From its great height of 125 feet, visitors can climb 164 steps within the Astoria Column to gain beautiful views of the city of Astoria, Oregon. To the West is the Pacific Ocean. To the East the volcanoes of the Cascades lift their mighty heads. To the North is the Columbia River. And to the South is Saddleback Mountain. For 80 years the Astoria Column has served as a beacon on the Pacific Northwest Coast. It sits in a wooded area 600 feet above sea level on Coxcomb Hill.

We had just entered Oregon from the State of Washington earlier on Saturday, September 7th and were visiting some of the sites of interest for the area. Climbing the 164 steps of the circular stairway was a challenging task. . .but it was worth the effort to look out on that panorama of countryside. Flat accompanied us up the column and took in the views, as did we. However, Flat seemed to have made the trip much more easily than we did. He was breathing normally, as always, while we were panting from the effort expended. Maybe that’s because we carry him everywhere.

When we returned to the base of the column we were taking some pictures of the column and of Flat and had the opportunity to meet a new friend. Dilly the deer, and her very good friend, Savannah, accompanied by Savannah’s grandmother were chatting with us about traveling companions. Flat wanted to have his picture taken with Dilly, so we complied with his wishes. He also wants to thank Savannah for introducing him to Dilly and he hopes that Dilly and Savannah can have many more exciting adventures like he’s having with us.