Day 58 (July 13) - Lewis and Clark

We checked to see if there were any cancellations for Fort Stevens tonight.  Not yet.

Then we headed to the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (Fort Clatsop).  This is part of a bigger park system (involving OR and WA state park systems) that has several sites up and down the Pacific Coast.  This site has a nice visitor center with a good museum and 2 films.  The girls grabbed Junior Ranger books and we headed to the fort replica area for a rifle talk and demonstration.  The three rangers in the fort area were all dressed in period costumes.  They were also demonstrating quill pen writing and the girls got to try it while Brad had a big conversation with Ranger Tom.  We had to leave to figure out where we were camping tonight, but we planned to come right back.

We did not get to stay another night at Fort Stevens.  We have never seen such a huge campground at a state park: over 300 campsites, many have full hookups, $36 a night.  It seems to be in very high demand.  And still fully booked for tonight, so we moved on.  We tried the KOA across the street, but had a slight misunderstanding.  I called and was quoted a price of $49.  That’s about $10-$20 more than we usually pay, but it was super convenient and fairly predictable.  When we arrived we were told it was $56.  Only $7 more, but we were already stretching our budget.  They have a $6 resort fee.  HA!  We have been to a resort KOA, the only place more expensive than this one.  It was our worst campground experience so far.  I quickly called Kampers West Kampground right down the road and they had a great spot for us for $30!  See ya KOA!  We ate a quick lunch and headed back to Fort Clatsop.

Now we had time to fully enjoy the museum and a film on the winter the Corps of Discovery spent at this site.  The girls finished their books and got their badges.  We went on a short hike to the canoe-landing site.  Brad and the girls sketched the fort while I took a picture of the ranger firing the long rifle.  (My camera mis-fired earlier when we were watching the demonstration.)  I think the rangers thought it was funny that we were there so long, but we really love Lewis and Clark!

We were trying to come back to the campground, but took a wrong turn and found ourselves heading for Astoria.  This is a confusing place. I keep getting turned around.  We decided to check out the town.  All the antique stores were closed, but the restaurants were open.  Brad found a seafood buffet place right on the Columbia River and we ate and ate and ate.

Oregon has been great.  I would love to come back to visit, or live here.  I think this is the first place I’ve felt that way about.  (other than Yosemite, and I don’t think they would let us live there.)  On to Washington.
Fort Clatsop