dan
We spent the entire day at Cape Disappointment state park. We took in so much but here I'm going to highlight our trek to North Head and Cape Disappointment lighthouses first and then talk about our all-day hike.
We arrived in Long Beach on Friday night and set out Saturday morning for the park. What a perfect day! The weather was sunny and COOL! In the 60s, I love this! We had a nice walk to the North Head lighthouse. Sadly, we weren't able to visit the lantern because the stairs are in disrepair. Did you know that North Head is the #3 windiest location in the USA?!
After making the loop from parking lot, to nature trail, to lighthouse, to GIFT SHOP and back to car, we had already had a lovely day! Daniel slipped on the gravel and bravely endured some mild first aid, but otherwise the trip to North Head was a total success.
After North Head, we made a few more stops...a scenic lookout and bridge over wetlands which were phenomenally beautiful. We spent quite some time at the excellent Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center (we read a great picture book
"How We Crossed The West: The Adventures Of Lewis And Clark" by Rosalyn Schanzer and
"Streams to the River, River to the Sea" by Scott O'Dell in preparation for the visit to Long Beach, WA.
Anyways, it was time to make about a mile trek to Cape Disappointment lighthouse. After some elevation gain, we all needed to rest our feet and ate more snacks at the top of the bluff. It is like being at the top of the world or the edge of eternity or something...simply breathtaking scenery over the mouth of the mighty Columbia and the
"Graveyard of the Pacific". We met Coast Guardman Joe who invited us into his watchtower and let Daniel peer through his telescope! John had lots of naval type inquiries and we learned A LOT about the sea from this generous guy.
Wow, we've already done FOUR lighthouses and we've had an absolute ball! We stayed at the Adrift Hotel in Long Beach and here's a picture of the kids room...they don't want to leave!
