“…may your bones bleach in these sands.”

The Peter Iredale was a four-masted ship that ran ashore on Clatsop Split in northwestern Oregon on October 25, 1906. When Captain H. Lawrence and his crew (as well as two stowaways) had been safely rescued, Capt. Lawrence is reported to have saluted the ship and said, “May God bless you and may your bones bleach in these sands.”

And then they drank.

Almost exactly 115 years later, the bones of the Peter Iredale are still bleaching — or at least rusting — in the sands of Clatsop Spit, inside Ft. Stevens State Park. Yesterday I shared a photograph I took of the Astoria-Megler Bridge a couple weekends ago. I actually took this picture earlier in the evening. In fact, I went to the shipwreck right after checking in at Ft. Stevens but before I went to my campsite; I wanted to photograph the Iredale while the area was still socked in with fog. Also like yesterday’s photo, this is a long exposure: a full 30 seconds. In both cases I relied on my Induro tripod to keep the camera rock steady, but with this shot the tripod and my sneakered feet were-ankle deep in seawater.

Location: Ft. Stevens State Park, Oregon

Exposure: 30 seconds, f/16, ISO 320

Focal Length: 30 mm

Gear:

  • Camera: Nikon D850

  • Lens: Tamron 17-35 mm f/2.8-4

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The Fog Clears in Astoria

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Astoria-Megler Bridge in the Fog