Oregon – Page 2 – Fenley's Footprints

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”

Out of the Danger Zone

If I’ve learned one thing in my time on the road, it is that it’s always good to have a prearranged hole to hide in when the civilians flood the parks. On weekends you can usually get by with a reservation made a bit in advance, but with holidays the demand is higher and even the private RV parks fill up a month or more prior. Three day weekends without a specific holiday focus are the worst, and the opening and closing bells of summer, Memorial and Labor Days lead the list of high traffic camping weekends.

Being a crafty sort, I had a scheme for dealing with the situation: pull a Cousin Eddie and squat in a friend’s driveway. I had a list of folks to connect with in the Portland/Vancouver area, and one was my old pal Dave. He owned a semi-rural property in Camas and managed to convince his wife that having a homeless guy living out in the yard for a week wouldn’t be as bad as it sounded, so I was in like Flint to avoid the Labor Day mob scene.

Continue reading “Portland Oregon/Vancouver Washington – Friends & Family, Cars & Planes”