Sunday, January 13, 2008

Astoria's Long and Winding Roads

While out prowling in Svensen and Brownsmead for old canneries, I went down an endless number of intriguing roads. In my quest, it almost seemed to me that all roads in Clatsop County either dead end or loop. So it would seem impossible to actually get lost for more than an hour or two, as it all hooks together in some convoluted way.

As my friend from Kansas, Margot, and I were looping around (literally, not whooping it up with a six-pack) the outback in the Brownsmead area, I mentioned to her that there really ought to be a road map of Clatsop County so we could see where the hell we were and where the hell we were going. Not that it actually mattered, mind you, since we were just wandering around - it just would have been nice to know where.

So a few days later, I called the Clatsop County office and asked if they had a road map of the county available to the public. Well, yes, for $30. Well, no, forget it.

I muddled it over a few days more, and finally it occurred to me to look online. And yes, indeedy, there is a road map of Clatsop County. It's a whopping big file that takes minutes, not seconds to download, and it's a pdf file, which I saved to my hard drive. Now I can just open it in Adobe Reader and zoom in and look at specific areas I want to check out. It's pretty damn nifty. You can get the road map here, just scroll down the page:

Clatsop County Maps

Now that I can actually see where those roads we passed by go, I have to go back and check them out. With the camera, of course.

Click here to see Elleda's photography at the Astoria Photografpix web site

4 comments:

The Guy Who Writes This said...

I think the residents of Brownsmead remove any directional signs because they want visitors to get stuck in their maze, like Brigadoon.

Elleda said...

I think you're right!

Anonymous said...

"As my friend from Kansas, Margot, and I were looping around the outback in the Brownsmead area, I mentioned to her that there really ought to be a road map of Clatsop County so we could see where the hell we were and where the hell we were going."

Oh oh Elleda, you said you were
"looping", which could be construed that you were on a "looper". You may wish to add a disclaimer to this post as "looping" and "looper" are local slang for drinking beer while cruising the back roads of Clatsop County, usually by those under 21. If you search Tryan's NCO blog you will find references to this controversial activity.

Elleda said...

Interesting, Jaypea, and an activity I could have been rightly accused of in rural Connecticut in my misguided youth.

However, in my dotage, it ain't so.