More Lewis and Clark

Near Hermiston we discovered Hat Rock State Park. On the Columbia River, the nearby formations were documented in the logs of the Corps of Discovery Expedition. The formations are basalt, basically cooled and hardened lava from volcanoes that were active centuries ago. As the basalt is so much harder than the material that formed the volcano cones, the cones have eroded away just leaving the basalt columns.

Mentioned in Lewis and Clark’s journals, hat rock is a particularly unique basalt formation. The fashionable headwear for men at the time was a beaver skin hat. With a broad brim, the center of the hat was not unlike the look of a formal top hat. Lewis and Clark penned the name “Hat Rock”, and it stuck.

The actual Oregon Trail passed very nearby Hat Rock State Park. We

stumbled upon it several times as we made our way across northern Oregon on our way to Yakima Washington. At many of the stops we were able to see the actual ruts made by the wagon trains as they made their way West to their new life. It was weird to stand in the actual ruts, and see them stretch as far as the eye could see in both directions. 

Nearby we visited perhaps the best example of unbelievably successful web-based advertising. The City of Echo Oregon was founded around 1880. On the Umatilla River, it would eventually become the primary route for the Oregon Trail, brining thousands of eager Americans to the Western lands opened by Lewis and Clark. The Lower Crossing Camp where wagon trains crossed the Umatilla River was at Echo, where Fort Henrietta was built to protect the pioneers on the Trail.

The town of Echo is on the National Register of Historic Places. A dozen buildings in the town are also on the National Register. However, when we were there, there was one café that was open, and no other retail businesses whatsoever. We walked around the entire town, read all the informational signs on the historic buildings, and visited the site where Oregon Trail travelers crossed the river. In all, that maybe took a half hour. But, if you Google the City of Echo, you would expect it to be just an awesome place to visit – nice work!

Talk to you soon.