This one runs from Longview down to the mouth of the Columbia at Astoria. About 60 miles. I filmed it on an overcast morning, which is most mornings out here in June, and the light stayed flat the whole way.

Leaving Longview you head south toward Rainier and Clatskanie, following the Lower Columbia as it widens on its way out to the Pacific.

Rainier and the Lower Columbia

Crossing into Oregon, the river is right beside you in stretches and hidden behind timber and industry in others. Rainier is worth a slow pass: docks, old pilings, working boats. Under cloud the water goes a flat steel color.

Clatskanie Timber Country

Past Rainier the road curves up through timber hills. Mist in the trees, moss on the guardrails, long straightaways with nothing on them. This is logging country and it looks like it.

Approaching the Estuary

Closer to Astoria the bends widen out and the air starts to smell like salt. The Columbia begins behaving like an estuary here, with tidal influence and a lot of bird traffic if you hit it during migration.

Astoria and the Megler Bridge

The Astoria-Megler Bridge comes out of the fog at the end, four miles of steel across to the Washington side. Astoria itself is maritime history, hillside streets, and a working waterfront. The town was here long before any highway reached it.

Distance: about 60 miles Time: 1 to 2 hours, longer if you actually stop Best time: any time of year, though spring and fall are the safer bet for weather