Tag Archives: Pacific Ocean

The Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park


On October 25, 1906 the four-masted steel sailing vessel, the Peter Iredale, sank near the mouth of the Columbia River. No lives were lost. Dear husband and I had seen the ship before when we stayed at Fort Stevens State Park near Hammond, Oregon about 25 years ago. At that time we had our red chow, Yum, with us and we enjoyed the adventure of camping. And here I was years later with Lilly, our cairn terrier. I had dropped dear husband off at Astoria so that he could peruse the antique stores. There was less of the ship now, but still in all I was impressed that so much of it remained.

Graveyards of the Pacific lists some of the other ships that have gone down in this dangerous part of the Pacific.

While at Fort Stevens, Lilly and I also enjoyed two wildlife view areas, one with a boardwalk/concrete viewing area that overlooked an estuary and another with a viewing platform that overlooked the crashing waves of the Pacific. There is also the fort part of Fort Stevens State Park, which operated from the time of the Civil War through World War II. All of the photos are mine with the exception of the historical view of the ship.

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Long Beach, WA, the world longest driving beach

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Long Beach, Washington is our ‘to go’ to places for a short get away. This trip was small scale with just three of us: me, dear husband, and Lilly (our cairn terrier). We had the smallest cottage at Anchorage Cottages, #1 with about 400 square feet and it had everything we needed. As soon as we got here dear husband and dog took a nap (exhausted from being the passengers) and I went off in the rain to snap a photo. I have to confess that it was raining so hard that I rolled down the car window to take the shot! With the sign photos, one is looking toward the town and the other photo is looking toward the Pacific Ocean.

The sign proclaims that Long Beach is the “World’s Longest Beach”, so of course I had to research that. The world’s longest beach is Praia do Cassino Beach in Brazil with a length of 150 miles. The longest beach in the United State is Padre Island National Seashore in Texas with 70 miles. Long Beach at 28 miles is the 8th longest beach. (Source), but it is the longest drivable beach. I’m sure that’s what the sign means.

I’ve also included a photo of the Pacific Ocean in Long Beach on a sunny day in the past.

 

Grays Harbor Lighthouse, the tallest in Washington

9567640608_dc4d7cb376_oThe 107′ Grays Harbor Lighthouse in Westport is the tallest lighthouse in Washington State and the third tallest on the West Coast. It was built in 1898 by architect Carl W. Leick to provide a guiding beacon for ships entering Grays Harbor. I said to my dear husband that I was surprised to see that the lighthouse was so far away from the Pacific Ocean. In reading the history I discovered that the lighthouse was originally 400′ from the high tide line, but because of build up caused mostly by the jetty system now in place at the entrance of Grays Harbor, the lighthouse is now 3,000′ from the high tide line. In 1998 the property was leased and then renovated by the Westport-South Beach Historical Society and in 2001 public tours began. In 2004 the Historic Society became the owners of their lighthouse under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The property is on the National Historic Register.

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