Ok, so I realize I haven't posted anything new since June and I'm so sorry about that. We had planned on a ton of camping this summer, but instead we've got a bun in the oven and are working on purchasing our first house. Needless to say, we've been busy. And every spare moment we've had has been trying to get out of the house, so even though we have had some camping trips this summer, I haven't written about any of them yet. I promise I will soon. We've camped at Milo McIver State Park (a new favorite) three times, were back at Fort Stevens for the 4th, have photos from Beverly Beach from Memorial Day that I need to post, and we are hoping to get maybe just one last camping trip in around the end of September if this warm weather keeps up. If we don't end up getting a camping trip in, I know we'll at least get in a fishing trip or two.
Check back soon!!!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Beverly Beach State Park - Memorial Day Weekend 2011
Well we had a great time. It DUMPED rain on us when we arrived on Thursday evening, but after that it rained through the nights, but was pretty nice during the days. Beverly Beach State Park was pretty much everything we expected it to be and to learn more about the park and the area check out my previous post.
Here are some pictures from our Beverly Beach Trip.
Here are some pictures from our Beverly Beach Trip.
Silver Falls State Park in February
Silver Falls State Park in February ended up being a no go, my cold got worse and I stayed home and slept. Boo!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Cabin Camping at Silver Falls State Park
This Saturday we are going "Cabin Camping" at Silver Falls State Park. The rustic cabins are very similar to the yurts, same interior and amenities, just a different shell. We haven't actually stayed in one of the State Park cabins yet, but we have stayed at one of the KOA Kamping Cabins, I'm under the impression that the KOA Kabins are smaller than the State Park Cabins, but we'll see this weekend!
This February has turned out to be one of the coldest February's Oregon has seen in decades, so today I was starting to feel a little sick, sore throat and tired, with that and the combination of the cold, we decided to cancel our reservation. Unfortunately when I went online to Resevere America I found out you have to cancel reservations 3 days in advance. With that being said, we are going, I will not waste $40, but I will make note for the future that I need to back out 3 days early if I'm going to.
The weather is calling for 14 degrees Saturday night! What the what! And snow, so we may wake up to a winter wonderland. Maybe the falls there will freeze like Multnomah Falls does, creating a fantastic photo op, that would make my weekend!
Frozen Multnomah Falls (Click the image to take you to the photo owner's page)
Here are some images from our hike at Silver Falls in 2009.
And, WOW! I just found this photo on flickr! I think we may just be in for a special treat!
(Click the image to take you to the photo owner's page)
So I'll be taking my Zicam and hoping my cold does not progress with hopes of enjoying this weekend at Silver Falls State Park. Actually after seeing the above photos, I kinda can't wait!
This February has turned out to be one of the coldest February's Oregon has seen in decades, so today I was starting to feel a little sick, sore throat and tired, with that and the combination of the cold, we decided to cancel our reservation. Unfortunately when I went online to Resevere America I found out you have to cancel reservations 3 days in advance. With that being said, we are going, I will not waste $40, but I will make note for the future that I need to back out 3 days early if I'm going to.
The weather is calling for 14 degrees Saturday night! What the what! And snow, so we may wake up to a winter wonderland. Maybe the falls there will freeze like Multnomah Falls does, creating a fantastic photo op, that would make my weekend!
Frozen Multnomah Falls (Click the image to take you to the photo owner's page)
Here are some images from our hike at Silver Falls in 2009.
And, WOW! I just found this photo on flickr! I think we may just be in for a special treat!
(Click the image to take you to the photo owner's page)
So I'll be taking my Zicam and hoping my cold does not progress with hopes of enjoying this weekend at Silver Falls State Park. Actually after seeing the above photos, I kinda can't wait!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Nehalem Bay State Park Yurting was Fantabulous!
Nehalem Bay State Park is officially one of my new favorites! And I've got to say, thank you Oregon State Parks for having Yurts and Cabins so we can get a little camping in during the winter.
I do not reccomend going out on a Friday night after work in the winter if you can avoid it or leave early so you get to camp before complete darkness sets in. Hwy 101 in January after the sun has set with thick layers of fog around every corner was one of the most intense 17 miles of my life! On the way home seeing the cliff edges I was driving on the night before in day light made me squeemish. It was worth it though. The yurts are perfect little reteats.
For check in during the winter evenings you have to knock on the camp host door and they check you in. It took a while for us to figure that out because there weren't very clear directions. We had to drive through a flooded road in the campground to get to our cozy little yurt, the people in front of us chose to back up and not drive through, it wasn't as bad as they thought.
There was a heater, and plenty of room to get cozy. There was also a nice sized deck cover so if it rained we had room to cook and sit underneath. But it did't rain while we were there is was acutally pretty warm in the evening, warm enough to walk to the beach and make an attempt at clamning. It was pitch black and Brandon thought a sneaker wave was going to get us during the low tide at 9 o'clock at night, so we headed back to camp for a fire and some food.
The yurts have a fire pit and some space for chairs to sit around the campfire, it's not as much as a typical campground. There were some yurts that had huge decks and some that had very small decks, we marked them on the campground map.
One thing I really liked about this campground is that you are esentially right on the beach with a sand dune between you and the beach protecting you from the ocean winds. Cape Lookout has many sites that do not have this luxury. There are also a ton of sites, which is nice for busy summer weekends, and it's also right on the bay which has crabbing and claming. We saw raccoons when we arrived and again later at night by the campfire, we saw a lot of elk poop in the campsites and deer prints at the bay, so there is plenty of wild life.
I do not reccomend going out on a Friday night after work in the winter if you can avoid it or leave early so you get to camp before complete darkness sets in. Hwy 101 in January after the sun has set with thick layers of fog around every corner was one of the most intense 17 miles of my life! On the way home seeing the cliff edges I was driving on the night before in day light made me squeemish. It was worth it though. The yurts are perfect little reteats.
For check in during the winter evenings you have to knock on the camp host door and they check you in. It took a while for us to figure that out because there weren't very clear directions. We had to drive through a flooded road in the campground to get to our cozy little yurt, the people in front of us chose to back up and not drive through, it wasn't as bad as they thought.
There was a heater, and plenty of room to get cozy. There was also a nice sized deck cover so if it rained we had room to cook and sit underneath. But it did't rain while we were there is was acutally pretty warm in the evening, warm enough to walk to the beach and make an attempt at clamning. It was pitch black and Brandon thought a sneaker wave was going to get us during the low tide at 9 o'clock at night, so we headed back to camp for a fire and some food.
The yurts have a fire pit and some space for chairs to sit around the campfire, it's not as much as a typical campground. There were some yurts that had huge decks and some that had very small decks, we marked them on the campground map.
One thing I really liked about this campground is that you are esentially right on the beach with a sand dune between you and the beach protecting you from the ocean winds. Cape Lookout has many sites that do not have this luxury. There are also a ton of sites, which is nice for busy summer weekends, and it's also right on the bay which has crabbing and claming. We saw raccoons when we arrived and again later at night by the campfire, we saw a lot of elk poop in the campsites and deer prints at the bay, so there is plenty of wild life.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Beverly Beach State Park
So far we've only stayed at Beverly Beach State Park once, but we will be returning for Memorial Day weekend this year. We managed to get one of the few sites left on Labor Day weekend in 2009 and looking back, it must have been a miracle we got a spot at all because the Beach State Parks on holiday weekends are impossible to get without a reservation.
We only stayed for one night because we were working our way down and back up the Oregon coast in search for our wedding location. We stopped at Beverly Beach and there was a spot so we took it. I remember it was a beautiful evening, we walked on the beach and the wind was blowing low so the sand looked like a mirage hovering over the ground and moving. We had dinner and afterwards put all of our camping stuff in the car and put a tarp over our tent because it looked like it could rain. About 10 minutes after we got in the tent it started DUMPING heavy rain and it thundered and lightening all night. It was awesome. The next morning it completely stopped raining about 15 minutes after we got up, just perfect for us to pack up the car and head out. It had rained so much through the night that there was a little stream between us and the walkway to the bathroom.
I liked the campground and I am pretty sure we made note of good sites, if I can find them I'll post later, but I will be sure to have plenty of information to post after Labor Day.
A key element to this campsite is its location. It's almost dead center between Depoe Bay and Newport. So if you're doing the tourist thing and visiting the aquarium or the Rogue Brewery in Newport this is a good base camp. There are also several great view points to do some whale watching and Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is about 4 miles south. Yaquina Head is a federal area, so your state park camping pass will not work as a day use pass, but you can purchase a 3 day pass (that's the minimum) for $7. There is a light house, tide pools, and more, I haven't been yet, but it looks B-E-A-U-TIFUL! Devil's Punch Bowl is about 2 miles North of Beverly Beach and I have yet to see it full but imagine it is a spectacular site and keeping going back with "high" hopes.
In my very brief experience at Beverly Beach State Park, I'd have to say what I liked most about this campground is that it's a big campground that feels small and your tent is nestled in the trees set back away from the ocean winds, but just a hop, skip, and walk under a bridge away and you're on the sand.
We only stayed for one night because we were working our way down and back up the Oregon coast in search for our wedding location. We stopped at Beverly Beach and there was a spot so we took it. I remember it was a beautiful evening, we walked on the beach and the wind was blowing low so the sand looked like a mirage hovering over the ground and moving. We had dinner and afterwards put all of our camping stuff in the car and put a tarp over our tent because it looked like it could rain. About 10 minutes after we got in the tent it started DUMPING heavy rain and it thundered and lightening all night. It was awesome. The next morning it completely stopped raining about 15 minutes after we got up, just perfect for us to pack up the car and head out. It had rained so much through the night that there was a little stream between us and the walkway to the bathroom.
I liked the campground and I am pretty sure we made note of good sites, if I can find them I'll post later, but I will be sure to have plenty of information to post after Labor Day.
A key element to this campsite is its location. It's almost dead center between Depoe Bay and Newport. So if you're doing the tourist thing and visiting the aquarium or the Rogue Brewery in Newport this is a good base camp. There are also several great view points to do some whale watching and Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is about 4 miles south. Yaquina Head is a federal area, so your state park camping pass will not work as a day use pass, but you can purchase a 3 day pass (that's the minimum) for $7. There is a light house, tide pools, and more, I haven't been yet, but it looks B-E-A-U-TIFUL! Devil's Punch Bowl is about 2 miles North of Beverly Beach and I have yet to see it full but imagine it is a spectacular site and keeping going back with "high" hopes.
In my very brief experience at Beverly Beach State Park, I'd have to say what I liked most about this campground is that it's a big campground that feels small and your tent is nestled in the trees set back away from the ocean winds, but just a hop, skip, and walk under a bridge away and you're on the sand.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Yurt Camping in January at Nehalem Bay State Park
You could say I've got a bit of cabin fever. I'm ready to get out, we've reserved our sites for Memorial Day and 4th of July weekend, but all of the summer planning got me in the mood to camp. Obviously January in the Pacific Northwest is not the best time to bring out the tents, but I am determined. So we've made a reservation for next weekend for a Yurt at Nehalem Bay State Park on the Oregon Coast. We've done a lot of camping on the Oregon Coast, but this will be a new campground for us. We're going for one night and with the reservation fee on Reserve America, which nowadays is a requirement to get a Yurt on a weekend even in the winter, the total cost for one night is $44 in the Discovery Season. Not cheap, but worth it to get out for a night! In case you were wondering, Discovery Season at Oregon State Parks is October 1st - April 30th, which basically means the rates are a little lower than summer and the campgrounds do not make all sites available to reserve so you still have a chance for first come first serve at the Parks. The modern reservation system can be double edged sword, it has it's benefits and it's disadvantages.
So, back to our mini yurt camping trip next weekend! I'm really excited to explore Nehalem Bay State Park, from what I've found online there are so many different things you can do while camping here. You can clam, fish, crab, horse back ride, hike, etc. We're going during a -.8 tide, so as long as it's not dumping rain we're going to get some clamming in and then probably a little bit of hiking and a lot of relaxing. While we're there we'll scope out the camp ground and mark down all of the good sites, bad sites, and any other special notes for future camping trips, which we will share when we return!
So, back to our mini yurt camping trip next weekend! I'm really excited to explore Nehalem Bay State Park, from what I've found online there are so many different things you can do while camping here. You can clam, fish, crab, horse back ride, hike, etc. We're going during a -.8 tide, so as long as it's not dumping rain we're going to get some clamming in and then probably a little bit of hiking and a lot of relaxing. While we're there we'll scope out the camp ground and mark down all of the good sites, bad sites, and any other special notes for future camping trips, which we will share when we return!
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