Category: State Parks

Posted on

Northwest Oregon – Fort Stevens

Fort Stevens State Park

Based on Dave’s recommendation, my first stop on the Oregon coast would be Fort Stevens State Park. It was a pleasant introduction to the very fine Oregon State Park system, a well run and well funded operation in stark contrast to what I had experienced in Washington.

Touting a sprawling campground billed as the “largest public campground West of the Mississippi“, there are over 300 sites sprawled throughout the  woods here. Unfortunately, every single one was reserved for the coming weekend so I settled for a single Thursday night stay. It meant there wouldn’t be time for a side trip into the quaint town of Astoria to check out the big maritime museum there, but it’s always good to save something for next time. Continue reading “Northwest Oregon – Fort Stevens”

Posted on

Eastern Washington – Snake River Country

The Guinea Pig says: Wheat, wheat, wheat!

I thought I had seen a lot of wheat fields in North Dakota, but Eastern Washington figured out that the way to get more wheat per acre was to eliminate everything else, including roads, buildings, trees, brush, rocks & water. For miles and miles you see nothing but golden fields. It’s rather awe inspiring, actually. I found myself humming “America the Beautiful“, one of my mother’s favorite Campfire Girl songs.

Continue reading “Eastern Washington – Snake River Country”

Posted on

Central North Dakota – Devils Lake & Fort Totten

Are you a Good Lake or a Bad Lake?

If North Dakota were a pan of brownies cut in nine pieces, Devils Lake would be the inside corner of the upper right-hand piece. It is a problematic place in several ways, beginning with its name. The Dakota tribe that lived here before the Europeans showed up called it “Spirit Lake”, but the whites morphed that into the much less poetic Devils Lake. That moniker fit better into their opinion of the Indians I suppose.

Continue reading “Central North Dakota – Devils Lake & Fort Totten”