Fort Stevens & Fort Clatsop (OR)

We left the Forks, WA, area via U.S. Highway 101 on a bright and cool August morning (26 Aug 2019). The highway was dappled with soft sunlight; and after a short while, we had brief glimpses of the northern Pacific Ocean through the dense trees. Near the Quinault Reservation (kwin-ALT), the forest opened up; and we had a clear view of the ocean. We stopped in the town of Aberdeen, WA, for gas and propane. About 40 minutes later we drove through the "Oyster Capital of the World," the town of South Bend, WA. Less than one hour later we were approaching the four-mile-long Astoria-Megler Bridge connecting Washington and Oregon States over the Columbia River. The bridge and views were impressive, but one thing that was not was the number of dead seagulls on the bridge. It was a sad and gruesome graveyard, for sure.

The huge Fort Stevens State Park Campground was full. Margaret checked with the KOA Resort nearby, but the cost for what we needed was exorbitant. The employee handed us a printout with other places to camp, and Margaret decided to try the nearby Hammond Marina RV Park. Fortunately, they had a site for us; and she paid for two nights. They offered full hook-ups, Wi-Fi, bathrooms with showers (no extra charge), and washers and dryers. Margaret made us vegan sloppy joes and potatoes for dinner, and I uploaded hundreds of photos to Flickr using the pokey Wi-Fi.

The following morning Margaret's iPhone was still not working (hence, all of the photos in this post and the corresponding locations on pages 4 & 5 in this Flickr Album were taken by Virginia). We went to the ranger station at Fort Stevens State Park, where Margaret bought a day-parking 12-month pass that allows the holder to day-park for free in any state park in Oregon. We then drove around the humongous campground, which, in addition to tent and RV camping, also had yurts available to rent. We then drove the short distance to Ocean Beach (or Peter Iredale Beach, as some refer to it) where we walked the shore and observed all that was left of the Peter Iredale shipwreck.

Peter Iredale Beach, Fort Stevens State Park, Warrenton, OR.

It was a rather warm (83°F), windy, and clear day. The beach, although not hugely crowded, was more crowded than either of us prefers.

Peter Iredale Shipwreck, Fort Stevens State Park, Warrenton, OR.

Peter Iredale Shipwreck, Fort Stevens State Park, Warrenton, OR.

Peter Iredale Shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park, Warrenton, OR

Peter Iredale Beach, Fort Stevens State Park, Warrenton, OR.

After our visit to the beach, we headed to Fort Clatsop in the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. Margaret and I had visited Fort Clatsop once before (in November 1995) shortly after I had moved to Oregon. The weather during each of these visits could have hardly been more different. During that first visit, the temperatures were probably in the 40s, and it was raining on and off quite hard. On this last visit, it was 85°F with bright, hot sunlight. Even though it was definitely too hot for us, we enjoyed our few hours there.

Fort Clatsop sign at Lewis and Clark Historical State Park.

We spent time looking at the exhibits in the visitor center, which is beautifully maintained and amply staffed.

Fort Clatsop Visitor Center.

After the visitor center, we walked the nearby trail, which was largely shaded and had several points of interest, including this bronze statue of Sacagawea (sah-CAH-gah-we-ah) and her baby.

Sacagawea statue at Lewis and Clark Historical State Park

The original fort was the winter encampment site of the Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806. By the 1850s, the original fort had gradually deteriorated and parts of it were removed until there were no surface traces remaining. A reconstruction of the fort was completed in 1955, but that replica was destroyed by fire in 2005. The current replacement was built in 2006.

The 2006 replica of Fort Clatsop.

Inside the Fort Clatsop replica.

Inside the Fort Clatsop replica.

We were fortunate enough to have arrived in time to watch a reenactment that recounted the history of the Corps of Discovery and demonstrated how to load and fire a musket.

A reenactment at Fort Clatsop.

We walked behind a ranger-led group, which began on the Fort to Sea Trail; but because the sea is seven miles away in a westerly direction, we detoured south to the South Slough Trail and returned to the fort via the Netul River Trail. 

A trail sign at Lewis and Clark Historical State Park.

The beginning of the Fort to Sea Trail at Lewis and Clark Historical State Park.

A wooden walkway on the Fort to Sea Trail at Lewis and Clark Historical State Park.

A guide-led group on a trail at Lewis and Clark Historical State Park.

The South Slough Trail at Lewis and Clark Historical State Park.

Virginia and Margaret on a trail at Lewis and Clark Historical State Park.

After two hours of walking the trails, we were happy to freshen up at the visitor center before returning to Peaches and the Roadtrek, which was parked in the shade with the Maxx Air Fan going to keep her cool.

The next morning we took showers and filled the freshwater tank. As we were leaving the RV park, we were stopped by a young woman who was curious about us and the Roadtrek after watching a video about an RV nomad woman in her Roadtrek posted by Cheap RV Living. We talked for a few minutes, and we gave her one of our "business" cards before saying our goodbyes.

We needed to pick up a few things, so we stopped at the Walmart in Warrenton, OR. On one of the aisles, we saw the woman we had just spoken to at the RV park. She saw us and laughingly said, “Didn’t I just see you two a little while ago?” It turns out she worked at Walmart. What a coincidence!

We continued south on U.S. Highway 101, stopping frequently at viewpoints and turnouts to take photographs. We noticed several "Campground Full" signs that became concerning when we started looking for someplace to camp that night, the Wednesday before Labor Day weekend. Yikes! We were feeling pretty desperate by the time we came upon Barview Jetty County Campground in Tillamook County which was purportedly full. It was late and getting dark, so Margaret tried to squeak us into it, anyway. Lucky for us, it turned out that there were two small, non-reservable sites available. We were quite relieved to be able to have a campsite for five nights to get us through the busy Labor Day weekend coming up. Hooray!

We were quite busy and had a lot to see in Tillamook County. Stay tuned for that entry, and thanks for reading! 

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La Push, Hoh Rainforest, Forks, & Allens Bar Campground (WA)

We left Fort Townsend Historical State Park in Port Townsend, WA, on the morning of 15 Aug 2019 and headed southwest on WA State Route 20 to U.S. Highway 101. We stopped in the adorable town of Sequim, WA (skwim), to do some grocery shopping and were both impressed by how clean and lovely the town was. We stopped very briefly for me to take some photos of sparkling Lake Crescent in Clallam County, WA, before continuing west. If I am remembering correctly, when we saw the first sign for La Push, I asked Margaret if we could go there first before continuing south. Happily, she said yes; so we took WA State Route 110 to First Beach. It was a steely gray-sky day with only a few surfers on the small swells and a handful of people walking the shore. After taking quite a few photos, we got back on the highway headed to Forks, WA.

James Island, First Beach, La Push, WA. Photo by Virginia.

Little James Island, First Beach, La Push, WA. Photo by Virginia.

Margaret and I had each arranged to have parcels sent General Delivery to the Forks post office and made it within an hour of the retail area closing. (I was feeling youthfully giddy after visiting La Push, and the feeling continued while in Forks. More about that further on in this post.)

Margaret had been driving for several hours, and we both wanted to find a place to camp. We drove through a free U.S. Forest Service campground on Highway 101, but it appeared full and required a Washington State Discover Pass, which neither of us had at the time. So Margaret took a few minutes Googling nearby campgrounds and found a private campground just a few miles from us. We arrived at Allens Bar Campground (Forks, WA) well after sunset; but after registering and paying the fee, we found a nice spot before it was fully dark. We ended up staying for three nights. The fee was very reasonable at only $5.00 per day, and we had a 3 to 4-bar LTE cell signal, as well. Finally! It was temperate, quiet, and the beautiful Hoh River was only 100 yards or so from our site. While at Allens Bar, we prepared several yummy meals, did a lot of reading, took walks to the river, and enjoyed the heck out of the cool weather. Margaret took advantage of that zippy signal and planned more of our trip. Oh, and one morning I got a brief glimpse of a long-tailed weasel just a few feet from the Roadtrek! It was such an excellent value that we returned after our next camping adventure in Olympic National Park.

Hoh Rain Forest Sign. Photo by Virginia.

The Hoh Campground is located about 18 miles east of U.S. 101 on Upper Hoh Road. The road was a little rough in places, but it was asphalt all the way. What wasn't all the way was our cell phone signal, which we lost about halfway in. This particular campground in the Hoh Rainforest is first come, first served. We found a wonderful drive-through site (#52 in B Loop) and decided on staying for four nights. We were next to the modern restrooms and potable water and close to a dumpster. Carpenters were at work building showers during our stay. So the campground is not only naturally beautiful, but it has plenty of amenities, as well.

Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center Parking Area. Photo by Virginia.

I spent some time looking at the exhibits and purchased a couple of postcards at the visitor center. Since there is no cell phone coverage there, the rangers post the weather forecast for the week on a kiosk outside the visitor center. That week's highs were predicted to be in the 60s, and one to two inches of rain was expected on our third day. (Annual precipitation in the Hoh Rainforest is between 140 and 170 inches!) Well, that forecast turned out to be very accurate.

Peaches looking out the screen door at Hoh Campground. Photo by Virginia.

Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Hoh River, Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

I believe I mentioned before that Margaret's Roadtrek, which had never leaked before, had developed a leak after she had some work done on it in April. So, on day two we rigged up a cover over the "house" AC vents on the roof. We got other outdoor chores out of the way, and at 2 a.m. on 21 Aug (our four months on-the-road anniversary) it started to rain. I made pancakes for breakfast, and we spent the day inside cozy, dry, and enjoying our respective reads. Yay!

The Roadrek at Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Peaches out for a walk, Hoh Campground. Photo by Margaret.

We left the lush Hoh Rainforest on the morning of 22 Aug and returned to Forks to mail some things, do laundry, and spend five hours at the Forks Library. It took that entire time to upload some photos and to start one blog post. (I think our weak cell phone signal was faster than their Wi-Fi!) Margaret drove me to a few locations in town so I could take some photos. Okay, so I wanted evidence that I was actually in Forks—the town I first became aware of because of the Twilight books and movies. And, no, they were not how Margaret knew about it!

Forks, WA. Photo by Virginia.

Forks, WA. Photo by Virginia.

Touches of Twilight in Forks, WA. Photo by Virginia.

After doing some grocery shopping at the Thriftway in Forks, we headed back to Allens Bar Campground and parked in the same spot we had previously occupied. We planned on staying for three nights but ended up adding a fourth. With that 3 to 4 bar LTE signal, I was able to publish two blog entries, write another, and publish a huge number of photos to Flickr. w00t! The weather was consistently cool (low 70s, high 60s), the surroundings beautiful (photographic evidence galore!), and that $5 per day price was hard to beat.

The Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

The Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Wild blackberries at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

Interesting fungi at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

The Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

A tiny frog on river rocks next to the Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Margaret.

The Hoh River at Allens Bar Campground. Photo by Virginia.

When we were getting prepared to leave Allens Bar Campground, Margaret's iPhone shut off and would not turn back on. That was catastrophic! She tried several things, and it just wouldn't turn back on. She ended up mapping our trip on my iPhone, and we left the Forks area that morning with the Oregon Coast as our destination.

Thank you so much for your patience and for continuing to follow our West Coast States Adventure! 

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Whidbey Island & Port Townsend, WA

After leaving our nephew and his family on Lopez Island, we took the ferry back to Anacortes, WA, and filled up the nearly empty propane tank. Margaret and I both wanted to spend some time on Whidbey Island and were pleased when we drove over Deception Pass Bridge at about noon on 05 Aug 2019. We pulled over and walked on and under the bridge, seeing it from nearly every angle. It was a gloriously cool and clear day, which made for lots of photo ops.

Deception Pass Bridge. Photo by Margaret.

Deception Pass Bridge. Photo by Margaret.

East from Deception Pass Bridge (Strawberry Island). Photo by Virginia.

Deception Pass State Park and Fort Ebey State Park Campgrounds were full, but one of the employees suggested Rhododendron County Park. Fortunately, we found a nice campsite there, and Margaret paid for six nights. The campground had vault toilets, fresh water, picnic tables, and fire rings. The daily fee was $15. We also had two bars LTE and were able to keep up with things online! It was located only about 1-1/2 miles from the town of Coupeville, at whose library we spent two very long days utilizing their public Wi-Fi. (Practical Magic, one of my all-time favorite movies, was filmed partly in Coupeville, which I found very cool!) After each day at the library, we did some shopping in Oak Harbor before returning to our campsite. We found someone occupying our campsite after our second day away, but we clearly had our receipt posted showing we had two days left (and I had taken a photo of it before leaving for the day). They had left a few items on the picnic table but acknowledged that it was still our campsite before leaving to find another. They said the ranger had told them if there is nothing left behind at the campsite that it's likely the previous campers had left early. HAH! We are in a van and not a tent. We left the receipt. Margaret and I were both relieved that they didn't get unpleasant about it all, though.

The Roadtrek in our campsite. Photo by Virginia.

After our six nights on Whidbey Island, we took the ferry to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. It was a short (about 35 minutes) and a smooth ride. We checked Fort Worden Historical State Park first, and the sign clearly said "Campground Full." Just a few minutes away at the beautiful Fort Townsend Historical State Park, we found several "tent sites" available on the western (forest) side of the campground and chose a really nice private site. The forested tent sites were much nicer than the RV sites. There were no hookups on either side, anyway. One of the advantages of traveling in a smaller RV like the Roadtrek (20 ft.) is that it can be parked in nearly any campsite or parking space.

Fort Townsend State Park sign. Photo by Virginia.

Our usual routine is to locate an available campsite; and while Margaret walks Peaches to pay the fee at the iron ranger or to a live person, I set up the Roadtrek to camp. I had just finished when Margaret called saying the site we had chosen was only available for one night. She was able to find another site where she could pay for the night and reserve the same site for three more nights. This campground ended up being the most complicated and expensive of our trip to date ($123 for four nights!). However, I absolutely loved it! We were parked right next to the restrooms and showers, we had fresh water in our campsite, there was a dumpster nearby, we had a fairly strong cell phone signal, and it was comfortably cool.

Fort Townsend State Park Campground. Photo by Margaret.

The Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, and Northern White Cedar trees were stunning and aromatic. I sat outside among them during the day and looked at them through the window above my bed at night. I'm not sure of the exact reason that these particular trees fascinated me more than those in the other forests we'd camped in but they definitely did. I celebrated my 60th birthday among them and hope the sense of appreciation and serenity I felt stays with me for a long time.

Our campsite at Fort Townsend State Park Campground. Photo by Virginia.

Port Townsend Bay from the park's shoreline. Photo by Margaret.

Port Townsend Bay from the park's shoreline. Photo by Margaret.

On the morning of the 13th, we drove to the Port Townsend Historic District and parked. We walked east on Water Street to Point Hudson and had a delicious late lunch there at the Shanghai Restaurant. We then walked west on the other side of Water Street, enjoying the cooler temperatures near Port Townsend Bay. Most of the buildings seemed to have been built in the 1880s to '90s. Several of them were being refurbished. The car and foot traffic was plentiful; and other than being a little too warm for us, it was a really lovely day.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Port Townsend Bay in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

Port Townsend Bay in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.
 

Port Townsend Bay in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Port Townsend Bay in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe totem pole. Photo by Margaret.

Point Hudson in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Margaret.

Cupola House on Point Hudson in Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

Historic Downtown Port Townsend. Photo by Virginia.

We left Fort Townsend State Park Campground at 11:00 A.M. on 15 August. We had a lovely camping experience and a day of sightseeing there on the northern Olympic Peninsula. It was cool, gorgeous, and had an interesting history. I'm not sure of the source, but each morning at 8:00 I heard the Star Spangled Banner playing over a loudspeaker from our campsite. It was faint, but I definitely heard it.

Later that day we arrived in a small town I first heard of in a series of books and movies. I certainly never thought I would ever visit there; but I did, and it was rather surreal for me. Stay tuned and thanks for following our adventures!

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