Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

We had a wonderful day escaping the heat and heading for the south west corner of Washington state to the Long Beach Peninsula.   There was a warm, brisk breeze to keep the temperatures in the comfort zone.  We looked in a really interesting antique shop there which we found to be a wonderful place full of fascinating things.  It was a big store and nicely organized.  That was fun.  We did go to see this lighthouse.  We'd never seen it before and in doing some research for me and for you, (because don't you want to know all about this now?) I learned that this is the oldest working lighthouse on the West Coast.  I did not know that. Please visit my Flickr page to see photos of the area.  Some are pretty good, I think.  We went on the highway out of Longview, which follows the Columbia River.  That's a nice and different way to get to the Coast. The more common route is in Oregon, which goes to Canon Beach or to Astoria.  Here is a bit of information on this lighthouse. I'd love to go back here to explore further, when we have more time.      If I hit return, it bumps me out of here, so this might run together.  My apologies.            In 1788, while in search of the Columbia River, English Captain John Meares missed the passage over the river bar and named the nearby headland Cape Disappointment for his failure in finding the river. In 1792, American Captain Robert Gray successfully crossed the river bar and named the river "Columbia" after his ship, the Columbia Rediviva. Only a few years later, in 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at Cape Disappointment. It was at the base of Cape Disappointment that the Corps of Discovery achieved their principal mission of traveling across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. Eleven expedition members led by William Clark surveyed the area, fulfilling President Jefferson’s instructions to the expedition.
The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was constructed in 1856 to warn seamen of the treacherous river bar known by then as "the graveyard of the Pacific." This is the oldest functioning lighthouse on the West Coast.
In 1862, Cape Disappointment was armed with smoothbore cannons to protect the mouth of the Columbia River from enemies during the Civil War. The installation was expanded to become Fort Canby in 1875. The fort was named after General Edward Canby, who was killed in the Modoc Indian War. The fort continued to be improved until the end of World War II. Gun batteries are still in place at the park. EXTRA PHOTO OF THE VIEW AT THE TOP!