Astoria, Oregon

Small But Oh So Mighty 

A whole lot of history has played out here along the southern banks of the chilly Columbia River, smack where it readies itself to pour into the vast Pacific. But the fattest chapters of Astoria’s history books are those about pioneering men. Men of vision. Men of courage. Men bent on altering the course of history through their own ingenuity and bravery. John Jacob Astor was one of these men. The other two were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who paired up for their tale. Their stories are carved into the redwoods, etched into the stones, whispered in the libraries, and boasted about by those who’ll want to bend your ear during your stay.   

Manly Men 

President Thomas Jefferson was bent on expanding American interests far to the west, in fact all the way to the Pacific. Other nations had been busily developing their fur trades in the region. Britain, Spain and Russia had their eye on the lucrative opportunities. Ultimately, Jefferson received governmental funding for an expedition to be led by U.S. Army Captain Lewis with Clark as his right hand man. These were two very capable guys who didn’t need a GPS to find the Pacific or Sterno to get the night’s fire going. These were manly men who paddled and hacked their way across unexplored wilderness, negotiated with Native Americans by passing out “Indian Peace Medals” as symbols of friendship, and made history all along the way. With them, 27 men and a dog named “Seaman” who all had departed Camp Dubois in 1804 and reached their destination near the mouth of the Columbia River. Their fort, named for the local Native American tribe, was called Fort Clatsop and was their home as of December 23, 1805. They were forced to winter over in this small log barrack till March the following year, a winter during which they rarely saw the sun. Their hoped-for rescue ship never did arrive so, following this horrific winter, the men turned east and virtually retraced their tracks back home. 

Far From Walldorf, Germany 

Johann Jakob Astor was born in the German village of Walldorf, near Heidelberg, in 1763. At the age of 16, he traveled to London to find work and learn English, which served him well in his business life. At 21, he boarded a ship for America. It’s been said that during this crossing, which was extended due to the ship being stuck in ice, Astor became acquainted with another German gentleman who encouraged him to go into the fur trade for there was a fortune to be made. And so he did, in New York, ultimately buying and selling fur for himself with a sizeable business back in England. Astor contracted for pelts from across a vast tract of the US and Canada making him one of the largest traders in America by his mid-forties, around 1809. In 1811, his American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria, the first permanent US settlement on the Pacific coast.

And so … 

Astor’s fur business boomed. He sold furs to China, filled emptied cargo holds there with goods he transported to Europe, which were then replaced with European products bound back to America. Astor even bought his own fleet of ships further cutting out middlemen and increasing his vast fortune. 

Meanwhile, Astoria grew. However, Astor’s Pacific Fur Company ultimately failed. The British purchased the fort and the fur trade in 1813. In 1834, Astor retired from the American Fur Company. He focused his interests instead on real estate, New York real estate in particular. He also went into banking, hotels, the railroad business, money lending, and insurance. It’s said John Jacob Astor was worth (in equivalent US dollars today) $110 billion at his death in 1848. In those days dollars, $20-30 million. He’d become a huge patron of the arts and America’s first millionaire. 

But back in the Pacific Northwest, the British finally pulled up their tent poles in 1846 when the Oregon Treaty relieved them of their rights to the trade. All the details are captured in Washington Irving’s Astoria, written at the request of Astor.  Settlers arrived by the score. Fishing and logging created work for many. Immigrants put down their stakes, as well. 

Today, some 10,000 people call Astoria home. Among the residents are people still associated with fishing, though tourism provides the major source of revenue including visits to nearby Mt. St. Helens, which blew its top 5/18/1980. Visitors poke around the downtown area with its 1920s feel. Victorian homes, brightly painted and landscaped, add color. And moviemakers turn to Astoria for locations. The list of films shot here include Into The Wild, The Black Stallion, Short Circuit, Free Willy, The Goonies, The Ring, Kindergarten Cop, and the ever-popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. Wouldn’t this make Clark Gable proud? He began his acting career here in 1922 at the Astoria Theatre, don’t you know. 

Oh, for the record, Mr. Astor never enjoyed the pleasure of visiting Astoria as you are about to do. 

Dutch Harbor, Alaska

The Friendliest Catch

Dutch Harbor is famous for many things, not least of which is its role as the home port for the popular reality TV series “The Deadliest Catch”. But you might have to consider a new reality after your visit because some think this is also the home of “The Friendliest Batch” of people north of the Lower 48.

But Where Are We?

We are 800 miles southwest of Anchorage on the rugged Bering Sea coast of Unalaska, a spot in the Aleutian Islands chain known as the “Ring of Fire”.

Dutch Harbor sits smack in the heart of the North Pacific and Bering Sea fisheries. It’s home to fewer than 5,000 permanent residents, a number that explodes during the peak fishing season when as many as 6,000 to 10,000 additional workers arrive to roll up their sleeves and tackle the catch. Local leaders are happy to point out that, according to official reports, Dutch Harbor annually retains it’s title as winner of the nation’s “greatest quantity of fish landed” competition. In one season, professional fishermen in something like 400 boats bring in over 750 million pounds of seafood, worth close to $200 million. In their nets, hatches, hulls and cages are a variety of local specialties including herring, halibut, salmon and different types of crab. This mighty haul is handled by five seafood processing factories then shipped to countrymen down south as well as to other destinations worldwide.

Oh, back to “The Deadliest Catch.” If you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of some of the show’s major players like Sig, Keith, Andy, Josh, John and Jake, perhaps even Wild Bill. Although this Discovery Channel hit has been in our homes for ten seasons now, these guys still appreciate their fame and enjoy being recognized.

A Port in the Storm

This little place has long attracted the world’s attention, even before the not-so-well-known film, “Dutch Harbor, Where The Sea Breaks Its Back.” The Aleuts, also known as Unanagan, staked their claim to this bountiful landscape many centuries ago. They were lured here by the fine fishing, which they did from nimble vessels called iqax fashioned from animal skins. According to some specialists, this may have been the prototype for all kayaks that followed. Iqax were fashioned from pieces of driftwood strapped side-by-side with strips of animal sinew then draped with the tanned hides of seals and sea lions. The entire vessel was boiled in seal oil to create a watertight boat capable of riding out some serious seas.

There was other game for these original islanders including sea otters and fur seals, which brought the Russians here in numbers seeking their pelts. That was in the mid-1700s not long before Captain James Cook sailed into the area. He wrote in his logbook, “the waters of Dutch Harbor are ice-free year-round and the spit provides a sheltered anchorage for vessels from the storms of the North Pacific and Bering Sea.”

Time marched on and the U.S. bought Alaska in 1867. Prospectors heading to the Nome Gold Rush provisioned here between 1899 and 1909. World War II left its dark mark as told in the local Museum of the Aleutians and at the Aleutian World War II National Historical Park.

A Look About

Two important landmarks are “must-see’s” for visitors to Dutch Harbor. First is the Church of the Holy Ascension, found at the western end of the little town. It’s bright roof and distinctive architecture hark back to its Russian Orthodox origins. Inside is a collection of fine icons and other memorabilia. More of the same is on view at the Museum, including Aleut artifacts, old photographs, Russian items and objects from the early days of fishing, as well as materiel gathered up from the days of World War II. You’ll learn that this was the only place on American soil, other than Pearl Harbor, that was bombed during the war. In response, American servicemen based here built a runway in only nine days so the U.S. could defend against further attacks.

Well, you’ll hear all about this as you wander about. Locals might even boast about “Trusty Tusty”. “Who’s that,” you ask? It’s not a person, it’s the MV Tustumena that bashes into the rough seas between here and Homer, Alaska serving as the trusty ferry for adventure-seekers and those commuting back and forth. Thankfully, you’ll be stepping back aboard your Crystal ship to tackle these waters in complete comfort.

Magdalen Islands, Canada

It’s All About the Food

Certainly an island archipelago named after a cookie couldn’t be about anything else but food, could it?  But, no.  Îles de la Madeleine, the Magdalen Islands, are actually named after the wife of the seigneur (rather like the landlord) of the islands in 1663.

Remember, though, the Mi’kmaq Indians had been there for generations before Jacques Cartier became the islands’ first European “discoverer” and these rocky islands became part of New France, the name given to all French possessions in North America in the 16th Century.  Thereafter, they were owned by the King of France at least until the British took exception to French ambitions and began their own quest for territory in what is now Eastern Canada.

The Acadians

By the middle of the 18th Century, the islands were occupied principally by descendants of French colonists from the Acadian Peninsula—today’s Nova Scotia.  The Acadians were an interesting group whose culture remains remarkably intact to this day throughout Canada’s Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), as well as Maine and Louisiana.

Mainly city-dwellers, the original sixty families came to North America and settled around the Bay of Fundy.  They were helped and indeed welcomed by the Mi’kmaqs and were able to assimilate many of the native peoples’ techniques for surviving, even thriving, in the sometimes harsh environment.

Acadia was a separate colony of New France, which led to the development of a history, culture, even language distinct from Quebec.  Unfortunately, the colony lay astride the border areas between French and British territorial claims and thus the settlers became victims of the struggles between those two great powers.

The British occupied Acadia in 1710 but were unable to convince the Acadians to give their allegiance to the crown and so, during the French and Indian War, 11,500 Acadians were deported from the region.  Some were settled as far away as Louisiana, where they became known as “cajun”, and still represent a significant sub-culture in bayou country.  Others fled to the Îles de la Madeleine, where their descendants and culture are on display today.

The Dunes

Perhaps the most physically striking aspect of these islands is their topography.  The archipelago itself runs along an undersea ridge formed by an upwelling, miles-thick layer of salt.  The surface of the islands is marked by undulating mounds of earth covered by grasses and wildflowers.  But most unusually, you can actually drive from island to island across long sand dunes that have formed between them, creating an unbroken 60-mile road connecting each to the others.  From the air, these islands look much like a necklace of rocky jewels carelessly tossed on the surface of the sea.  Each island has an abundance of white sand beaches with dunes carpeted by sea grass, reminiscent of Cape Cod.

What is unique in this coastal environment are the red sandstone cliffs slowly being eroded by wind and waves, being carved into sculptures not unlike in the American Southwest.  As you can imagine, days can be spent hiking, cycling, or simply driving from one viewpoint to the next.  Perhaps it’s this dramatic land and seascape that has inspired the artists’ colony that exists here today.  In your explorations you will encounter much of it on display in galleries, shops, and restaurants.

All this beauty is surrounded by a bit of treachery.  The forces that created the unusual linkage between the islands also created a navigational hazard that over the years has claimed at least 400 ships.  Lucky survivors were quickly included in the local population and may have participated in building the lighthouses that eventually reduced the danger to a degree.  These lighthouses have become a welcome sight for seafarers and tourists alike.

The Food

Oh, yes, the food.  In true culinary style, we’ve saved the best for last.  If you’re a foodie, and in particular a seafoodie, the Magdalen Islands will become a dog-eared page in your gastronomic memory book.

Start with the lobster.  Now, there are those who will claim that Maine has no peer when it comes to lobster, and certainly their reputation is deserved.  But the unusual confluence of very cold seawater mixed with fresh water brought from the Great Lakes by the St. Lawrence River has produced, at very least, an exceptionally rare marine environment for lobster fishing.  Connoisseurs of fine lobster will bore you with comparisons as esoteric as afficianados of fine wine.  Nonetheless, these delicate treats from the sea taste great.

Snow crab, scallops, blue mussels, quahogs (large clams), herring, mackerel, Atlantic halibut, American plaice, yellowtail flounder are all commercially fished or farmed around the islands, and the local chefs and Chez could not be happier about it.  In fact, an association, Le bon gout frais des Îles de la Madeleine, the “Flavours Circuits”, has been formed linking producers, processors, and restaurant owners to protect the islands’ well-earned reputation.

Do partake in this culinary adventure while ashore.

Bar Harbor, Maine

Don't say, “Bah Hah-bah”

There’s another “don’t” according to John Steinbeck in his book Travels with Charley.

“Don’t ever ask directions of a Maine native, I was told.”
“Why ever not?”
“Somehow we think it is funny to misdirect people and we don’t smile when we do it, but we laugh inwardly.  It is our nature.”

Plus, you shouldn’t even begin to start the conversation with a local about Maine being a province of Massachusetts until 1820.  That really stirs ‘em up and they’ll definitely send you packing in the wrong direction!

And Speaking of Lost

The Vikings.  They were really far from home when they found themselves sailing along the coastline of North America some 500 years before any other navigator from Europe arrived.  At least this is what the legend says.  And scientists confirm that the celebrated Norsemen did carve out primitive settlements in parts of Canada.  Some believe they even came ashore in Maine, as well, during the 11th century.  But what is known is that John Cabot, the British explorer who sailed from Britain in 1497 under orders of Henry VII to discover a route to the rich Far East, did ply these waters.  He was searching for the Northwest Passage, to be exact.  Instead, he found Maine.  Nonetheless, because of his discovery the British laid claim to North America so, all in all, Champlain was pretty happy.

Native American Algonquins, known as Abenaki, were already here.  They were members of the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes.  The British followed and founded a colony in 1607, but floundered a bit.  The French, German, and Scots-Irish followed.  Ultimately, it was John Smith who recorded the coves and islands of Maine’s rugged coastline.  You remember that he’s the lad who owes his life to Pocahontas.  Well, based on his hard work, viable settlements grew.

Shots Were Fired

Throughout the 17th century, the English colonists of Maine wrangled with French colonists from Quebec, assisted in their efforts by local tribes.  Peace was won only after many hard-fought battles.  1759 was the year the warring factions fired their last shots on Quebec’s Plain of Abraham.

Following the 1820 Missouri Compromise, the proud state of Maine joined the union as its 23rd state.  And something called the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, signed in 1842, demarcated Maine’s official border with Canada’s New Brunswick.

The State Today

Maine residents like to protect their well-kept secret that their state is as large as the five other New England states combined.  But, fewer people live in Maine than in any of those other states.  In fact, there are fewer than 1,500,000 residents in the entire state.  Factor in the five million visitors who arrive each year to enjoy the woods and waters of Maine, and it is just about a perfect destination.

Mount Desert Island

Odd name, that.  But, supposedly, Samuel Champlain declared this speck of land “L’ile des Monts Déserts.”  The French explorer had spotted Cadillac Mountain and remarked about its barren peak.  Never mind, he was famous enough to get a big lake named after him.

Bar Harbor is found on Mt. Desert Island.  The island measures 108 square miles and is remarkably unspoiled and lush despite Champlain’s decree.  The Jesuits were the first to set up camp on the island.  Within one short month, the British destroyed it.  For the next one and one half centuries, the French and the British fought over control of the island.  Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French fellow, was given the island in the 17th century by Canada.  He spent just one summer here before traveling west to create the city of Detroit.  (See the connection to the car?)

English colonists arrived by the score and controlled Mt. Desert Island until the 1783 Treaty of Versailles established the border between Canada and the US by acknowledging the Thirteen Colonies’ independence from Britain.

Bar Harbor Today

Today, Bar Harbor is home to 5,000 people.  Many support the tourism infrastructure for visitors coming to explore Acadia National Park.  Some 35,000 acres now belong to the park system.  Nearly one-third of this land was the generous gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr. who also created the fifty miles of carriage paths built so everyone had access to the wilderness.

Rich with history, blessed by Mother Nature’s bounty, Bar Harbor is picture-postcard-perfect.  Enjoy it all, including grilled lobster drizzled with hot butter.  You won’t soon forget its joy.