Stevens or Seaside beach access points and enjoy having miles of beautiful, wind-swept beach virtually all to myself,” Jones said. “And of course, go razor clamming when the season is open.” Since 2017, Jones has worked as deputy director of the Columbia River Maritime Museum. He wants everyone to remember that “fog, mist, rain and fast-moving clouds frame our city just as beautifully as the sun.”
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Historic House IN A HISTORIC VILLAGE Home once owned by Oysterville co-founder celebrates 150th birthday Words: Nancy McCarthy • Images: Colin Murphey
S
ydney Stevens, of Oysterville, Washington, is celebrating a 150th birthday this year. It’s not her birthday, of course. It’s the birthday of something in her family: her home. “When I say ‘in the family’ I mean that in every sense — fanciful and otherwise,” Sydney wrote in her daily blog, Sydney of Oysterville.com. “These walls do talk to us — their scars and patches have recorded many stories from long ago. We also know that the house is happiest when there are parties and concerts and events here — the house loves people … We consider the house a beloved family member.”
Sydney, the great-granddaughter of Robert Hamilton (R.H.) Espy, co-founder of Oysterville, owns the home, with her husband, Nyel. Three generations of Espy descendants have lived in the home in the tiny town on the Long Beach Peninsula’s north end. Harry, the son of R.H., moved there first, then Sydney’s parents and, finally, Sydney and Nyel. Built in 1869 of redwood lumber that came by ship from California, the stately two-story home faces Willapa Bay. Gingerbread decorates the top of the white house with blue-green trim, and the house is surrounded by an expansive lawn, where many croquet games have been played through the decades.
These walls do talk to us — their scars and patches have recorded many stories from long ago. We also know that the house is happiest when there are parties and concerts and events here — the house loves people … We consider the house a beloved family member.
The historic Espy House and Oysterville Baptist Church near Oysterville, Washington, as seen from this drone photo.
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House has been The exterior of the Espy landscaping painstakingly preserved. The a garden and des around the property inclu nts. eme anc other natural enh
Architecture ahead of its time R.H. and Isaac Alonzo Clark, who Espy met on a westward-bound wagon train, founded Oysterville in 1854. While other pioneers discovered gold in California, Espy and Clark discovered their “gold” in the oyster beds of Shoalwater (now Willapa) Bay. Oysterville became a boomtown, with a population of about 250. Today, it is a quiet National Historic District with a full-time population of 14. The men built a 10-foot by 12-foot log cabin to live in. After Clark married and moved out, R.H. constructed his own home, known as the “big red house.” It also remains in the family. Meanwhile, another oysterman, Tom Crellin, received a land grant, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, and built the 88 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
home facing the bay. Sydney still has the signed grant. When Crellin and his family moved to San Francisco, R.H., a staunch Baptist, bought the home in 1892 for a parsonage. He had already donated the land across the street and $1,500 to build a Baptist church. Until then, the circuit “sailing” ministers, who traveled to coastal towns by boat, had stayed at R.H.’s home when they were in town. One stayed for 12 years. “He was sick of having those preachers staying at the red house,” Sydney said, laughing. Six ministers lived in the parsonage. The wife of one minister mysteriously drowned while she and her husband were sailing in the bay. Over the years, several people have
reported hearing a woman’s sweet, ghostly voice singing hymns in the former parsonage, according to Sydney. R.H.’s son, Harry, a state senator, and his family moved into the home in 1902. Although she hasn’t seen the house plans, Sydney believes Crellin’s father brought them from the Isle of Man when the family settled on the peninsula. When Oysterville was named a National Historic District in 1976, architectural historians who noticed details about the home, including the low doorknobs, told Sydney’s parents that the home was “state of the art in England in the 1860s.” Usually, home styles in the West were behind the East Coast by about 20 years. “They said that this predates anything else that is on the West Coast,” Sydney said.
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One of the bedrooms at the historic house in Oysterville.
The old and the new The home’s first rooms included a parlor, sitting room and kitchen on the ground floor. In a cubbyhole under the stairs, a clawfoot bathtub remains from those early days. Four bedrooms were on the second floor. Bathrooms — including a commode off the kitchen — eventually replaced the outhouse. Electricity arrived in 1936. “The house ended here,” said Sydney, indicating a wall on the west side of what was the kitchen and is now Sydney’s library. Beyond that wall were the outbuildings — a woodshed, a meat-hanging room and laundry. A brick fireplace from the old kitchen still has iron brackets where pots probably hung over the fire. But when fire destroyed part of the kitchen in 1915, it was, Sydney said, “the year my grandmother moved west.” The “outbuildings” on the west side were incorporated into the house and turned into a sitting room, dining room and kitchen. The dining room has original dark tongue-in-
groove paneling and built-in cabinets from 1915, while white beadboard covers the kitchen walls. Grandmother’s pie cooler was converted into a cupboard, and a gas stove replaced the wood stove. The old kitchen became a library, something
Sydney’s grandmother had always wanted. When Sydney and Nyel moved to the house in 1998, the first thing they did was to insulate it. But most of the house remains as it did when her grandparents, and then her parents, lived there. The parlor ceiling is covered with the original wallpaper from 1869. The front window, which looks out to the water, and the bay window, where Sydney’s grandparents used to place their Christmas trees, are the original glass. One of the home’s two coal-burning fireplaces heated the former parlor, now the Stevens’ bedroom. Enclosed in marble, the fireplace matches the one in an upstairs bedroom. Neither fireplace currently works. Sydney’s parents built two bathrooms behind the parlor and added a large closet. Nyel and Sydney removed one of the bathrooms and turned the closet into an office, where Sydney writes a daily blog, newspaper columns and books about local history.
rville The historic Oyste urch sits ch Baptist historic street the ss ro directly ac e. us ho the from
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LIVE & STAY
Family photos dating to the late 19th century cover the walls in the front hall, where a steep, curved staircase leads to the bedrooms. The house contains dozens of photos documenting the history of the home and its occupants over the years.
‘Like a member of my family’ On the opposite side of the hall from their bedroom is the family room. “When my mother was a little girl, this room was the nursery,” Sydney said. “There was a huge homemade Murphy bed on this wall,” she added, pointing to the south wall. Three children slept in it during the winter because the downstairs was warmer than the upstairs bedrooms.
The master bedroom of the home features an elaborate fire place.
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Her parents replaced the original wood stove with a fireplace. Over the mantel is a painting of Sydney’s grandparents sitting in that room. The painting, which commemorated
their 50th wedding anniversary in 1947, shows her grandmother with a typewriter in her lap. Her grandfather (“Papa”) sits in front of the wood stove, holding a letter.
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oom The master bedr e. us ho py Es of the
“It was so typical,” Sydney said. “Papa would go to the post office in the morning to get the mail, and he would come home and read the mail to my grandmother … After lunch, she would sit and write to her children. When she knew she was losing her sight, she learned to type. My grandfather had given her a very small typewriter, and she would put it on her lap and type.”
With the home’s 150th anniversary approaching next September, Sydney hopes to invite the public to celebrate. Family photos dating to the late 19th century cover the walls in the front hall, where a steep, curved staircase leads to the bedrooms. A bedroom wall contains a framed collection of paper dolls, circa 1887, that belonged to Sydney’s grandmother. Nearby, a glass case features dolls from the 1930s to the 1950s given to Sydney by her uncle, who traveled on business. A tiny bedroom in the back was reserved
for maids or children. Another bedroom brings back special memories for Sydney, who, as a teenager, would crawl out the window to the
low-sloping roof below to meet her friends at night. Sydney was following a family tradition: Her mother did the same thing when she had the room as a young girl. With the home’s 150th anniversary approaching next September, Sydney hopes to invite the public to celebrate. She wants to honor the home that has meant so much to her. “It’s like a member of my family,” she said. “It’s my connection to the generations that have gone on before.”
A document signed by to Abraham Lincoln pertaining the Espy House is now displayed on a wall in the main
e living room. Lincoln's signatur tom can be seen near the bot middle of the photograph.
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MY COAST
Interviews & Images: Colin Murphey
VERONICA WILLIAMS Author, mushroom picker • South Bend, Washington
I love that you can live off the land here. I enjoy the woods. I own three acres and that’s all I need. I have elk that go by. The bears used to come by, but they don’t anymore. This place appeals to me because I couldn't live in the desert or anywhere hot, and I have to be close to the woods. You can pick flowers and mushrooms and berries. I could go out tomorrow and pick winter chanterelles. ‘Veronica Williams learned to pick mushrooms and berries as a way of life from her mother in her native Hungary. She has been a citizen of the United States of America and a resident of South Bend, Washington since 1949. The hilly forests of Pacific County resemble the land she knew and loved as a child. Naturally, the familiar surroundings encouraged her to continue her avocation and tradition of reaping the harvest of wild food.’ — from Coastal Bounty: A Book of Recipes by Veronica Williams
PAM AND GIDEON FOR-MUKWAI Clinical pharmacist and author/corporate trainer Gearhart, Oregon
Pam: I love the small communities and the outdoors. There are so many places you go and relax after a hard day of work. There are a lot of options and a lot of variety. It adds to your happiness and well-being. Those are the important things, and we found that on the Oregon Coast. Gideon: For me, I love the history. This place is so rich in history. There is always some event or activity that defines this place and makes me feel that I have not yet learned enough about this place. I have so much yet to learn. I discover things every day that fascinate me in very unique ways. I love the history and I love the people. When my friends come to visit from other parts of the world, they don't want to go back. I love this place.
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Hear why locals call our coast home.
KEGAN RASCOE Student, Astoria High School • Astoria, Oregon
I have lived in Astoria for all but one year of my life. While I’ve been here, I’ve begun to notice that there’s a lot to appreciate. Astoria is a tight-knit community that maintains an inspiring big-city feel. In Astoria, everyone is your neighbor, and everyone is accessible. If you ever want to be more engaged in your community, progress is only one phone call away. While I haven’t lived anywhere else, I’ve always imagined this to be unique to Astoria. The biggest thing that I’ve learned to appreciate is that there are always new things to explore. I have found myself tied up in the hospitality industry, the radio industry, the health care industry, public service and the music community all at the age of 16. I’m always looking for more opportunities, and I'm open to everything. I don't think I would have this same set of experiences had I lived somewhere else.
STAN GANDY Head custodian, Broadway Middle School • Seaside, Oregon
I’m a wharf rat. I grew up in Warrenton. My wife is from Astoria. We decided we didn't want to live in those areas because that's where we grew up. But we wanted to stay on the coast and stay near family. That's one of the reasons we decided to move to Seaside. As a kid, I couldn't wait to leave. But now, this is home. I couldn't live anywhere else. I love to go clam dig and go crabbing. I don't think you are ever going to find as many kind and caring people as there are here in the Pacific Northwest. That's what it really comes down to. Neighbors take care of each other here. The community here genuinely wants to help one another. It really is about the people.
HOLLY FILICE Floor manager, Shorelines NW and Flair Cannon Beach, Oregon
This has always been a beautiful place. I left for a while but I came back three years ago. I love the energy level here. You can't get this anywhere else. It's very peaceful and people are very nice 'cause everyone knows everyone, which is really nice. There's a real sense of community here. I love the mountains and the ocean and the wildlife. You don't see that in other places. You might think there's something bigger and better somewhere else and you might want to get out of the fishbowl ... but I wanted to come back to the fishbowl, and there's a reason for that.
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HISTORY & HERITAGE
OUR PICKS
Oystering
Hanthorn Cannery Museum
WILLAPA BAY, WASHINGTON
ASTORIA, OREGON
Dwight Caswell photo
Colin Murphey photo
By Dwight Caswell
By Jonathan Williams
Willapa Bay is the most productive coastal ecosystem in the continental U.S., and one of the places that the Almighty seems to have designed for the comfort and prosperity of oysters. Oyster middens there have been dated back at least 4,000 years, but it was not until the middle of the 19th century that an oyster craze was in full swing on the East Coast. With the discovery of gold in California in 1848, that craze headed west with the miners, and Willapa began supplying oysters to San Francisco. At the tip of Goose Point Peninsula is Bay Center, the hub of oyster production. Site of a native encampment, farmers and fishermen settled the area in the early 1850s. The early residents were a pious lot and built so many churches that the town was known as New Jerusalem or Saints Rest. The population today is less than 300 and only two churches remain. Only one out of seven residents is Native American; the Chinook Tribal Office is located in Bay Center next to Bush Pioneer County Park. But the town still survives on the harvesting and canning of oysters, Manila clams, salmon and Dungeness crab. That business is still centered on the harbor, where people still gather for oysters and beer at a tavern called Dock of the Bay. Willapa history is best preserved in Oysterville, across Willapa from Bay Center, near the tip of the Long Beach Peninsula. Founded in 1854, Oysterville was once the Pacific County seat, with two hotels and a newspaper. The foundations of a number of buildings lie under the bay, but what remains has been restored and preserved. Oyster farming remains here, too, though on a smaller scale than in the past, and you can purchase oysters at the Oysterville Sea Farms — go to the end of Oysterville Road and turn left.
The Hanthorn Cannery Museum at Pier 39 in Astoria is a trip through time that shows the beginnings, shortcomings and legacy of how canning and fishing ruled the Columbia River. You are unlikely to walk away without learning something new. Built in 1875, the cannery is the oldest still standing on the Columbia. It served as a processing and cold storage plant for Bumble Bee Tuna and other seafood processing companies. The museum is in the cold storage freezer rooms, allowing visitors to experience the chills employees weathered (bring a coat to browse the museum!). Dozens of photos of men and women working tell the story of labor at canneries across Astoria. Memorabilia like time cards, machines, an old safe, working tables, nets and boats, and a “Salmon for All!” sign are scattered throughout — you can even walk through the old power room. The museum introduces visitors to families in the fishing industry, like the Humes, who were the first to start canning on the Columbia. It also details native tribes’ connections to the salmon industry and current issues on the Columbia. Multicultural Astoria is explored, as workers emigrated from Scandinavia, Finland, Greece, China, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Portugal and the Philippines. The freezer rooms feature videos about Bumble Bee Tuna and gillnetting. One plays KGW’s 1961 “Bumble Bee Success Story,” which showcases how albacore tuna and salmon were a huge economic boon for Astoria and Bumble Bee Tuna. The other film, “Work is Our Joy,” produced in 1989 by Oregon State University and the Columbia River Maritime Museum, tells the story of gillnetting on the Columbia through interviews with local fishing families. The Hanthorn Cannery Museum provides a critical connection to Astoria’s past and is a vital piece of the city’s fishing and canning history worth exploring.
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Traditions. Cultures. Artifacts. Icons.
The Salt Works
Cannons of Cannon Beach
SEASIDE, OREGON
CANNON BEACH, OREGON
Colin Murphey photo
Our Coast file photo
By Katherine Lacaze
By Brenna Visser
Salt played an important role during the Corps of Discovery expedition, led by Capt. William Clark and Meriwether Lewis. After running out, the corps desperately needed to produce more of the mineral to preserve meat for the winter months and a return journey back east. About 15 miles south of Fort Clatsop, in modern-day Seaside, the group found a suitable spot to make salt as it offered wood to burn, rocks for the furnace, wild game, ocean water for boiling and fresh water for drinking. At the Seaside Salt Works, located just off the Promenade on Lewis & Clark Way, rests a salt cairn replica of the one used by the explorers to boil salt water taken from the Pacific Ocean. The Oregon Historical Society established the specific location for the Salt Works landmark in 1900 based on the testimony of Jenny Michel of Seaside. Michel’s father — a member of the Clatsop tribe — remembered seeing the white explorers producing the salt in that vicinity, and he pointed it out to his daughter when she was a young girl. The salt cairn at the historical landmark was given to the society in 1910 by Charlotte Cartwright, from the estate of Charles Morrison Cartwright. Visitors often come to the North Oregon Coast seeking historical attractions or landmarks related to the Lewis and Clark expedition, including the Salt Works, Fort Clatsop and the statue marking the End of the Trail at the Seaside Turnaround, said Chelsea Harper of the Seaside Visitors Bureau. As a historical site, the Salt Works is strikingly small and unassuming, but it commemorates an aspect of the Corps of Discovery’s journey that demonstrates how arduous and hazardous it was. Visiting the site, nestled within a residential area, tourists can see and experience the general area where a few expedition members set up camp in the dead of winter and boiled water 24 hours a day. The process lasted between late December and mid-February, before the explorers traveled back to their group with about 3.5 bushels, or 28 gallons, of fine white salt.
What's in a name? For the town of Cannon Beach, it’s a shipwreck, some chance and, well, a cannon. The story begins on a particularly stormy night, with the USS Shark, a naval schooner, wrecking at the mouth of the Columbia River on Sept. 10, 1846. The schooner had a notable naval career, including five years in the Mediterranean Sea, protecting North American fisheries in Newfoundland, and navigating the Straights of Magellan. During the wreck, a lieutenant gave the order to throw all 12 cannons overboard in an effort to help lift the ship off Clatsop Spit. By the time the order was made, the ship had already begun breaking apart, and wreckage was scattered all over the bar. The iron cannon, technically called a carronade, was found, lost, then discovered again in 1898, when it came ashore in Arch Cape. In the pre-cannon days of Cannon Beach, early settlers referred to the area as Elk Creek. But when the mysterious cannon washed ashore near present day Arch Cape, many began to refer to the area as Cannon Beach, and in 1922, Cannon Beach was officially adopted as the city's name. For years, while they were on public display in Arch Cape, the cannon and capstan sat exposed to weather and children playing on them, until they were vandalized in the 1980s, according to Elaine Trucke, director of the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum. The Clatsop County Historical Society moved the cannon and capstan to the Clatsop County Heritage Museum, until it found a permanent home at the Cannon Beach museum in 2005.
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HISTORY & HERITAGE
FASCINATING
FIGURES IN COLUMBIA-PACIFIC HISTORY THE REGION HAS LONG DRAWN AND CONNECTED THE MOST ADVENTUROUS AND CURIOUS OF EXPLORERS WORDS: MARIANNE MONSON IMAGES: CLATSOP COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Anthropologists trace the earliest settlers in this region to a route that led from Siberia across the Bering Strait roughly 15,000 years ago. Drawn by the bounty of the land, they transitioned to dwelling in long houses made of red cedar planks. Bountiful salmon runs allowed the creation of trade-oriented villages navigable by canoe. For millennia, native peoples walked the tidal flats and marshes leaving their names upon many places — Willapa, Chehalis and Tillamook, among others — even as their ways of life eventually disappeared in the face of imported European diseases for which their shamans knew no cure. ••• 98 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
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FASCINATING FIGURE
•••
CHARLES CULTEE The swift decline of native populations drew German-born anthropologist Franz Boas to Washington and Oregon in the late 1880s. A professor at Columbia University and sort of anthropological Indiana Jones, Boas collected myths and languages for the Smithsonian’s Bureau of Ethnology, recognizing the substantial loss to humanity if the dialects of the Lower Chinook were silenced. Boas began seeking out the last remaining speakers, eventually documenting most of what we know today about these oncepowerful Northwest tribes. Boas struck gold when he met Charles Cultee — a native man who spoke the Kathalamet, Chinook and Chehalis dialects. The two men used Chinook jargon to communicate, and in the summer of 1890, Boas wrote to a friend, “What I now collect exists only in the mind of a single man.” Thanks to Cultee’s generosity, Boas was able to painstakingly record myths, legends, cultural practices, grammatical structure and vocabulary. Cultee shared rituals that his tribe believed ensured the return of salmon year after year and spoke of a time when native women waded barefoot in the river shallows, gathering flounder by feeling them out with their feet. The resulting accounts, Chinook Tales published by the Smithsonian in 1894 and Kathlamet Tales in 1901, are treasure troves for anyone who wishes to understand the worldview of the native cultures and what the area was like before European Settlers transformed it. An artist’s rendering of Charles Cultee, the last full-blooded speaker of the Chinookan language.
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HISTORY & HERITAGE
FASCINATING FIGURE
•••
JANE BARNES Historical renderings of Jane Barnes are virtually nonexistent. In this photo taken circa the 1980s, revelers participate in the Jane Barnes parade in Astoria, celebrating a woman of grit and determination.
The first white woman in the region, Jane Barnes, could have told us much more about Cultee’s world had she left her own account. The notorious barmaid was working in Portsmouth, England, when she met Donald McTavish, recently appointed governor for the Northwest Fur Company. He may have jokingly suggested she join the voyage to the other side of the world, but Jane, who possessed a taste for adventure, agreed. By the time the Isaac Todd set sail, Barnes had signed a contract guaranteeing her 30 pounds sterling for handling “any Needlework that may be required on the passage and elsewhere,” an essential job when ship rigging and sailor clothes could not be replaced at sea. Historical writers have not been kind to Barnes, often portraying her as a brainless floozy, though she was gainfully employed during her passage. Unfortunately, her own point of view is unrepresented in contemporary accounts, and the men who documented her story recorded little beyond her wardrobe and marriage proposals. It is certain that Barnes ventured forth as the only female on a ship that would eventually circumnavigate the globe, scant 1 2
decades after the first woman to do so.1 Barnes has been teased more than once for her inability to read a newspaper, but at a time when only 12 percent of the world’s population could claim literacy, the defect scarcely reflected on her general intelligence. After crossing the tumultuous Atlantic and circling South America via Cape Horn, the Isaac Todd continued up the West Coast, finally dropping anchor in 1814 after 13 months at sea. McTavish arrived too late to seize Fort Astoria and rename it Fort George in honor of the British monarch, but their arrival created a stir nonetheless. Barnes’ blond hair and startling blue eyes sent trappers stumbling over themselves with offers of marriage. Adorned with red paint and whale oil, the son of the Chinook chief promised to send 100 sea otter furs to Barnes’ family and solemnly vowed she would be waited on by his other four wives. To sweeten the deal, Cassakas also threw in “an abundance of fat salmon, anchovies and elk” and the opportunity to “smoke as many pipes of tobacco during the day as she thought proper.”2 Barnes did not accept. Angered by the rebuff, Cassakas plotted to kidnap the woman during one of her riverside strolls instead, a
plan Barnes thwarted by giving up her evening walks. Gov. McTavish’s younger aide, Alexander Henry, extensively journaled about Barnes’ activities and concerns over her safety. Ironically, Barnes was fine, but Henry and McTavish both drowned in the Columbia River a month after their arrival. Barnes returned to England by way of Sitka, Alaska, and Canton, China. In his 1830 account, contemporary author Ross Cox speculated that she remained in China to enjoy “all the luxuries of eastern magnificence.” The rather less exotic, but no less exciting, reality is that Barnes fell in love with the British sea captain of her homebound ship. She married Anthony Robson and the couple later returned to visit the Columbia River again in 1818, accompanied by their two young children. Married life did not quench her thirst for adventure and she regularly joined her husband as he plied his trade routes between Britain and South America. In less than five years, Barnes had transformed herself from barmaid to sea captain’s wife and mother of two, a remarkable feat given the notoriously rigid class structures of 19th-century England.
Jeanne Baret, first woman to circumnavigate the globe in 1766 in disguise. P 129, JSTOR, Jane Barnes, first white woman in Oregon Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol. 31, No. 2 (Jun., 1930), pp. 125-135 (11 pages) by Kenneth W. Porter.
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FASCINATING FIGURE
•••
RANALD MACDONALD A decade later, Ranald MacDonald was born in the still-contested territory of Fort Astoria. The son of a Scottish fur trader and a Chinook princess, MacDonald pursued his education in present-day Manitoba and became a bank clerk to appease his father. After a few years of the work, however, he found himself growing very bored. To liven things up, MacDonald signed on with a whaling ship in 1845, but even this did not prove enough adventure. He yearned to set foot in Japan, a bold desire considering the isolationist policy that guaranteed death or imprisonment to all foreigners. Undeterred, MacDonald staged a shipwreck and recorded: “My plan was to present myself as a castaway ... and to rely on their humanity. My purpose was to learn of them; and, if occasion should offer, to instruct them of us.” The fearless voyager convinced the captain to set him in a small boat not far from the coast, where he landed, bedraggled and begging for mercy. The local Ainu guards imprisoned him, interrogated him, and eventually transferred him to Nagasaki, where MacDonald was commanded to teach English to important samurai, language genius Einosuke Moriyama among them. Ten months later, MacDonald returned to U.S. soil via American warship to inform Congress that Japan was quite a clean and lovely place. MacDonald’s travel notes were published posthumously, and his former students would prove instrumental in negotiations to open Japan to the West. A portrait of Ranald MacDonald, the native Astorian who lived and taught English in Japan and, upon his return, shared his observations with the West.
PEOPLE AND PLACE Cultural geographers have long maintained that an area’s landscape shapes the development of human culture, which, in turn, impacts the landscape, creating a collaboration of sorts between a place and the people who dwell upon it.3 The joining of river, land and sea in the Columbia-Pacific region has undoubtedly influenced and shaped the people drawn to this land — both gathering and beckoning them into the far beyond. 3
This concept was posited most notably in the work of Berkeley geologist Carl Sauer’s “Morphology of Landscape.”
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HISTORY & HERITAGE
‘Known Only to God’
Words & Image: Katherine Lacaze
THE GRAVE OF THE UNKNOWN SAILOR
F
or a historic burial site, the Grave of the Unknown Sailor in Seaside is small, but its mystery looms large. Decades after the sailor's death, the resident’s identity and fate continue to intrigue and compel research from curious minds. Commonly called the Sailor’s Grave, the site, located off the beach near the Cove, contains a modest tombstone engraved with the words “Known Only to God.” Another engraving on the stone surround states: “Found On the Beach April 25 1865.” During a visit in 1871 to Ellen Lattie’s Summer House — located at the present-day Seaside Golf Course — Oregon author Samuel Clarke wrote verses, titled “The Sailor’s Grave,” which read: “There’s a lonely grave on the ocean shore / Near to the shadow of Tillamook Head / Where there is surrounding forevermore / The sullen surf, with its stormy roar / Requiem, sung for the unknown dead.” These verses are quoted in a July 1900 article in The Oregonian in which the writer claims the “nameless grave” contains “the remains of the captain of the bark Industry, which was wrecked on the Columbia bar, about that time.” “Judge (Thomas) McBride, who was then teaching school at Clatsop, was present at the funeral,” the article continues. That is the account investigated by Robin Montero and her husband, Bill, who reside across the street from the landmark. While presenting their research at a public event in 2018, Montero shared how the Industry, a bark ship, was sailing up from San Francisco in 1865, mastered by Capt. Lewis and carrying 23 passengers and crew. Due to heavy winds, the vessel stood offshore for two weeks waiting to clear the bar. Running out of supplies, the captain decided to start over the bar, but there was a misunderstanding with the bar pilot. The ship wrecked and 17 people perished, including Lewis. 102 • Our Coast Magazine 2019
Robin Montero, left, and Jan Barber are part of an unofficial neighborhood group that has adopted the Grave of the Unknown Sailor in the Cove and sees to its care and maintenance.
The Industry theory is an alternative to down at the Cove.” what is commonly touted. In her 1978 book Montero agreed. “This whole area is a “Life on Clatsop,” Inez Stafford Hanson graveyard.” writes about Seaside resident John Hobson Unbeknownst to many, the Sailor’s Grave meeting three anonymous sailors Capt. Lewis decided to start over the bar, but looking for fresh water. They wanted there was a misunderstanding with the bar pilot. to return to their The ship wrecked and 17 people perished. small sailing ship, anchored off Tillamook Head, before dark. Hobson, is a county-owned historical landmark, worried the sailors might be in trouble on the according to Seaside’s Comprehensive Plan. rough ocean, built a bonfire to guide them, but If problems arise, the county is supposed to it was no use. The next day, their bodies were coordinate with the city of Seaside and the found washed ashore, said local historian Oregon Department of Transportation. In Gloria Linkey, referencing Hanson’s story. recent years, there have been no noteworthy As to which account, if either, is true, issues, and care of the grave has more or less Linkey said, “I think anything is possible, fallen to the neighbors. Together, they mow because there is so little known.” Also, the grass, tend the flowers, maintain the flags considering the Columbia Bar has claimed and share theories about whose body is thousands of vessels and hundreds of lives, beneath the ground. she said, “they’re not the only three buried “That is our thing,” Montero said.
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HISTORY IN OUR MIDST
Words & Images: Colin Murphey
here is no shortage of locations and sights in this coastal region with historic significance that visitors can experience. The wreck of the Peter Iredale, the WWII-era bunkers at Fort Stevens, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, the Flavel House and the Doughboy Monument are among the most well-known sites. But what about less famous sites like the wreck of the T.J. Potter, or the old quarantine station across the Columbia River, or the memorial to Chief Comcomly? These and others are just as accessible and, like the more prominent sites, have a story to tell about the rich history of the region.
CHIEF COMCOMLY MEMORIAL Many visitors make their way to the top of a hill in Astoria to see a big column, and rightfully so. But before you leave, nearby is another monument that deserves attention. The memorial to Chinook nation Chief Comcomly was erected in 1961 as a replica of a burial canoe. Overlooking Youngs Bay, the memorial serves as a reminder of an influential Native American leader who was known as a skilled navigator of the Columbia River and a negotiator with early Euro-American explorers.
RED BRICK STREETS FOR HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES On Franklin Avenue in Astoria, between 13th and 14th streets, red bricks can be seen down the middle of the street — an artifact some historians believe represented a compromise between horse-drawn vehicles and automobiles. It is said the horses used the brick while cars drove on either side, according to local historian John Goodenberger. On the parking curb, right of center from the Masonic Temple, is a horse ring where people tied the reins of horses. Other horse rings remain in front of Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe and Fort George Brewery, and to the side of the courthouse on Eighth Street.
REMAINS OF THE T.J. POTTER The wreck of the T.J. Potter may not be as dramatic as the Peter Iredale. There isn’t much left of what was one of the first paddle steamers to operate on the Columbia River. In fact, at high tide, what is left is covered up by the waters of Youngs Bay on the Astoria side, not far from the New Youngs Bay Bridge. The ship transported passengers from Astoria and Ilwaco to Portland until 1916 and was abandoned at its current location in 1920 where little remains. But when the tide is low and conditions are right, you might get lucky and catch a glimpse of a ship known for her speed and luxury.
KNAPPTON COVE HERITAGE CENTER Beginning in 1899, an abandoned cannery site across the Columbia River from Astoria was chosen to house a medical facility to isolate people arriving in the area who may have been exposed to infectious diseases. The Columbia River Quarantine Station operated until 1938, and the site still exists today just off Washington State Route 401 near the abandoned town of Knappton. According to the Knappton Cove Heritage Center, approximately 100,000 immigrants and crew members of ships were inspected for disease at the site known as the Ellis Island of the Columbia River. DiscoverOurCoast.com • 103
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ETC.
TREASURE REDEFINED
trashtalk
ONE PERSON’S TRASH IS ANOTHER PERSON’S TREASURE WORDS: DAN HAAG • IMAGES: COLIN MURPHEY
Haystack Rock Awareness Program’s “Trash Talk” reinvents that old familiar saying with a line of wearable art jewelry handcrafted from the bits of marine debris that are all too common on our beaches. Thanks to this program, all of our trash has become our treasure. Trash Talk began as a result of HRAP’s Citizen Science Marine Debris Survey in combination with a microplastic beach filtration with the Sea Turtles Forever organization, according to Program Coordinator Pooka Rice. “As I walked along the high tide line, I noticed that the plastic bits resembled confetti,” she said. “It struck a chord in me, and I realized these pretty little pieces of plastic were attractive to our sea life.” And that, she added, is the crux of the problem: With food scarce, animals choose plastic over harder-to-find natural food sources. From there, the plastic enters our food web. In other words, it’s a global issue, not just a beach issue.
As an artist, Rice viewed the debris as a potential vehicle for educational awareness. Wanting both to keep the trash out of landfills and create dialogue around a devastating ocean issue, she created the concept of Trash Talk, which has grown over the past year to include jewelry, art and educational pieces. HRAP Director Melissa Keyser immediately saw the value of the project as an educational and ecological tool. Trash Talk began in a “beautifully organic way after our (program coordinator) realized we disposed of the marine debris, collected in our monthly survey, in the trash,” Keyser said. “It’s a much more effective way of capturing and preventing environmental damage.”
THE GLOBAL NUMBERS ARE DAUNTING: THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ESTIMATES THAT, AT CURRENT RATES, PLASTIC IS EXPECTED TO OUTWEIGH ALL THE FISH IN THE SEA BY THE YEAR 2050.
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Pooka Rice holds up a tray of pieces of plastic and other materials removed from area beaches that are used in making her line of jewelry.
It’s not just one piece of plastic, either: If you pick up a piece of plastic, you’ll likely find that it breaks easily into smaller pieces creating a lot of dust-sized particles as well. The global numbers are daunting: The Center for Biological Diversity estimates that, at current rates, plastic is expected to outweigh all the fish in the sea by the year 2050. Rice wondered if there was a way to help humans connect with this issue through art. “We started with heart-shaped molds I had,” she said. “We encased the microplastics in resin and made pins to wear.” Trash Talk embodies HRAP’s mission to inspire stewardship through education. It also gave HRAP a tool to facilitate conversations about plastic in our environment.
IF YOU’RE NOT INTO COLLECTING BEACH DEBRIS, TRASH TALK ACCEPTS DONATIONS OF OLD AND BROKEN JEWELRY TO BE REUSED FOR THE PROJECT. DiscoverOurCoast.com • 105
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ETC. The finished products from the line of jewelry include pieces of plastic removed from local beaches embedded within earrings, bracelets and other decorative adornments.
As an education-based program, HRAP’s main goal is outreach — to inspire humans to be better stewards of our marine environments. “Trash Talk enables us, as educators, to reach visitors and interested folks, from a variety of backgrounds,” Keyser said — it gives them information and an actual piece of “trashy” art they can use to better understand the issue and have meaningful dialogues with others. “We want everyone talkin’ trash,” she said. If you’re not into collecting beach debris, Trash Talk accepts donations of old and broken jewelry to be reused for the project. Microplastic collections and old, broken jewelry can be placed in a bag or container and left in the garbage bin labeled “Haystack Rock Awareness Program Marine Debris,” located at the back entrance of Cannon Beach City Hall next to the dumpster. Right: Pooka Rice, outreach coordinator with the Haystack Rock Awareness Program, shows off jewelry made with pieces of plastic debris removed from local beaches.
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In the bag, remember to include your contact information so HRAP can send you a thank-you. One gallon of beach debris is sufficient material to host two to five workshops, make more than 30 pieces of jewelry or one 12-inch by 12-inch art piece. The results are promising, as Trash Talk has a robust offering of products made from beach debris. The sale from all the pieces goes toward supporting HRAP beach programs and aided in the recent purchase of beach-accessible wheelchairs. “We realized that we humans have a lot of resources that we waste,” Rice said. “This is a way to inspire others to be better stewards of our environment.”
To view what Trash Talk has for sale: Go to: etsy.com/shop/HRAPTrashTalk To learn more about Haystack Rock Program: Go to: ci.cannon-beach.or.us/hrap Left: Cannon Beach City Councilor Mike Benefield examines jewelry made by Pooka Rice with the Haystack Rock Awareness Program.
“THIS IS A WAY TO INSPIRE OTHERS TO BE BETTER STEWARDS OF OUR ENVIRONMENT.” A bracelet made with pieces of plastic debris recovered from local beaches.
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Kelly Grothe, of Astoria, Oregon, took an evening photo, titled ‘Reflection,’ of Youngs Bay Bridge.
ETC.
2018 COAST WEEKEND
PHOTO CONTEST
WINNERS Words: Erick Bengel
The Coast Weekend photo contest that took place in fall and winter 2018 drew 230 entries from Oregon and Washington. In a field dominated by striking snapshots of dogs, deer, elk, ships, lighthouses, crashing waves, the Columbia River, the Peter Iredale shipwreck and the Milky Way, the first-place winner — as chosen by our judges — was among the few images featuring human beings: two ornately dressed young women seated on driftwood, sharing a face-to-face moment. The photo is “Valentine and Pearl,” taken by Astoria artist Meghann Hanour. The subjects are Hanour’s daughters, Colette and Olyvia Reff, wearing dresses their mother made — a tableau of sisters by the sea, soaking in the Cannon Beach sunlight. Another top-ranking photo was “TIME,” by Teddy Townsend, of Cathlamet, Washington. We’ve seen many photos of the Peter Iredale, an eminently photogenic, rusted-out relic, but never one quite like this. People’s Choice, earning the most online votes, went to Trisha Payne, of Bend, Oregon. Payne captured the Coquille River Lighthouse in Bandon, Oregon, with “Remembering the Light.” Her photo "Finding the Milky Way" also earned an honorable mention. Other winners photographed the moon, a foggy forest, Haystack Rock and Youngs Bay Bridge (a bridge underrepresented in local art and art photography). Here we present these superb photos of the Pacific Northwest.
Peo Tris the Ore the of B
Tommie Hatcher, of Astoria, Oregon, took this black-and-white, titled ‘Morning,’ of a vessel on the Columbia River.
Check out more contest photos at
DiscoverOurCoast.com An early morning moon rises next to the Astoria Column in ‘December Crescent Moon,’ by Jeff Carden, of Astoria, Oregon.
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Jason Mack, of Astoria, Oregon, documented a rare snowfall in the town. It is titled, simply, ‘Snow in Astoria.’
‘Ghost Forest,’ by Henry Voderberg, of Long Beach, Washington, was taken on the trail at Cape Disappointment.
‘Valentine and Pearl,’ by Meghann Hanour, of Astoria, Oregon, was the judges’ pick for First Place.
People’s Choice went to Trisha Payne’s ‘Remembering the Light.’ Here, the Bend, Oregon, resident captures the Coquille River Lighthouse of Bandon, Oregon.
In ‘Finding the Milky Way,’ Trisha Payne, of Bend, Oregon, trains her lens on a fellow photographer shooting the stars in Brookings, Oregon.
in on.
For ‘TIME,’ Teddy Townsend, of Cathlamet, Washington, took this hour-long exposure of the Peter Iredale shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park.
Sunlight breaks through the cloudy canopy to illuminate Haystack Rock as a flock of gulls passes in Pullman, Washington, resident Rod Schwartz’s ‘Sunburst.’
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ETC.
TALK LIKE YOU'RE FROM HERE AN INDISPENSABLE GLOSSARY OF COASTAL TERMS WORDS: BRENNA VISSER
PEOPLE Coasties This has a dual meaning. It can mean someone who lives locally or was born and raised on the Oregon Coast, or it could mean someone in the Coast Guard. Context is the only way to differentiate. Day-trippers In general, this refers to people from the Portland metro area who drive over in the morning, spend the day at the beach, then drive back around dinner time, creating a miles-long backup in the summer at the U.S. Route 26 junction. Seagulls While this term is most commonly used to refer to the actual seabird, some locals on the Long Beach Peninsula use it to describe aggressive beachcombers who used to pillage shipwrecks. Pukers Some locals not so lovingly refer to visitors who are prone to seasickness as “pukers.”
PLACES The Dirty D If you have plans to visit the Desdemona Club at Marine Drive and 30th Street in Astoria, say you’re going to “The Dirty D.” Calling the establishment — which is in an older part of town and adjacent to the county’s sole strip club — by its full name would blow your cover as a tourist pretty quickly. Tilly or Terrible Tilly No, Tilly isn’t a particularly misbehaved neighbor. She’s a lighthouse — Tillamook Head Lighthouse, about a mile off the coast of Tillamook Head between Seaside and Cannon Beach. It got its nickname as “Terrible Tilly” for its ferocious storms and the difficulties facing lighthouse keepers stationed there. The Prom The Seaside Promenade is a famous, 1.5-mile boardwalk on the oceanfront. There’s only one, as the waterfront path in Astoria is distinctly called the Riverwalk. Save yourself the syllables and call it, simply, “The Prom.”
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The Rock Live on the North Coast long enough and Haystack Rock just becomes a large stack of basalt sitting in the background of your dayto-day life. Given the attraction doesn’t have any other competition from other 235-foot-tall rocks, sound like a local and just refer to the landmark as “the Rock.” Because what other rock is there? The Cove Nestled by Tillamook Head, the Cove is a section of beach covered in smooth rocks in South Seaside and is famous for surfing. Cape D Cape Disappointment on the Southern Washington Coast.
THINGS The Big One Chances are fair you’ll hear a local crack a joke about being taken out by “The Big One.” They are referring to the 9.0 Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake scientists predict will cause a devastating tsunami that will destroy the West Coast within the next century. Tsunami zone If you’re standing next to a blue sign that says “tsunami zone,” don’t fret — it means you are entering a safe zone that will not be inundated by water should a large wave come during your visit. Still nervous? Keep walking uphill. Sideways rain On the Pacific Northwest Coast, you have to be ready for any kind of weather, anytime. Sometimes that means 60 mph winds. Sometimes that means downpouring rain. A lot of the time these two phenomena act together, where the wind blows hard enough to make it seem like the rain is falling, aggressively, sideways. Sou’wester This term is commonly used throughout the region in reference to the intense winter storms that originate from the southwest. It is also the name of a historic lodge and travel trailer resort in Seaview, Washington. Sea parrot Some locals call puffins “sea parrots.” Just so you know.
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OUR COAST MAGAZINE ANTIQUES
PHOG BOUNDERS ANTIQUE MALL 55+Vendors Antiques • Nautical Items Glassware • Vintage Decor 892 Marine Drive, Astoria OR 97103
(503) 338-0101
DENTISTS
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LODGING Astoria Bayfront Hotel 555 Hamburg Ave Astoria, OR 503.325.2205 bestwesternastoria.com 38156@hotel.bestwestern.com
Timeless Hospitality Meets Unsurpassed Value
2120 Exchange Street, Suite 111 503-325-0333 www.urgentcarenwastoria.com RETAIL AND SHOPPING
SEASIDE WELLNESS CENTER Children, Adolescents, and Adults
HEALTHCARE
MONDAY-FRIDAY 7AM-7PM SATURDAY-SUNDAY 9AM-7PM
HEALTHCARE
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MORE THAN JUST ANTIQUES!
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
FISH & SEAFOOD
KLEMP FAMILY DENTISTRY
1006 West Marine Drive, Astoria (503) 468-0116 www.klempfamilydentistry.com
Available for all of your routine healthcare needs, not just for emergency situations!
BUSINESS DIRECTORY
RETAIL AND SHOPPING
503.717.5284 seasidewellnesscenter.net
LODGING
MUSEUMS
BOREAS BED AND BREAKFAST INN
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RETAIL AND SHOPPING
GARIBALDI MARITIME MUSEUM Preserving the Maritime Heritage RI WKH 3DFLÀ F 1RUWKZHVW Focusing on Captain Robert Gray and his historical vessels
112 Hwy 101, Garibaldi, Oregon (503)322-8411 Open April through October, 10 am to 4 pm (Weekends in March & November), Gift Shop
garibaldimuseum.org
TRAVEL
:NK
GOLDEN WHALE JEWELRY Bridal • Gemstones • Silver Gold • Navaho • Earrings 14kt Gold & Sterling Charms Quality jewelry in gold and sterling silver by nationally known artists
194 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach (503)436-1166 • (800)548-3918
6OIZ[XK 'ZZOI
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DiscoverOurCoast.com
• Coast Weekend • Oregon Coast TODAY • Our Coast Magazine
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ASTORIA-WARRENTON
Go to DiscoverOurCoast.com to explore hundreds more attractions, restaurants, merchants and places to stay on Our Coast.
Astoria Column South Jetty at Fort Stevens State Park Liberty Theatre
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LONG BEACH PENINSULA
Go to DiscoverOurCoast.com to explore hundreds more attractions, restaurants, merchants and places to stay on Our Coast.
Long Beach
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CANNON BEACH NORTH TILLAMOOK COUNTY
Haystack Rock
Go to DiscoverOurCoast.com to explore hundreds more attractions, restaurants, merchants and places to stay on Our Coast.
Hug Point
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The Prom
SEASIDE-GEARHART Go to DiscoverOurCoast.com to explore hundreds more attractions, restaurants, merchants and places to stay on Our Coast.
OUR COAST ADVERTISER INDEX
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ANTIQUES
CANNABIS
Phog Bounders Antique Mall .............111 892 Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 338-0101 www.phogbounders.com
Hi Distributing.........................................67 193 Marine Dr. , Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-4078 www.hiastoria.com
APARTMENTS
Mr. Nice Guy.............................................65 730 Bond St. Suite B, Astoria, OR 97103 (503)741-3666
Emerald Heights Apartments...............42 1 Emerald Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-8221 www.emeraldheightsapartments.com
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Astor Street Opry ....................................41 129 Bond Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-6104 www.astorstreetoprycompany.com Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival......................................................22 P.O. Box 34, Astoria, OR 97103 www.astoriascanfest.com Astoria Visual Arts...................................22 PO Box 1004, Astoria, OR 97103 (503)741-9694 www.astoriavisualarts.org
690 Olney Ave.,Astoria, OR 97103 (503)741-3420 656 US-101 Rockaway Beach, OR 97136 (971) 306-1313 www.mrniceguyor.com Mystic Roots Cannabis...........................67 38012 Highway 26, Seaside, OR 97103 (971) 225-7420 www.mysticrootscannabis.com Sweet Relief .............................................66 1444 Commercial St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 468-0881 www.sweetrelief420.com 4210 US 101,Gearhart, OR 97138 (503) 739-7551
Clatsop County Fair & Expo...................61 92937 Walluski Loop, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-4600 www.clatsopcofairexpo.com
1906 1st St., Tillamook, OR 97141 (503) 354-5463
Clatsop County Historical Society......124 P.O. Box 88, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-2203 www.cumtux.org
Spa at Cannery Pier Hotel......................94 No. 10 Basin Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 338-4772 www.cannerypierhotel.com/spa
Coaster Theatre Playhouse....................41 108 North Hemlock Street Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (503) 436-3602 www.coastertheatre.com Friends Of Old Fort Stevens ..................25 P.O. Box 138, Hammond, OR 97121 (503) 861-1470 www.visitftstevens.com
FAMILY, COMMUNITY & CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS (continued) Long Beach Peninsula Visitor’s Bureau.......................................14 3914 Pacific Way, Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-2400 www.funbeach.com Ocean Park Area Chamber of Commerce ........................................122 1715 E. Bay Avenue, Ocean Park, WA 98640 (888) 751-9354 www.opwa.com
Klemp Family Dentistry.......................111 1006 W. Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 468-0116 www.klempfamilydentistry.com
Best Western Astoria............................111 555 Hamburg Ave, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-2205 www.bestwesternastoria.com
Gearhart By The Sea...............................24 1157 N. Marion, Gearhart, OR 97138 (800) 547-0115 www.gearhartresort.com
FISH AND SEAFOOD
McMenamins-Gearhart Hotel ..............52 1157 N Marion Ave, Gearhart, OR 97138 (503)717-8159 www.mcmenamins.com/gearhart-hotel
Oregon Public Broadcasting.................32 7140 SW Macadam, Portland, OR 97219 (503) 445-1874 www.opb.org
Bell Buoy...................................................71 1800 S, Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138 (503) 738-2722 (800) 529-2722 www.bellbuoyofseaside.com Josephson’s Smokehouse ...................111 106 Marine Dr.,Astoria, OR 97103 (800)772-FISH/ (503) 325-2190 www.josephsons.com Seasonal Seafoods..................................23 306 Dike Road, Bay Center, WA 98527 (888) 905-9079 www.baycenterfarms.com South Bay Wild Fish House....................52 262 9th St.,Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 741-3000 www.southbaywild.com
HEALTH CARE
RADIO STATIONS Coast Community Radio .....................119 1445 Exchange Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-0010 www.coastradio.org
MUSEUMS
REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Clatsop County Historical Society......124 PO Box 88, Astoria, OR 97103 www.cumtux.org Flavel House Museum..........................124 441 8th St., Astoria, OR 97103 Heritage Museum.................................124 1618 Exchange St., Astoria, OR 97103
FAMILY, COMMUNITY & CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS
Marie Powell Gallery ..............................32 177 Howerton Way SE, Ilwaco, WA. 98624 (360) 244-0800 www.marie-powell.com
Astoria Parks & Recreation....................25 1997 Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-7027 www.astoriaparks.com
Peninsula Pharmacies............................23 101 1st Ave S, Ilwaco, WA 98624 (360) 642-3133
RiverSea Gallery......................................23 1160 Commercial Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-1270 www.riverseagallery.com
Astoria Sunday Market ..........................14 Downtown on 12th Street Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-1010 www.astoriasundaymarket.com
Wiegardt Studio Gallery ........................42 2607 Bay Avenue, Ocean Park, WA 98640 (360) 665-5976 www.ericwiegardt.com
AUTOMOTIVE Del’s OK Point S .......................................43 35359 US-101 Business, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-2861 www.pointstire.com/astoria
Astoria/Warrenton Chamber of Commerce ...........................................94 111 W. Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-6311 • (800) 875-6807 www.oldoregon.com Friends of Old Fort Stevens...................25 1675 Peter Iredale Rd., Hammond OR 97121 (503) 861-2000 www.visitftstevens.com Ilwaco Merchants Association P.O. Box 193, Ilwaco, WA 98624 (360) 642-0771 www.ilwacowashington.com
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Seaside Wellness Center......................111 2609 US 101 Suite 203, Seaside, OR 97138 (503) 717-5284 www.seasidewellnesscenter.net Urgent Care NW – Astoria.............22, 111 2120 Exchange Street, #111 Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-0333 www.urgentcarenwastoria.com
PUBLIC BROADCASTING
LUMBER MILLS
Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum ....25 P.O. Box 153 115 Lake Street Southeast Ilwaco, WA 98624 (360) 642-3446 www.columbiapacificheritagemuseum.org
101 Bolstad Ave.,Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-3200 www.penpharmrx.com
Lewis and Bark Professional Pet Grooming Boutique ...............................43 753 1st Ave., Seaside, OR. 97138 (503) 739-7347 www.lewisandbark.dog
Hampton Lumber ...................................15 9600 SW Barnes Road #200 Portland, OR 97225 (503) 297-7691 www.hamptonlumber.com
Ocean Beach Hospital ............................xx 1st Avenue North, Ilwaco, WA 98624 (360) 642-3181 www.oceanbeachhospital.com
Sunday Afternoon Live ..........................32 323 Third Street, Raymond, WA 98577 (360) 875-5123 www.sundayafternoonlive.org
PET BOARDING & GROOMING Bay Breeze Boarding & Grooming .......15 1480 SE 9th St., Warrenton, OR 97146 (503) 861-9817 www.baybreeze-boarding.com
Wauna Federal Credit Union.................24 P.O. Box 67,Clatskanie, OR 97016 (800) 773-3236 www.waunafcu.org
Oregon Film Museum..........................124 732 Duane St., Astoria, OR. 97103 www.oregonfilmmuseum.org
Imogen Gallery........................................60 240 11th Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 468-0620 www.imogengallery.com
(continued)
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Columbia Memorial Hospital................43 2111 Exchange St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-4321 www.columbiamemorial.org
Jeffrey Leinassar, DMD, FAGD...............15 1414 Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-0310 www.smileastoria.com
MUSEUMS
World Kite Museum & Hall of Fame.....14 303 Sid Snyder Drive West Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-4020 www.worldkitemuseum.com
Boreas Bed & Breakfast Inn ...................xx 607 Ocean Beach Boulevard N. Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-8069 www.boreasinn.com
DAY SPA
DENTISTS
LODGING & TRAVEL (continued) Astoria Rivershore Motel.......................43 59 W. Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-2921 www.rivershoremotel.com
Clatsop Power Equipment.....................32 34912 Hwy 101 Business, Astoria, OR 97103 www.clatsoppowerequipment.com Discovery Coast Real Estate ..................42 1711 Pacific Ave., Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-3325 discoverycoastrealestate.com Lighthouse Realty...................................25 710 Pacific Avenue S. Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-4461 www.lighthouseproperty.com 25810 Vernon Ave. Ocean Park, WA 98640 (360) 665-4141 www.lighthouseproperty.com
Columbia River Maritime Museum.....2,3 1792 Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-2323 www.crmm.org
31511 I Street Ocean Park, WA 98640 (360) 665-4114 www.lighthouseproperty.com
Cranberry Museum & Gift Shop ...........32 2907 Pioneer Road, Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-5553 www.cranberrymuseum.com
Pacific Realty............................................32 102 NE Bolstad Avenue Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-3127 www.pacreal.com
Garibaldi Maritime Museum ..............111 112 Highway 101, Garibaldi, OR 97118 (503) 322-8411 www.garibaldimuseum.org
LODGING & TRAVEL
Marsh’s Free Museum ..........................123 409 Pacific Way S., Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-2188 www.marshsfreemuseum.com
Astoria Crest Motel.................................23 5366 Leif Erikson Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-3141 www.astoriacrestmotel.com
Northwest Carriage Museum ...............22 314 Alder Street, Raymond, WA 98577 (360) 942-4150 www.nwcarriagemuseum.org
Pacific Realty Property Management..........................32 102 NE Bolstad Avenue Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-3127 www.pacreal.com Rich McQuerry .........................................xx Anchor Realty 31605 I Street #B Ocean Park, WA 98640 (503) 318-3816 www.longbeachwarealestate.com
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RESTAURANTS, FOOD & BEVERAGE
REATAILERS & SPECIALTY SHOPPING
REATAILERS & SPECIALTY SHOPPING
SPORTS & RECREATION
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Antidote Tap House................................71 716 Triangle Shopping Center Longview, WA. 98632 (360) 232-8283 www.antidotetaphouse.com
Geno’s Pizza & Burgers...........................52 3693 Leif Erickson Drive Astoria, OR 97103 (503)325-4927 www.genospizzaandburgers.com
Active Enterprises, Inc............................32 1318 Pacific Avenue North, Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-2102 www.propanelongbeach.com
Seaside Yarn and Fiber...........................24 10 N Holladay, Seaside,OR. 97138 (503)717-5579 www.seasideyarnandfiber.com
Astoria’s Portway ....................................52 422 W. Marine Dr., Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-2651 www.facebook/astorias-portway
Hungry Harbor Grille..............................53 313 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-5555 www.hungryharbor.com
Bruce’s Candy Kitchen............................61 256 N. Hemlock Street Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (503) 436-2641 www.brucescandy.com
Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe.................52 1493 Duane St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 338-7473 www.bluescorcher.coop
Labor Temple...........................................53 934 Duane St., Astoria, OR. 97103 (503) 325-0801 www.labortempleastoria.com
Bowpicker ................................................60 1634 Duane St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503)791-2942 www.bowpicker.com
McMenamins-Sand Trap Pub................52 1157 N Marion Ave, Gearhart, OR 97138 (503) 717-8159 www.mcmenamins.com/gearharthotel/sand-trap-pub
Bridgewater Bistro..................................60 20 Basin Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-6777 www.bridgewaterbistro.com Camp 18 Restaurant...............................71 42362 Highway 26 Seaside, OR 97138 (503) 755-1818 www.camp18restaurant.com Cannon Beach Bakery............................94 240 N Hemlock St., Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (503) 436-0399 www.cannonbeachbakery.com Charlie’s Chop House..............................53 1313 Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 741-3033 www.chophouseastoria.com Coffee Girl.................................................53 100 39th Street, Suite 2, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-6900 www.thecoffeegirl.com Enola’s Ship Out Fish & Chips................61 92351 Lewis and Clark Rd Astoria,OR 97103 (503) 468-8329 www.facebook.com/enolashipout/ Fulio’s ........................................................53 1149 Commerical Street Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-9001 www.fulios.com
Plaza Jalisco .............................................71 212 8th St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 338-4440 www.plazajaliscorestaurant.com Pelican Brewery & Tap Room................71 1708 1st Street Tillamook, OR 97141 (503) 842-7007 www.pelicanbrewing.com Pelican Brewing Company ....................71 1371 S. Hemlock Street Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (503) 908-3377 www.pelicanbrewing.com
Cannon Beach Leather...........................61 239 N, Hemlock Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (503) 436-0208 Cleanline Surf Shop................................94 60 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138 (503) 738-7888 171 Sunset Blvd., Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (503) 436-9726 www.cleanlinesurf.com Finn Ware..................................................14 1166 Commercial St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-5720 www.finnware.com Forsythea Home & Garden....................24 1124 Commercial Street Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-2189 www.forsythea.com Golden Whale Jewelry.........................111 194 N. Hemlock, Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (503) 436-1166
The Pelican Pub & Tap Room ................71 33180 Cape Kiwanda Drive Pacific City, OR 97135 (503) 965-7007 www.pelicanbrewing.com
Holly McHone Jewelers..........................23 1150 Commercial St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-8029 www.hollymchone.com
Seaside Golf Club....................................42 451 Avenue U, Seaside, OR. 97138 (503) 738-5261 www.seasidegolf.com
Homespun Quilts & Yarn........................32 108 10th St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503)325-3300 / (800) 298-3177 www.homespunquilt.com
REATAILERS & SPECIALTY SHOPPING
Luminari Arts...........................................41 1133 Commercial St., Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 468-0308
4 Seasons Clothing .................................61 1405 Commercial Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-8200 www.facebook.com/4-Seasons-Clothing
Seaside Outlets..........................................5 1111 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138 (503) 717-1603 www.seasideoutlets.com
Terra Stones .............................................94 951 Commercial Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-5548 The Herons Nest Gifts.............................32 405 Broadway, Seaside, OR 97138 (503) 738-8854 www.heronsnestgifts.com The Picture Attic....................................111 711 Pacific Highway North Long Beach, WA 98631 (360) 642-4770 www.thepictureattic.com The Wine Shack .......................................60 124 N. Hemlock Street Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (503) 436-1100 www.beachwine.com
Gearhart Golf Links.................................52 1157 N. Marion, Gearhart, OR 97138 (503) 738-3538 www.gearhartgolflinks.com NW Women’s Surf Camps ......................43 P.O. Box 425,Seaside, OR 97138 (503) 440-5782 www.nwwomenssurfcamps.com Port of Ilwaco.............................................4 165 Howerton Avenue, Ilwaco, WA 98624 (360) 642-3143 www.portofilwaco.com Seaside Golf Club....................................42 451 Avenue U,Seaside, OR 97103 (503) 738-5261 www.seasidegolf.com/
WINERIES Westport Winery Garden Resort..........60 1 South Arbor Road, Aberdeen, WA 98520 (360) 648-2224 www.westportwinery.com
Video Horizons......................................111 750 Astor Street, Astoria, OR 97103 (503) 325-7310 www.videohorizons.formovies.com
RV PARKS & CAMPGROUNDS Driftwood RV Park ..................................32 1512 Pacific Avenue N ,Long Beach, WA 98631 (888) 567-1902 www.driftwood-rvpark.net KOA Astoria/Warrenton/Seaside..........60 1100 NW Ridge Rd., Hammond, OR. 97121 (503) 861-2606 www.astoriakoa.com Westgate Cabins & RV Park...................42 20803 Pacific Way, Ocean Park, WA 98640 (360) 665-4211 www.vacationwestgate.com
SERVICES H&R Block.................................................15 1092 Marine Dr., Astoria, OR 97103 (503)325-1166 575 S Roosevelt Suite A, Seaside, OR 97138 (503)738-3151 www.hrblock.com
Making Waves since 1983 Your Community Voice
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ONE LAST GAME Visitors to the beaches in Seaside play an impromptu game of sand volleyball as the sun sets behind them. Seaside hosts a sand volleyball tournament every year, but amateur play near the famous Promenade is also available. Colin Murphey photo shot with Nikon D810, 80-200 mm lens, exposure: 1/2000 sec, f/9, ISO 200
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M U E S U M E E R F S ’ H S
! e e r f e r a s e l smi d n a s h aug l d n a n tte o g Come see our r o f e r a s e l b u o r A place where t oddities! Including: A Few Quotes From some of Our Visitors You gotta’ see J a k e the alligator man!
“1 of 10 great places for monstrous encounters” – USA Today “A truly fun place to browse and shop, with something bizarre around every corner. Outstanding music box and vintage arcade collection. Something for everyone.” – People Magazine “Marsh’s Free Museum is a world class side show” – Tacoma Tribune “Scientists’ call bizarre creature the missing link.” – Weekly World News
Join Jake’s Fan Club at: www.marshsfreemuseum.com So interesting some people never leave!
“Going to Marsh’s Free Museum is a bit like watching Ben Hur. Every time you do you see something new.”
• Jake– The Alligator Man • Shrunken Head • 8 Legged Lamb • 2 Headed Calf • 1 Eyed Lamb • Vintage Arcade Items • Wild Animal Mounts • Large Music Box Collection
–Daily Astorian
Fine & Unusual Gifts! Ask for your FREE Tide Guide & Sea Shell!
Penin Family sula’s #1 Attrac tion! MENTION THIS AD FOR A FREE WOODEN NICKEL GOOD FOR 10% OFF YOUR NEXT PURCHASE!
Beach Souvenirs •Seashells • Salt Water Taffy OPEN 7 DAYS • AMPLE PARKING DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH, WA • 360-642-2188
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