6/8 Champoeg State Park, OR

Champoeg was a town founded in the mid-1800s along the Willamette River, which eventually flows into the Columbia River in Portland, OR.  The settlement started out as a fur trading post of the Hudson Bay Company, but soon attracted a lot of farmers because of the excellent soil. The only problem is that when you have excellent soil, it is often because the land is in a floodplain.  The inevitable flood occurred in 1961 and destroyed the town, although some farms survived that were further from the river.  

It is now a state park with a visitor center/museum, campground, paved bike trails, and access to the river.  I stayed her a few weeks ago, and was back for just a couple of days.  This time I was able to visit the museum, shown here:

Here are some photos of the displays: 

On the outside of the building, these barn owls were busy building their nests and possibly laying eggs.  No evidence of chicks, yet, but it is still early.

Here are a pair of builders.  

And behind the museum is one of the oldest barns in Oregon--built in about 1860, which would not be considered very old east of the Mississippi.  

The state park has rebuilt the kitchen garden of the long-gone farmhouse, based on guesses on where it would be and what plants it would contain.

These are Oregon grapes, which are not really grapes at all, but are related to the barberry family, as you can tell by the leaves. They are very common in this area and are edible.  This article says they can be used for jams or fermented for wine, and also has medicinal uses.  Frankly, the ones I saw looked as if the birds were eating them as quickly as they became ripe!     https://www.growforagecookferment.com/foraging-for-oregon-grape/ 

I had a nice campsite and was able to get my bike out and clean it up.  Some friendly neighbors helped me put the chain back on when they saw me struggling.  (Tip: If you are an older woman traveling alone, it always helps to visibly struggle with tasks!)

6/6 Ship Watching

Flagler State Park is located at an interesting place.  On the one hand, it is fairly isolated and a long way from towns with things like grocery stores and gas stations.  On the other hand, it is at a marine crossroads, so there is lots happening on the water.  

The map I posted a couple of days ago showed the general location of this state park and how it is at the top of an island where a lot of ships go past on their way from the Pacific Ocean to Seattle.   I've discovered that there is a lot of naval action around here also.  

This is what came past this afternoon, except it was headed west on this island, not east as most of the ships have been headed.  I wondered why there were a couple of tug boats waiting at the entrance of this waterway on the west of the island. 

Anybody have any guesses as to what kind of ship this is?  

You can see the back better as it turns toward the opposite shore, but I still cannot read the name. 

Here is a map showing where it is headed.  It came just to the left or west of the bubble that identifies the campground. The green arrow points to the naval supply docking area where this ship is headed.  The blue oval shows Naval Magazine Indian Island.  The island is entirely a naval facility and has been used since 1939 to store munitions in concrete bunkers.  It also provides fuel, food, and whatever else a ship needs to operate.  

This apparently is a major resupply depot for ships on the West Coast of the U.S. and the only one that does not require going under a bridge to get here.  It looks as if there are two almost identical ships docked here.  This article describes the island and its purpose: https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2017/11/26/little-known-island-logistics-backbone-pacific-northwest-navy-fleet/886272001/ 


It would have been interesting to see what other ships came in to be resupplied, but I am leaving tomorrow morning. There are several naval bases in the area, including a Trident base and a naval air station. 

There are still container ships to watch as they head for Seattle.

And of course, the Port Townsend to Seattle ferry that makes trips about every two hours. 

Tomorrow I head to a campground just south of Portland for a couple of days, and then to Armitage to get my generator fixed.  It runs fine, but does not supply any power to my motorhome, which is the main purpose of a generator, so it has to get fixed. Next stops will be along the northern coast of California on my way to Bodega Bay. 

 

6/2 Fort Flagler Historical Military Area

I decided to take a tour of the old fort area, so I drove up the big hill on Sunday morning and found a parking spot, although I had to do a lot of walking to get to where the tours started.  Very scenic location for a fort!  When I arrived, the fog was hanging over Puget Sound, so you could not see much, but being on a bluff, you could see over the fog to the opposite shore.  

They are fixing the foundations of all of the fort buildings and replacing the slate roofs, so you can see this roof in progress.  

Many of the old buildings from 1900 have been taken down because they were in bad condition, but these barracks were saved.  If you have a very large group, you can rent the whole buildings and the kitchen and meeting rooms, as well. 

Looking out past a storage building to the earthworks and gun emplacements. 

 

 This is one of two old searchlights that have been restored by volunteers.

This is a machine used to lift up big shells and put them on carts so they could be taken out to the big guns. 

Earthen berms and gun emplacements. 

The next few photos show pictures of the area underneath the earthen berms and cement structures that hold the guns. 

This is a speaking tube, except that they are stuffed full of dirt and other material, so need to be cleaned out before they can figure out where each goes.  Better than sticking your head up above ground and yelling, I suppose, but not much better. 

 The museum and gift shop. It also is getting a new roof.  They are able to use some of the original slate, and the new roofs should easily last another hundred years or more. 

Some photos inside the small museum.  

The afternoon tour was of the old hospital.  This, however, is the basement and morgue! 

Wonderful views of Puget Sound!

Down the hill and near the point was the old lighthouse.  It is now being used as a marine research center, so no access for the public.  

Typical beach covered with old driftwood logs. 

I think these are the largest wild roses I have ever seen.  Very common in the campground, also. 

This shrub is also very common and very attractive, but unfortunately, it is Scotch Broom, which is an invasive species on the West Coast. 

 Lots of walking on my tours, so back to my campsite to rest and eat dinner.


 

6/1 Fort Flagler Historic State Park, Olympic Peninsula

I am not about as far north in the United States as you can get--in the far northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. 

Remind me not to schedule campgrounds so that I am traveling on Friday afternoon!  It was not a fun drive for any of us--the people in front of me or the line of cars behind me.  I usually travel a couple of miles-per-hour lower than the speed limit, which means I usually collect vehicles behind me.  I do pull over as much as I can, but there is often not a place to do that.  Also, in heavy traffic like this, it would not do much good anyway.  The next three photos shows the traffic I had to drive through to get here.

Finally!  Off the beaten track and to my campground.

There are two main campgrounds here--the upper campground in the woods which does not have hookups and can not handle larger RVs and this lower campground right on the water, which has mostly full hookup campsites.  Full hookup means electric, water, and sewer.  Nice, large sites, also. 

Roads are paved but campsites are mostly gravel.  That is fine because it is sandy here, not dusty. 

What is interesting about being camped here is that this place is located at the beginning of Puget Sound, so you have a lot of marine traffic to watch as it goes by on the way to Seattle.  Here is an overview map of the area.  Canada is to the north, but out of cell range, luckily, and Seattle is to the south.

Across the bay is Fort Worden State Park where I stayed last summer and also a couple of years ago.  Just southeast of Fort Worden in Port Townsend where a large ferry goes to Seattle and other places in the Sound, including whale watching.   

 I like that this part of the state park is open and has fantastic views.  

You can just make out the snow-topped Olympic Mountains in the distance.  I have been there several times, so won't be headed that way on this trip. 

There is clamming around here at certain times of year, but I found this sign interesting.  

In many areas of the northwest, you can also rent or use your own crab pots, so this sign is telling you what is in season and what you can keep.

However, this sign tells you that you can't take any shellfish!  Confusing. 

Beach is mostly gravel, but the water is so cold, I don't think most people would swim even on a hot day, which is rare up here anyway. 

A few more photos of the campground.  

 
This the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Ovation of the Seas, headed for an Alaskan glacier tour. 

This is a view looking south along the area on the west side (other side from Seattle) of the island. 

This cruise ship was easier to identify from the list in Seattle this day.  It is the Ruby Princess and headed on an Alaskan cruise. There were two other big ships leaving this day, but I missed seeing them.  

I am glad I am staying here an entire week.  I am definitely planning to come back to this area again and spend time at Fort Worden and here.  I will also seriously consider a day trip to Seattle on the ferry then.