Day 61-62: No Disappointment at all
Astoria, OR through Cape Disappointment State Park, WA to Vancouver, WA
143.11 Miles | 3:36 Riding Time
It’s Monday, June 10, 2024, and it’s Day 61 and 62 of my cross country motorcycle trip.
Started the day by crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge over the Columbia River. It’s pretty cool. You ride up a helix to get the the highest part of the bridge. Then, it goes down, to just above the water for about several miles. At 21,474 ft long, it’s the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.
On the Washington side, I headed west over the Cape Disappointment State Park. There are two lighthouses there that help ships navigate the dangerous waters where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean. It’s a rugged coastline with some seriously rocky cliffs. The North Head Lighthouse is super-easy to get to, and there’s a parking lot and a very short. The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is much harder to get two—about a 2 mile, moderate walk. But, the views were amazing. You can see the mouth of the river and the channel, and all the ships heading in and out.
On the way out of the park, I took the 101 north through the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, which was a beautiful ride to RT 4 the wound it’s way over to interstate 5. I took that down to Vancouver, WA, where I had an appointment to get my 12,000 mile bike serviced.
On Tuesday, I brought the bike in, and waited while they did the service. Then I walked around the area for a bit, had an early dinner at Hudson’s at The Heathman Lodge, which was very cool (I should have stayed there), and called it a night.
