On 8/3/25, we continued our journey up the Oregon Coast to Astoria, and then Bow, Washington.
According to National Geographic, “Cannon Beach is one of the world’s most beautiful places.” Haystack Rock is a 235-foot sea stack dominating the scenic beach’s shoreline.
You must stumble through the man-made tunnel in Maxwell Point to access the secluded beach beyond.
I suggest taking a flashlight to navigate the sand-covered rocks underfoot.
Tunnel Beach, located in Oceanside, Oregon, is no longer a secret, but it still has a jaw-dropping impact when you emerge from the tunnel.
The Tillamook County Creamery Association is owned by a farmers’ co-op near Tunnel Beach. For generations, farmers have been good stewards of their local resources. We took the self-guided tour and helped ourselves to a heap of free shrink-wrapped cheese slices for the road.
Cape Disappointment Light began operation in 1856. The fog bell was often drowned out by massive crashing waves, and it was never visible to ships coming from the north. The first lighthouse in the Pacific Northwest was scheduled for closure in 1956, but the Columbia River Bar Pilots threw a fit, so it remained in use, and the light was automated in 1973.
The water was calm when we viewed the Columbia River Bar from the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. The USCG National Motor Lifeboat School trains at the mouth of the Columbia River in Motor Lifeboats that can survive 360-degree rolls in steep waves that often exceed 40 feet. Over 2,000 vessels have gone down here since recording them started in 1792, making the “Graveyard of the Pacific” the most dangerous inlet in the United States.
The North Head Lighthouse is perched on a 130-foot cliff and was built in 1897, two miles north of Cape Disappointment, when mariners complained the Disappointment Lighthouse was not visible from the north.
We spent the night in Astoria, Oregon. Founded in 1811, it is the oldest city in the state and the first permanent American settlement west of the Rockies. We ate an excellent cod dinner at Pier 39, which was once the largest tuna cannery on the West Coast and is now a hotel and spa.
The Astoria Crest Motel claims to have the best view of any hotel in the area. This is the view from the bed in our room!
Traveling east in Washington, we checked out the state capitol in Olympia. The Capitol campus includes historic buildings, monuments, and gardens.
An earthquake damaged the cupola in 1949, and a 6.5 magnitude quake in 1965 nearly destroyed the dome’s brick buttresses. Earthquake-resistant construction helped keep further damage from a 2001 earthquake from becoming a major catastrophe, but the building had to be evacuated for 2 years during repairs.
While we were in Washington State, we headed to the tiny town of Bow, where Janice, Karen’s close friend since first grade, lives with her husband, Arne. Their home sits in the middle of the lush Skagit Valley with some of the finest farming soil in the state. Janice is an avid crabber and served up the day’s catch for our dinner.
I met Arne in San Francisco when he was living on his sailboat, where Karen introduced him to Janice. Arne and I had not seen each other for 30 years, and we carried on like old sailors.
Janice drove us on a tour of the local sights, which included old cannon ramparts from defunct Fort Casey and the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. We had a great time catching up with old friends. Seattle was our next destination, where I officiated my niece, Nicole’s, wedding.