Wandering around Fort Stevens State Park

This is our first stay ever at an Oregon State Park. These parks are highly regarded by campground reviewers from all over, but you know how that goes: it could have all been propaganda. Oregon funds its parks, in part, from state lottery income. Hey, I can buy a Lotto ticket and not feel like I’ve thrown my money away. Not completely, anyway. And I could win.

All that park praise wasn’t propaganda. The place is beautifully maintained, packed with amenities, and even reasonably priced. We paid only $29 per night for our campsite with electricity and water hookups (no sewer, but they have a dump station; its use is included in the campsite fee).

Everything was spotless. The bathrooms were clean, the showers were hot (No extra fee for showers! Miracle!), the firewood was delivered to your campsite (for a fee).

This patriotic cart will bring bundles of firewood and kindling to your campsite, for a price. The people driving the cart were so friendly I can’t stand it.

A five-minute walk (on your own; fifteen minutes if you’re walking Tyler) from campsite O-01 is Coffenbury Lake. It’s surrounded by woodland (Sitka spruce and red alder, I read somewhere) and a narrow  yet semi-paved trail winds all the way around it. Wally and I were both limping this day so we did not go all the way around, but it looked to be a fun and easy stroll.

Honestly, it’s a pond. It’s not large enough to be called a lake. Yet it’s called Coffenbury Lake. Note the discoloration near the shore; it’s some kind of algae. Don’t drink the water!

I’m not going to win any wildlife photography awards, but I can assure you that a variety of birds like hanging around Coffenbury Lake and the surrounding woods. I heard (but did not see) a belted kingfisher, and this spotted towhee held still long enough for me to collect dozens of blurry pictures.

Why does this Spotted Towhee look so annoyed?

Note the blue skies in these pictures. It’s October, people, in the northwest, and it’s not raining. Yet.

Across the lane from the main campground… YurtWorld! I noticed the “campers” in this area had better-looking hair. Honest.

I passed YurtWorld several times, on a fairly long walk between our campsite and the garbage/recycling center. Not really conveniently located (to our site), but well organized. And it’s probably good exercise for us RVers to walk our garbage in addition to our dogs.

Also, along this same route:

This is a clue that someone, nearby, doesn’t let wilderness camping get in the way of their TV habit.

Having gone to great lengths to arrange for TV-watching inside our tiny trailer, I don’t dare poke fun at others who have more space in their RVs and possibly their budgets. Still, it makes me giggle when I see this — not at the owners of this particular dish, but at us human beings in general. As a species, we amuse me.

Back out by Coffenbury Lake again, I noticed this.

If you ever get yourself to Fort Stevens State Park, this is what the moon is going to look like.

Here is a thing. I cannot separate camping from Tyler and Wally. They are part of the experience. I think it’s because I’m away from my daily routine and I spend more time just looking at them.

What is Wally thinking? I’d like to know.

Stay tuned for more of the park. There will be an enormous river, some old guns, a cleverly named bay and, possibly, zombies.