Nehalem Bay State Park- Manzanita, ORSep 15, 2009
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Astoria Megler Bride from downtown Astoria
This gives an idea of the bridge height
The Oregon end of the bridge
The trip from Dash Point to Manzanita on the Oregon coast is basically south on the I-5, then west on SR-30 from Longview to Astoria and finally south from Astoria along the coast on the Oregon Coast Highway or US-101.
Weather was good and we made reasonable time, stopping in an I-5 rest stop for lunch. We gassed the motor home in Astoria and on the way out of town, encountered the biggest bridge we've seen. The Astoria-Megler Bridge stretches across the mouth of the Columbia River from Washington to Oregon. The bridge is said to have the longest single span truss in the world and has been built to withstand 150 mph winds that sometimes blow through the area. There are lots of ocean going container ships that go up and down the Columbia, and they all pass under that one long span.
Once past Astoria, the road narrows and after the town of Seaside becomes the winding and hilly road that US101 is famous for. As a result, while Elaine was sitting in the passenger seat, watching the view and saying "Oh my God!" every few minutes, Graham was unable to look at the scenery due to the need to keep eyes on the road.
We arrived at Nehalem Bay State Park and set up camp at site C36. The campground is clean and the sites are big. Our site backed onto the sand dunes that separate the campground from the beach. These dunes provide a windbreak as well as a sound break. You can hear the surf, but not intrusively. We spent time on the beach with the dogs after setting up. They loved it.
