Fort Vancouver

Today we went to explore reconstructed Fort Vancouver along the Columbia River. It's one of the National Park Service Historic sites. They have a really great audio tour that walks you around the restored fort. Established for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1825, the Fort was the fur-gathering center of the northern Pacific Coast.

This was the Chief Factor's Residence where Dr. John McLoughlin and his family lived. McLoughlin has come to be called the "Father of Oregon."

This is a view of the Fort and the palisade looking across the kitchen garden, planted with the same varieties that were grown during its heyday.

The British flag of Hudsons Bay Company flying in the breeze this afternoon --

We toured the bakehouse, the carpentry shop. the counting house, the dispensary, the Indian Trade Shop, the jail, the blacksmith shop (where two volunteers were actually working), and the bastion (the corner building that is two stories high and houses the cannons that were used to salute arriving ships). By then I was tired! That's a LOT of walking!