It was about 9:15 when we pulled out of the campground at Fort Stevens State Park and headed south where we connected with Hwy 101. We were only going about 37 miles to Nehalem Bay State Park but with the windy coastal road...along with a stop or two for pictures, it would take just over an hour.
It was about 10:30 when we pulled into the park. The gate kiosk wasn't open but we stopped to talk to a park ranger who happened to be there. He was very friendly and helpful, suggesting sites in loops B or C. The campground is lovely with well manicured sites lined with shore pines. The road and pads are paved and level. Unfortunately, the road is not very wide and the trees in some sites not well trimmed for big rigs with slides (an issue we find in so many campgrounds) which meant we had difficulty backing into the sites. We went by one nice long site on a curve in the road that would have been an easy back-in but it was already occupied...by a small truck camper. I must admit that we find that frustrating. We started backing into another site but there was a tree branch too low. At this point, the friendly park ranger came by in his truck and suggested we go down to F loop. I believe they are trying to shut down D,E, and F loops but they were making an exception for us. He suggested F33...its a large open site and we could park our truck across the road in another site (and he wouldn't charge us extra).When we arrived at F33, the ranger was there talking to people in the next site who were packing up. We backed into the site and then ended up chatting with the neighbours before they left. After they were gone, Steve decided he liked that site better because it was more protected from the wind...and there was a storm forecast to come in this afternoon. So we pulled out of F33 and tried backing into F34 but, of course, there was a big tree right across the road from it and with the narrow road, Steve just didn't have enough maneuverability. So we went back into F33.
After getting unhitched, we got to work unpacking and setting up. The site has electricity (30 amp) and water. We had no problem latching onto a satellite signal...and our Verizon MiFi gets a strong signal.It was after 1:00 by the time we were all set up and had had lunch. With the forecast for heavy rain starting sometime this afternoon, we thought we would get out for a walk since it hadn't started yet.
We walked through the loop F until we found the trail to the beach...
It was a tad bit windy! A strong wind and blowing sand coming in from the south...
There was a Sneaker wave warning in the forecast ...see how far up the beach this came? We had to get out of the way quickly!Now look how far away the surf is...
We battled the wind, walking south until we found another trail. Nehalem Bay State Park is nestled between the ocean and the bay, on a 4 mile long sand spit. That's Nehalem Bay behind me...
The view from the trail as we walked towards what we thought was the campground...we ended up being further south at a day-use parking lot.
These are the docks from the bay that they recently removed for the season...
Nehalem Bay looking south...
On our walk, we came across a herd of elk...very cool!
and further along another herd...
On our way back to our site, we walked through the horse-camp. These are rustic (no services) sites with a corral for your horse(s)...
About an hour later, we were back home...and out of the wind. The first rain drop started just before 3:00...and soon developed into a major downpour! With the forecast for the next week, it looks like we will be exploring the area in the rain.
You walked a long way. We've never seen elk in the park. Lucky you.
ReplyDeleteyou took some familiar trails! Tucker swam in Nehalem Bay a few times..but that was in July..oh heck he would have swam now too!
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