Fort Stevens - Oregon

Fort Stevens State Park - Oregon

One of the many tools we have utilized in planning and then replanning this journey has been the National Geographic Guide to State Parks of the United States. Cindy’s sister Colleen had loaned us her copy and we quickly realized we should have a copy for ourselves. This book calls out the top three or four State Parks in each of the 50 states (in their opinion). We will have visited 16 by the end of this trip. Currently we are enjoying our third recommended park in Oregon - Fort Stevens State Park.   Located on the tip of the state, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, FSSP was a US Army Coastal Artillery site from the Civil War until the end of WWII. It is most famous as having been shelled by a Japanese Submarine in mid 1942!!,

However, before getting to Fort Stevens, using one of the other planning tools Cindy monitors, one of the full time RV bloggers - LoveYour RV, reported that just last week they had stopped outside of Portland at Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville. For you aviation buffs, this is an excellent state of the art Air Museum on par with the one in Tucson or even the Smithsonian, if on a smaller scale. There are Military and Civilian Aircraft from the beginning , WWI, WWII Korean War and Viet Nam and.... it has The Spruce Goose!!

the one and only - Spruce Goose!!

interior of Spruce Goose - built to haul 750 troops!!

We continued on towards the tip of Oregon and a few hours later we arrived at Fort Stevens State Park. Immediately upon checking in, I spotted a newsletter about the local Crab and Wine Festival happening that weekend!! I love Crab! They even run a shuttle from the State Park over to the festival and back for $3 each. With that info, our Saturday morning was booked! However, there was more to see and do in the interim. We set up our site (the only one available when I had booked while at Silver Falls) grabbed Cooper and CJ and headed off to see the Park while it wasn't raining (the next few days were forecasted to be rainy).

Campground was booked full!! we were lucky to get in on Crab Feast Weekend!!

We went to the tip of the Park, where the  Columbia River meets the  Pacific Ocean. Here we climbed the wooden observation tower, checked out the jetty (built over 100 years ago by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the mouth of the river) and looked at the most dangerous river entrance on the planet! Over 2000 ships of all sizes have been lost trying to navigate the mouth of the Columbia. Today, a commercial ship must wait for a certified Pilot to get them across the bar!! The US Coast Guard is there to assist at all times. Across the Columbia, we can easily see the Southern most tip of Washington - Cape Disappointment and its' lighthouse.

jetty reaches out for over 1/2 mile

!

Washington State in the background - mouth of the Columbia River

After this quick drive around FSSP, we returned to our RV and the now very full campground. Crab Fest was going into full swing and people were out socializing with their fellow campers. Apparently you must have to book this park 9 months or so in advance to get in on Crab Fest weekend! Cooper and CJ had lots of dogs to meet and greet.

large Owl in center of photo - kept flying down trail ahead of us -Great Horned??

Friday morning, no rain but overcast, we headed out. First we drove over near the tip and took Cooper and CJ on a hike through the woods. A large owl kept flying ahead of us for several minutes. Cindy was able to approach close enough ot get a decent picture or it before it flew into the woods and out of sight. Eventually the mosquitoes won and we retreated to the Jeep. (time to again carry the OFF)

Then we continued on to the actual Fort Stevens. Built during the Civil War and occupied until the end of WWII. many foundations and gun emplacements remain. There is also a small museum and tours are available.

concrete gun emplacements of "disappearing guns

Disappearing Gun replica- locally made!!

Battery 245  - US Navy type guns

After visiting the museum, we continued on to Astoria, about 10 miles away and checked out the town. Built on the hill overlooking the Columbia River, it is known for its fisheries. We had lunch on the docks and then spent a few hours touring the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Most Excellent!!

Astoria - built on the hill above the Columbia River

USCG Cutter, ships at anchor in background

USCG Rescue boat- designed to right itself!

Lightship Columbia - used to be stationed off mouth of the Columbia River

River Pilot Cindy

This concluded our day in Astoria and half an hour later we were all back at FSSP. Again, there were numerous gatherings and several campers returning from Crab Fest. Our turn was coming the following morning. The first shuttle was scheduled for 9:30, leaving from a station just 150 yds from our campsite. We got there by 9:15 and a dozen people were already there ahead of us! By the time the bus arrived, there were enough going (this being the 1st trip of many throughout the day) that is was standing room only. Since the bus was full, we passed by all the other stops and got to the  Fairgrounds in about 15 minutes. Previous years attendees wore crab hats and wine glass holder lanyards!

not an actual crab

half crab dinner from Astoria Rotary Club

wooden mallet and board provided to access dinner!

After paying our admission fee of $15 ea, we were in the exhibit halls and checking out the various vendors.  We made our first purchase, an appropriate choice, of Bloody Marys from a local distiller. Most tasty and quite spicy. We decided a 2nd would go nicely when we got to our Crab platter lunch. Cindy purchased a few small items, including a new wallet made from an old post card. We bought a small bag of dark chocolate toffee and headed to the bus stop to return to camp.

Cooper and CJ were glad to see us as usual, and after a walk, we were all loaded in the Jeep to go visit Fort Clatsop at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park located about 5 miles away.  This is the site where they spent the Winter of 1805 - 1806 in the small log fort they built and named Fort Clatsop. Again a very nice visitor center, small museum and a reconstruction of the fort from William Clark's drawing and description in his journal. Great to be at these locations with so much history!

Finally at the Pacific, Lewis and Clark spent the Winter here

Fort Clatsop replica  - built to William Clark's description

Trying to take in everything in the area, we wrapped up the day by going over to the beach and viewing the remains of the shipwrecked Peter Iredale. Enough left to be interesting  and amazing to see how the steel frame rusted away.

Peter Iredale wrecked in 1906

Cindy's friend Sandy was staying at nearby Manzanita and she came up for the afternoon on Sunday. We chatted a while, then drove around the Park, taking in the major sites, including a small herd of Elk,  before returning for some wine, cheese and crackers. The campground had really emptied out and we were down to about 25% of the sites occupied by this time. A quiet evening was on tap.

Roosevelt Elk near beach in FSSP

Our last full day in the area found us driving South along the coast on US101. First stop was at a café suggested by Sandy - Lazy Susan's , for breakfast in Cannon Beach. Breakfast was great and we highly advise a stop there if you are visiting the area. Cannon Beach is a well known tourist town, famous for the large rocks protruding from the  beach and the quaint shops.

Gingerbread Waffle at Lazy Susan's - yummy!

After breakfast, we parked across the street to grab some fast WiFi outside the town Library, then on down the coast a few more miles to Manzanita. Sandy had taken a room for a few days right on the beach and we met her and went on the beach with Cooper and CJ. Both dogs started out off leash, but CJ got over zealous and after a bit of a trial getting him to return, he was back on leash to avoid following his nose out of sight again! We grabbed a bite to eat at the Pub up the street and then said our goodbyes. 

beautiful coast at Manzanita

This area is worth visiting. You may want to consider one of the Oregon State Parks a bit South of Ft Stevens  or say at Fort Stevens SP. All in all, 4 nights in the area would probably be sufficient.

that wraps things up for now. We'll be in touch in a few days.

until then  take care!

Cooper and CJ