We spent nine more days at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River. This time on the Oregon side at Fort Stevens State Park. With almost 500 camp sites, miles of trails, miles of beach, an old military fort, a couple of lakes, an old ship wreck, and all kinds of other things, this is one of the biggest state parks in the US.
Winter has arrived in the Pacific NW. It rained more often than not. Usually the rain was accompanied with gusty winds. With temperatures in the 50s, getting chilled happened fast. The days are noticeably shorter and we are fighting “hibernation mode”. However, we still managed to get out a few times and have some fun.
Windy and wet…yuck!
It’s “shoulder season”…our favorite time of year! There are few people out playing and camping. The trails are empty. The beaches and lakes are serene. Campsites are vacant and it’s peaceful. The two large campground loops next to us were closed for the season. The two loops combined were .6 mile (1km) long and had over 100 campsites. It was a perfect place to walk our four-legged friend a couple of times a day. We often saw deer wandering around the empty campsites early and late each day. It was very nice.
Empty campsites and empty parking lot at the lake…“shoulder season” is here!
There was a freshwater lake, Coffenberry Lake, just a mile from our “home”. The lake had perch, largemouth bass, and rainbow trout. One morning we launched the kayaks and spent a few hours fly-fishing. I caught many small perch and bass (3 or 4 inches long). Shortly before calling it quits, I changed my tactic and caught two very nice rainbow trout (15 and 17 inches long). Arleen seasoned them up and had them on the grill about an hour after they were caught…they were excellent!
We haven’t ridden our bikes as much due to the weather, but did go on a couple of rides. You can do 15-20 miles, mostly on paved trails, and never leave the park. And there’s plenty to see with the “payoffs” being the beach, the south jetty, and the remnants of the old Fort Stevens military post ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Stevens_%28Oregon%29 ). The trails were in excellent shape and we had them to ourselves. It was great!
Fort Stevens military post built in the 1860s to protect the mouth of the Columbia River
We caught another spectacular sunset on the beach. This time we were near the wreck of the Peter Iredale ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Iredale ). The dramatic sky and haunting ship wreck made it an unforgettable place to fly the kite.
We did a couple of day trips. We enjoyed Astoria. The “Twilight Eagle Sanctuary” just east of Astoria is “the best place to see eagles”. They must have migrated because we didn’t see any! The rainbow over the Columbia River made up for the lack of critters…it was pretty. We stopped at the docks to check out the sea lions. Arleen got pretty close. The sea lions were vocal but either focused on each other or just lounged on the dock.
The highlight of our stay in the Fort Stevens area was a day trip to Seaside and Ecola State Park. We enjoyed the Seaside Aquarium. It was a blast watching Arleen feed the seals! The seals are “hams” when they hope to get a treat. They smack their flippers, splash, and get pretty vocal. We also learned quite a bit about the area sea life. It was worth the $7.50 admission.
Ecola State Park located between Seaside and Cannon Beach, was spectacular! The main part of the park is hundreds of feet above the ocean on a point with great views both north and south. Hit it on a good weather day, and you will see one of the prettiest views along the coast. We hiked the 1.5 mile “strenuous for experienced hikers only” trail down to Crescent Beach just south of the point. The trail was slick and steep in spots, but manageable at a slow, careful pace. We had the large, beautiful beach to ourselves! We lingered on the beach for at least an hour and a half checking out the tide pools and taking pictures of the amazing scenery.
On Crescent Beach looking up towards the point where we started.
The view from Ecola State Park. We hiked down to the big beach on the left, Crescent Beach. Cannon Beach is the next one to the south.
Arleen temporarily trapped on the rocks after a big wave came in.
The sea stacks at Crescent Beach.
On our search for the best clam chowder, we sampled chowder at “Doogers” in Warrenton, “Charlie’s Chowder House” in Astoria, “Baked Alaska” in Astoria, and “Cecil’s Trolley Stop” in Astoria. These chowders were all good, but a slight nod goes to Charlie’s who had the most and largest pieces of clams. Both “Cecil’s” and “Baked Alaska” are right on the Columbia River and are great places to enjoy good food and a great view. So far Castaways in Long Beach has the best clam chowder. Other restaurants in the area that we enjoyed were “Pig ‘N Pancake”, “Bagels by the Sea”, and “T Paul’s Urban Café”.
We really enjoyed the Astoria Riverfront Trolley ( http://homepage.mac.com/cearl/trolley/ ). It might be the best deal you can get for $1 or $2! For $1 you can ride once as long as you want. For $2 you can get on and off wherever you want all day long. The trolley is run by volunteers on a 2.6 mile track along the Columbia River through the heart of Astoria. The conductors are great story tellers and share their vast knowledge of the area. The trolley delivered us to three of the chowder places we sampled. With the GPS function on the trolley’s web page, we knew exactly when and where to catch it every time.
Riding the trolley under the Astoria bridge. Arleen flagging down the trolley outside of Cecil’s.
The Pacific NW has prime conditions for mushrooms. A ranger at Fort Stevens State Park hosts a class and a hike focused on identifying them. Now we feel comfortable picking a few and will hunt for them as we migrate south along the coast.
One of the things that we are looking forward to during our journey across the country is seeing family and reconnecting with old friends. One of Arleen’s best friends from high school lives near Portland. On Sunday Monica met Arleen in Seaside and they had a great time catching up. It had been 25 years since they had seen each other!
Poor weather and shorter days will make it more and more difficult for us to leave our comfortable home. That’s alright. We’ll take advantage of sunny breaks to experience the beautiful Oregon Coast. It’s just going to happen at a slower pace than it did during the glory days of summer. We will do our best to avoid “cabin fever”, but we know it will be challenging while cooped up 24/7 just a feet from each other and nowhere to escape!
Next we head just 40 miles or so south to Nehalem State Park near Manzanita, OR. We’ll explore the coast between Cannon Beach and Tillamook and Cape Mears. Tillamook Cheese and Ice Cream Factory…here we come!!
Guys, Ecola State Park was where Lisa and I took our first vacation as a couple. Did a lot of the same stuff you guys are doing; Seaside, Beach combing, Tillamook. We remember the trial down to the beach. It was actually Lisa's first experience with the PACNW coast. She was used to the beaches of SoCal.
ReplyDeleteThe Oregon Coast is awesome! We are making some great memories just like you guys did. You're right...it might be 2013 before we leave the state!
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