Archives for August 2016

Beachside State Recreation Area

August 28, 2016 By drpaddle 2 Comments

Return with me now to last month’s sojourn down-and-up the Oregon Coast, okay? Our second stop on the southbound leg was at Beachside State Recreation Area, just south of Waldport, Oregon. This would be only 3.5 hours (or so) of driving from our first campsite at Nehalem Bay State Park, so we took our time — stopping after only an hour to check out this nice rest area.

Just south of Tillamook, we hit a small but inviting rest area to walk the terriers and humans. It was one of the nicest we've seen.

Just south of Tillamook, we found a small but inviting rest area to walk the terriers and humans. It was one of the nicest we’ve seen.

See what I mean? Creek, meadow, split-rail fence, wildflowers, and very few people. Nice rest area.

Sooz caught some nice views on the way south from Nehalem Bay to Beachside. This one was just outside Depot Bay, Oregon. You can see what lousy weather we were having.

Sooz caught some nice views on the way south from Nehalem Bay to Beachside. This one was just outside Depot Bay, Oregon, which features the “World’s Smallest Harbor.” This is not the harbor, though. You can see what lousy weather we were having.

Back on the road and soon we reached our destination. I couldn’t remember exactly what kind of campsite I had reserved — surely the best I could manage, but it’s always a crapshoot. Anyway, we were really pleased to find:

This is site 64 at Beachside State Recreation Area. One site — 63 — looked even more inviting, if that’s possible. No complaints here, though. Only a little dune grass (“under restoration”) separated us from the sand.

It was an interesting, three-night visit. We have family and friends in the area, so there was plenty of socializing. We spent our spare time staring at and/or walking on the sand. The campground abuts seven uninterrupted miles of beach-walking bliss (the interruptions in this part of the world are usually river or bay mouths). I think we did the only true fitness-type walking of our trip while at this campground.

The view from Toto’s rear window. We did not tire of it.

I guess you can’t really do a coastal trip without running into kites. One breezy day, while a longtime friend from back in our Apple Computer days in the 80s and 90s visited with us at the campground, these popped up. Or flew up.

You know you’re on vacation when you take the time to make kite images. These kits were amazing! Yuge. Fantastic. You wouldn’t believe.

Beachside is a smaller campground, and doesn’t have much in the way of Day Use facilities. Maybe that’s why it’s called a State Recreation Area and not a State Park. It was the quietest of the places we visited, and that might be why it was one of our favorites.

From the beach, Toto looked like a large RV, unless you included other RVs in the picture. Most of the campsites nestle in the grove of cypress-ish trees seen here, and they look quite pleasant, too -- though the back row would be too close to U.S. Route 101 for my taste.

From the beach, Toto looked like a large RV — or at least not a tiny one — unless you included other RVs in the picture. Most of the campsites nestle in the grove of cypress-ish trees seen here, and they look quite pleasant, too — though the back row would be too close to U.S. Route 101 for my taste.

What’s not to like about a broad, flat, sandy beach? And a campsite that offers this view?

We heard about a food truck in nearby Waldport that has top-rated burgers. But Chubby Burgers closed an hour before we got there. We’ll have to try it another time.

Beachside doesn’t have sewer hookups or a dump station, but the State Parks let you use one at any park you like when you head out. Our next stop — at Bullard’s Beach State Park near Bandon — would have full hookups and was only a three-hour drive south. So we skipped that step, and didn’t miss it a bit.

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Ohanapecosh, out of order

August 26, 2016 By drpaddle 4 Comments

There is so much more to tell about our Oregon coast trip last month, but at the moment, while it’s fresh, here’s a quick take on the Ohanapecosh campground, in the southeast corner of Mount Rainier National Park.

U.S. National Parks, as you probably know, aren’t very accommodating to dogs. The reasons for this have been debated elsewhere, but it is what it is, so… when you take Cairn terriers camping to Mount Rainier, it’s mostly about the campground and its immediate environs. Dogs aren’t really allowed outside campgrounds, vehicles and parking lots. That’s it.

But our pals from Port Townsend have sung the praises of Ohanapecosh to us for many moons, and we had a few days in late August to kill. So there we went.

Southeast entrance, Mount Rainier National Park. Our destination was just a few miles up the road from here.

From our hovel in Gig Harbor, there are few ways to drive to Ohanapecosh: the fast way — one that involves Cayuse Pass and what our Mountain Directory books calls “a narrow, winding, bumpy road” and a number of drop-offs that cause Sooz to begin singing hymns and Wally to whimper — or either of two slower ways. For this trip we tried the two slower ways, both of which require driving south to the west of the park, then turning east and heading back up north a few miles from the White Pass Scenic Byway (Washington state route 12). State route 123 gets you from route 12 up to the park entrance and, just a few miles beyond, Ohanapecosh.

You get there, you find your campsite, you park, you hear the river rapids below. You’re in old-growth forest: Western Redcedar, Douglas fir, all the usual suspects. Crows call out (surely, they follow us around from campsite to campsite).

Our campsite overlooking the river, before the pushy neighbors showed up.

The campsites are fairly large, though the parking pads, not so much. And the roads through the campground loops are perhaps a little bit twistier than some places we have been. Not a problem for our little rig, but the campground says it can’t accommodate motorhomes over 32 feet long or trailers over 28 feet long. That sounds about right.

At any rate, our campsite (C-8), was at pretty much right angles to the loop road, and maneuvering into it required some fairly sharp turning. A little too sharp, at one point.

Every good campsite has its price. In this case… a tail light lens. So glad that’s all it cost!

BANG went the tail light lens, when pressed upon by one of the lock clasps on our front storage box. At least we were alerted by a $59 lens and not hundreds-of-dollars’-worth of fender. Ooops. As you might guess, this incident led to lengthy discussions and plentiful Internet research about parking methods, teamwork, the cost of divorce lawyers vs. the cost of auto body shop repairs, etc.

Seriously, just an inexpensive lesson learned about just how acutely Toto and TinMan can angle their way in or out of somewhere. And I really did find some helpful new tips online that will even simplify poking Toto into his cozy beside-the-house storage slot.

So. We were camping, right? Yes. The sites were designed, I think, when tents were almost universally used. Firepits and picnic tables were back behind parking pads instead of beside them, and were placed so haphazardly that the rangers had decided to mark each firepit or picnic table with a site number. Every site also has a food locker to discourage critters from consuming junk food.

Our sit's fire pit had a nice view of some Ohanapecosh River rapids. Really pleasant. We spent two evenings here, warming our toes and sipping something-or-other. Also, baseball on the radio!

Our site’s fire pit had a nice view of some Ohanapecosh River rapids. Really pleasant. We spent two evenings here, warming our toes and sipping something-or-other. Also, baseball on the radio!

There are plenty of sites in the woods, along creeks, and — in a few cases — alongside the Ohanapecosh River.

A bridge spans the river, bisects the campground, and offers a nice peek upstream. This is bear country — they made us lock up our food and cooking appliances — and so, well, shouldn’t there be a bear (or three) in this picture? We thought so.

For better or for worse, our site along the C loop was quite close to a vaguely designated Day Use Area.

Parts of the river in front of us were calm; these shallows have been identified by park visitors as the Day Use Area. “Day Use Area” is an Anglo-American phrase meaning “Place for kids, and some adults, to scream as loudly as possible.”

The river just below our campsite offered some nice views, white-noise-producing rapids, and relatively serene (if chilly) swimming holes.

When not covered by Day Users on Holiday, these rocks made nice perches for contemplation.

Just upstream from The Shallows Day Use Area is The Pool Day Use Area. The main difference between the two areas is the loudness of the splashes emanating from them. I believe the screaming produced by the Splashers may have been louder here, too — but maybe not.

Not so many Day Users in the rapids. Just your regular River Roar sound -- all those river rapids sound alike, don't they?

Not so many Day Users in the rapids. Just your regular roaring rapids sound. All those river rapids sound alike, don’t they?

Ohanapecosh, for us, poses the question: How do we want to consume Natural Beauty?

Ohanapecosh is open for only about three months in summer — the rest of the time it’s under many feet of snow. That means there really is no “off-season” time we can visit — say, when school is in session. It’s a beautiful place. But, in our culture, beautiful places appeal not only to nature nerds, but to families with happily shouting young children, party-prone young adults, and other distractions. Hey, they pay their taxes, they have a right to be here, and enjoy it in their own way. But it does cut into our enjoyment. This is the price we pay for not being backpackers or wealthy landowners.

We have longtime friends — much more fit and agile than are we — who regularly do back-country hikes. They also take great pictures! They get to experience nature at its grandest, perhaps. We can approximate their experience on short day hikes, but with the terriers in tow they do have to be short.

Anyway, it’s a topic worth exploring, and one we have revisited frequently since our 3-week, peak-season Oregon coast trip. How to optimize RV-related joy. Hmmmm.

Well, there’s this approach: the short day hike, experienced early in the morning when it’s uncrowded. This was a lovely walk, right from the campground.

We had some ambitious (for us) hiking plans, but various developments limited us to just this one. It was fine. I took some photos of various nature sights along the way, but all the photos were lousy. I mean worse than my usual. So I’ll spare you.

What we missed: A two-mile loop hike to Silver Falls departs right from the campground, and a stroll through something called the Grove of the Patriarchs is a short drive away. Next time.

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Oregon Coast: Nehalem Bay State Park

August 18, 2016 By drpaddle Leave a Comment

Last month we took a three-week trip down — and back up — the Oregon coast. We are not lovers of hot weather, so we figured midsummer is the right time to head for the coast. We tried to prepare for a mix of weather — from socked in to sultry — and we were rewarded.

First stop:

Our Oregon coast trip began here. It’s a lovely park, and probably lovelier in the off-season.

This park occupies a good portion of a long sand spit that splits the Pacific Ocean and Nehalem Bay, on the northern Oregon coast. It was a five-hour drive for us — we don’t go very fast, especially over hills and around curves, and the route offered plenty of both. Also, I missed a turn and that cost us 20 minutes. Oops.

It was July, so the campground was packed with happy vacationers of all ages. Many parts of the campground seemed overcrowded — lots of people in every site, lots of cars — but we were luckily in a quieter corner. So glad to kick back after a long day’s drive.

We relaxed that first night — Sooz had wisely put some easy-to-fix leftover in the fridge, and we dumped it into the kitchen sink at a rest area so it would be fully thawed by dinnertime. Next morning, we explored. And found many things.

There is a horse camping facility at the park, and I think they allow humans to accompany the horses. The humans we saw didn’t seem capable of reading these signs.

The Day Use area would seem to be like the beach by the campground… but nesting Snowy Plovers mean no canines allowed. Horses are allowed… apparently horses are not a threat to Snowy Plovers as long as they stay on the wet sand. But I promise you Wally is a threat. He could deafen them with barking, all the way from the wet sand to the dunes.

Next, we went back to the campsite and explored the nearby beach — just over the dunes, we assumed, from our dune-front site.

My Internet Research had not revealed that the dunes are 5,700 feet high (I could be exaggerating). But it’s not hyperbole to say: Impossibly. Soft. Sand. Pay not attention to that blue thing in Sooz’s hand.

I walked Wally, and Sooz walked Tyler, which by definition means I was a few dozen yards ahead of Sooz. Wally wants to get there; Tyler enjoys the journey.

I saw this; Wally is too short, and the wind blew the scent away from him.

Caught in the act of dune-grazing.

… and then we got to the sand. The dogs — 8 and 9 years old, respectively — turned into puppies.

After the trek over the dunes, Sooz and I were ready for a nap, or a massage, or something. Tyler too (on the left). But Wally? Ready for Digging Adventure.

Yes, that is Tyler, behaving as he had in puppyhood: pensive. And Wally, behaving as he had in puppyhood: disruptive. He should have been in software marketing.

“Dad! Dad! I’m eating sand! YESSSSS!”

That evening, Sooz and I made our second attempt at Dutch oven cooking. This was a modest effort (on my part): I just managed the oven. Sooz prepped the pizza. We made two — one to cook indirectly on the grill, and one to bake in the Dutch oven.

The gourmet pizza pies, ready for the dutch oven. Apparently Sooz put an ingredient called "Mondavi" in the pizza.

The gourmet pizza pies, ready for the dutch oven and the grill. Apparently an ingredient called “Mondavi” goes in the pizza.

This was our very first Dutch oven cook while camping. We had tried a pot roast at home… it didn’t come out so well. We blame the recipe! Anyway if you could see through this lid you’d see pizza baking.

Voila. The pizza came out quite good! You might notice here that the pepperoni slices are a little askew. I didn’t notice it at all, but you might.

The next day I took a bike ride on the 2-mile loop that runs from the campground out to Nehalem Bay and back. Then even later Sooz joined me and we walked the dogs around the same loop.

Great 2-mile trail begins and ends at the campground. Most of it’s paved, but watch for root-raised bumps and a washed-out section near the bay.

Along the path: runway 33. Sooz and I discussed why this is also runway 15, if you turn it upside down.

Along the path: runway 33. Sooz and I discussed why this is also runway 15, if you look the other direction.

Just beyond the runway, the path arrives at Nehalem Bay.

The rest of the path traverses a sunlight-dappled forest through low, rolling hills. You can’t go fast on a bike, due to the aforementioned bumps; even the doggie stroller bounced around some. Nice path though.

…and those are our Nehalem Bay State Park highlights for today. We enjoyed our stay, but were anxious to move on to our next, highly anticipated, ocean-view campsite at Beachside State Park. Please do stay tuned for our report.

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Walking Fort Worden State Park

August 16, 2016 By drpaddle 4 Comments

There are abundant walking opportunities around Fort Worden State Park. We took two walks — a short one and a shorter one — from our deluxe campsite in the Beach campground. The shorter one is just around the campground.

This path runs atop the dunes bordering the beach campground.

This path offers the same old boring stunning stupendous views we’ve already discussed. Note, however, that if you are a Cairn terrier you are not going to see these views because the dune grass blocks them.

Admiralty Inlet and Whidbey Island from the Fort Worden beach campground.

… unless you can get a ride.

Winded at this point, the terriers ride along the dune-top trail.

This shorter walk was ideal for day of arrival. The next day, we were going to go for a longer walk, and maybe we did. Or maybe we entertained some locals (friends we met last year) and went for our walk the next day. Yes, that was it — I remember them recommending a hike around the fort’s batteries. We followed their advice.

Meadows. Forest. Terriers. Fort Worden is a BIG park, so we took long walks.

We took the doggies up a fairly steep path to get to this collection of woods and meadows and gun emplacements. The hill was maybe a little too steep to do with a doggie stroller, but that’s a pattern I’m getting used to. Good exercise.

One of a series of batteries we strolled by with the boys (and their stroller).

We walked about three miles that day. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it’s about the max we can do with the stroller and the terriers. Without them, I think we could probably manage 3.25 miles…

Tyler and Wally wanted to go spelunking under a deteriorating structure. I’m afraid we had to discourage them.

The aging structure in question has been a theatrer and a supply depot. Now a vacation rental for termites.

The aging structure in question has been a theater and a supply depot. Now a vacation rental for termites.

This led to some frustration on Wally's part.

Our reluctance to loose the hounds under the building led to some frustration on Wally’s part.

We did find a place for Wally to chill a little.

Meditation garden, just down from the batteries. No wars were actually fought at the fort, so there was plenty of time for contemplation, I guess.

…. and so, after a few wrong turns and an accidental tour of the barracks area of the park, we headed back to the campground.

I tried but failed to tire of this view. It turns out failure is an option after all.

Wow, I am all the way caught up with writing about our travels, except for a just-completed six-campground trip down, and up, the Oregon Coast. I will get right on it.

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Lured to Port Townsend, tricked into staying

August 14, 2016 By drpaddle 3 Comments

This mural adorns a building in Port Townsend’s Yacht Haven district. Nice.

We have been to Port Townsend before — many times, in fact. It’s less than two hours from home (we used to live even closer), and it has lots of boats and sights and restaurants and shops and culture and a Wooden Boat Festival complete with sing-it-yourself sea shanties. It also has a ferry terminal we use to get to Whidbey Island and points north and east.

There’s always a reason to go. Here’s another: Fort Worden State Park, one of Washington’s premier parks. Camping, trails, beach strolling, kayaking, history, and lots of fresh air, and even a new brew-pub-looking place serving food and beverages. For us, a bonus: we know some people who live in Port Townsend, so we can obtain Local Knowledge, and maybe a free beer. It could happen.

Also, eye candy:

Eye Candy everywhere. Pt. Wilson lighthouse, Admiralty Inlet, Whidbey Island, distant Cascades, and some kelp. Not a bad place for a stroll.

Just over a low dune from this vantage point: our campsite at one of the park’s two campgrounds, just a few weeks ago in late June. It was a pull-through site with full hookups — although the way the site was configured, our sewer hose wouldn’t reach. (The more camping we do, the more I think pull-through sites are best for motor homes and coaches; back-in sites seem to work better for towables like Toto.) We opted to be cautious with liquids and waited until the day we left to dump, and that worked fine.

Admiralty Inlet is just over the dunes there. Yes, we had an ocean view if we stood on the truck.

The Beach Campground is just fine. Squeaky-clean bathrooms and showers, well-spaced sites, lots to do within walking distance. You can reserve, I think, up to a year in advance; we got our site (I would call it a preferred site, one of the best) about 9 months in advance.

Sense of solitude: Not available in this campground. But all the campers were laid-back and the sites are well-spaced.

Note: staying here (or anywhere near the north end of Whidbey Island) means the occasional overflight of subsonic military aircraft. Those navy pilots are flying around honing their skills and probably shooting high-speed photos of attractive RVs. Possibly. Anyway there is a little noise from these and it can make terrier eyes get bigger and rounder. Good to see our pilots helping to protect us all from evil despots and imperialist governments or maybe space aliens. It could happen!

Some sights around the park:

A Marine Science Center ($5 donation) awaits those who long to touch sea stars.

A Marine Science Center ($5 donation) awaits at the end of a pier, for those who long to touch sea stars.

Mount Constitution (on Orcas Island in the San Juans) is the long, flat ridge in the far distance on the right. We’ll take Toto there someday, too.

Point Wilson Lighthouse, Fort Worden State Park

The park was a fort, once. We took Wally and Tyler, our intrepid terriers, on a longer-than-expected walk through some of the fortlike trappings, and will soon report on that stroll. For the moment, though:

In about 18 months of Toto travel (so far), Fort Worden is Sooz’s favorite. Works for me too.

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