The Oregon Trail

Why is it called Cape Disappointment? In 1788, while in search of the Columbia River, English Captain John Meares missed the passage over the river bar and named the nearby land Cape Disappointment for his failure in finding the river.

The NP is called Lewis and Clark because they finished their expedition there. In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at Cape Disappointment. Here they finished their mission of traveling across the country to the Pacific Ocean.

We were camping in some campground with a nice bathroom and decided to go to the beach.

When we got there there were TONS of forts made out of driftwood. Me and Dad picked one and upgraded it with a balcony. Then we went to Lewis and Clark National Park to get a junior ranger badge. I think I have 10 badges now.

In 1862 the government put cannons in Cape Disappointment to defend against the confederates in the civil war. The place was expanded to make Fort Canby in 1875, and continued to be improved until the end of WWII. There is even some artillery still there!

There was also a lighthouse there! The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was built in 1856 to warn people about the treacherous river  known as “the graveyard of the Pacific.” This is the oldest functioning lighthouse in the US! I also saw a snake there.