Fort Columbia, Spring Road Trip, 3/23/08
The rain was falling steadily as I broke camp at Cape Disappointment. I have many fond childhood memories of the Willapa Peninsula and the little town of Oysterville on the tip. Grandma lived in Oysterville and her grandchildren spent many a summer day running and laughing on the beaches that surround it. Every time I visit the area, I need to stop by Oysterville just to say hello to the familiar structures. The rain appeared to pelt the windshield as I pulled up next to the fence around the community center, but I still had to jump out for a few shots before heading out of town and toward the Columbia Gorge.
Just east of the Astoria Bridge stands the Fort Columbia State Park. As I had never explored the park and the rain had let up a bit, a stop seemed warranted. A walk down the hill to the battlements was a bit muddy and rain puddles the hallway through the cement structure. Quiet solitude greeted Olympia and I as our steps echoed off the cold grey walls. But the vision I saw looking down the hallway was spellbinding.
The door at the far end of the darkened hall was set in an eerie green-white wall reflected in the puddle on the floor. It was magnificent but I needed my tripod which I had left in my car. I hurriedly walked back to the car and on my return back down the hill . . . well one misstep tells it all. I was covered in mud. Mud oozed into my shoes. Mud dripped from my jeans. Mud caked into the creases of my hands. I tried my best to at least wipe off my hands on a clean spot on my sweater before continuing down to the battlements. I had to get that shot.
You tell me, if it was worth it . . . .
