Fort Stevens State Park

After our fun in the Portland area, we headed (along with Jason's parents and Brandy) to Fort Stevens State Park on the northern Oregon coast. I had never been there before, so I was pretty excited to see some new parts of Oregon. This campground is HUGE - it has around 500 campsites. We booked online without being able to see the site, of course, so I was really happy with how private our site was. 

Loop F spot #228

Our campsite also had plenty of room for hanging out by the fire, cooking up some hotdogs (via Mr. Woody, of course!), and lawn games. We were super lucky because not only did we get to camp with Jason's family, but one of Jason's best friends, Henry, also came out to camp with us a few nights. 

Jason and Henry telling stories over the campfire

Brandy getting ready to cook a hot dog on the campfire via Mr. Woody

A heated game of ladder toss between mother and daughter

Henry introduced us to sous-vide cooking by bringing his sous-vide setup and some steaks. The best part was watching the boys use some sort of food blow torch to brown the exterior of the steak. And the steaks definitely lived up to the sou-vide hype - they were delicious and super juicy and tender! 

Most people blow torch their food, right? Maybe, maybe not, but regardless, it was DELICIOUS!

Like most state parks, this one has great programs offered in their amphitheater.   

Oh that JR Beaver is such a crack up. 

We got to go on a night that featured a discussion on wildlife (specifically aquatic birds) rehabilitation. The group brought a California Brown Pelican, along with a few other sea birds that I cannot remember what they are right now.  It was awesome. I loved how they focused on how removing a predator can effect an entire ecosystem (for the worst, usually) and reminded us to be aware of what we throw away and how we treat wildlife

Rehabilitated sea birds

Besides hanging out in the campground, there is a lot to do at Fort Stevens.  There is some great hiking potential at Fort Stevens. We went on a 6 mile hike on paved flat paths to visit Battery Russell, the site of the wreck of Peter Iredale, and Coffenbury Lake. It was a great hike - although the mosquitoes were NOT joking around.

The Battery Russell ammunition bunker was creepy. It had a very eerie feeling since it has been abandoned for a long time.

The "kids" at the bunker

The inside really reminded me of my overnight stay at Waverly Hills Sanatorium. There is just something innately creepy about abandoned buildings. 

Creepy abandoned room

Going upstairs from the ammunition bunker, you find this lovely and foreboding sign. I was pumped to see what lay at the top of the stairs! 

I laugh in the face of danger! Muhuahuah!

At the top is the actual fort. I was amazed that you could climb all over it. I was even more amazed that clearly someone did not read the sign because there was a huge group of kids playing capture the flag. 

Battery Russell

I'm so close to being centered. Ugh. I need to take this picture again and get it right! Too bad I am sitting in Montanna right now. 

And, just because it is us, Brandy and I clearly had to goof around!

A perch just for Brandy

After Battery Russel, the path winds around to the ocean where you can see the wreck the ship Peter Iredale. 

Ship wreck

I thought that it was interesting how long it has been there and how long it was. 

Some portion of the very back of the ship

Nothing says "sisters" like a good ship wreck! 

After the ocean we hiked back around to Coffenbury lake to check it out. It looked like a great place to fish. You can also take out boats or rent kayaks for a morning tour from the camp ground. It looked like a nice place to spend the day.

Coffenbury Lake

I was really impressed with this state park. There was so much you could do there, not to mention day trips to the neighboring towns (like Astoria!). My only complaint is that it was a bit to far away from the ocean that I would like. But, that is because I am spoiled and grew up on the Southern Oregon coast where several camp grounds you can just walk a short distance to see or even get to the beach. But we were there for much more than getting to the beach - we were there to spend time with family and friends! It was a great time and I hope we get to camp with our families again in the future.