Cape Disappointment

We get teased when we tell people that we are going to Cape Disappointment.  They say, how could you go to a place with that name?  Well, other people must agree with us, because the full-hookup loops of this park are almost full.  Rain, wind, chilly weather--they don't stop people from camping at this Washington State Park. 

My view of Cape Disappointment Lighthouse while connected to the internet at North Jetty.

The lack of cell signal almost stopped us this time, especially since we are waiting for that oh-so-important call about the birth of our first granddaughter.  If we are willing to drive to where there's a signal, we can still get calls, emails, and read blogs.  So it's not too much of a disappointment to stay at this park.  We'll be here for a couple of weeks.  We're using our senior off-season discount, so the cost is only $6 per night.

Waves and driftwood

Driftwood at Cape Disappointment's Waikiki Beach

On our 3 to 3.5 hour drive from home to Ilwaco, WA, where Cape Disappointment State Park is located, we usually stop half-way at a deer viewing area.  We have never, ever seen deer there!

Fort Flagler (1897-1953)

The rain abated enough to take some pictures of Fort Flagler State Park today.  Due to its location on the northern tip of Marrowstone Island off of Puget Sound, this is a cold and windy area but it is steeped in military history. Fort Flager(1897-1953) was a coastal fort located on Marrowstone Point in Jefferson County, Washington.  The fort was established in 1897 and activated on 27 Jul 1899. It was named after Brig. Gen. Daniel Webster Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, U.S. Army, who died on 29 March 1899.  The fort was closed 7 Jun 1953.

One of the batteries with Puget Sound in the background.

Part of the Harbor Defense of Puget Sound. Fort Flagler, along with Fort Worden and Fort Casey, guarded the entrance to Puget Sound. These posts, established in the late 1890's, became the first line of a fortification system designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching the Bremerton Naval Yard and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett.

Initial construction of barracks and support facilities (12 buildings total) was complete in June 1899 and the Post was activated 27 Jul 1899. The first garrison was a detachment of 86 enlisted men and three officers from Battery B, 3rd U.S. Coastal Artillery. Fort Flagler was made Headquarters of the Harbor Defense Command of Puget Sound because Fort Worden did not yet have permanent facilities complete. On 4 Sep 1904 the headquarters of the Harbor Defense Command of Puget Sound was transferred from Fort Flagler to Fort Worden.

Part of the parade grounds

Looking over the parade grounds, the volunteer campsites have a wonderful view of Puget Sound and the ships that pass by.  Judy, who writes a popular blog called Travels with Emma, volunteered at Fort Flagler for a month when she first started full-time RVing.

During World War I eight of the fort's guns were sent to Europe and converted to field or railway guns and 2 were sent to Canada. After World War I Fort Flagler was used as a ROTC training center. 

Fort Flagler map--click to enlarge

During World War II and the Korean War the fort was used for training in amphibious warfare.  At the end of the Korean War Fort Flagler was deactivated.  The property was purchased by the State of Washington as a state park in 1955.

Henry Bankhead Battery, where outdoor concerts are held during the summer months

Our Fort Flagler State Park campsite has full hookups including 50 amp power.  Because we have a Washington State Parks Off-Season Senior Pass, (available for WA residents only, sorry) we are paying $6 per night for this wonderful, spacious waterfront site.  The regular price is $28 per night.

Fort Flagler campground, site #113

Fort Flagler State Park, Washington

Dave and I have been home from Pismo Beach for 2 1/2 weeks, and I've been itching to get back out in the motorhome again.  After many negotiations with the Norcold, they finally agreed to replace the cooling unit in our motorhome refrigerator.  Now that it's repaired, it's time to take another short trip. 

The weather forecast is for rain, rain, and more rain, but somehow I don't mind the rain as much when we're on a trip and out exploring new areas.  We decided to  drive north to Fort Flagler State Park.  The park has a seasonal camping area that opened up on March 1 and closes again on October 31.  We were here on a day trip last February when we were staying in Port Townsend, and saw that the campground looked like a fine place.  I'll take some pictures if and when it stops raining.  In the meantime, here are a couple of maps to show you where we are.

Washington State

A more detailed view of the location of Fort Flager. 

An online spiel about the fort:

Fort Flagler State Park is a 784-acre marine camping park surrounded on three sides by 19,100 feet of saltwater shoreline. The park rests on a high bluff overlooking Puget Sound, with views of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. Many historic buildings remain at this 19th-century-established military fort. This historic fort offers gun batteries to explore and guided heritage tours. Panoramic views of surrounding mountains and Puget Sound add to the attractions.

A Rainy Valentine's Day at the Beach

Happy Valentine's Day!  Dave and I went out for lunch at Fin's at the beach.  The restaurant's decor was cute with tiki unbrellas and a Polynesian theme.  We ate inside instead of on the patio because it's RAINING here today.  Yes, this is only the second day that is has rained since we have been here.  Reluctantly, we will leave Pismo Beach on Friday morning to head towards home.

Today's  blog pictures were taken at Montana del Oro State Beach on February 5.  The park is located six miles south of Morro Bay.

After an enjoyable lunch out in honor of Valentine's Day, we drove to San Luis Obispo to get some maps of the California central coast area at AAA.  This trip may be almost over, but we are planning on coming back as snowbirds next winter. 

Sunday was a beautiful day and Dave and I found a tennis court where we tried to play pickle ball.  Unfortunately, after just a couple of volleys with the paddle, the carpal tunnel in my right hand protested.  We cut short our great pickle ball plans.  Boo hoo.  :(  I am a big fan of pickle ball would be sad if I can't play it again.  At least we know where the tennis courts are now--six at the high school and four more at a sports complex, as well as a couple along Highway 1.  This area doesn't seem to have dedicated pickle ball courts like we found in St. George, Utah last spring. 

I'm adjusting well to using my Nook Color.  I have finished several of the library books that I loaded onto it.  I've also learned to use the web features of the Nook, which work as long as I have wifi. 

We heard from our younger son, Jonathan, today and he is doing well in his eight-week field assignment and is half done with it already.  I can't say on my blog where he is or what he's doing, so if you are interested, email me.  Elder son, Tim, and wife Kiersten are doing great, also, and are looking forward to the last six weeks or so of pregnancy. 

Hungry?

This is not the usual type of motorhome parked here at Pismo Coast Village RV Park.  Does this mean that his stay here is a total write-off?  Where do we sign up?

Since the Jelly Belly motorhome made me hungry, it's a good thing that Dave and I went for a ten mile bicycle ride Friday afternoon.  We rode from Pismo Coast Village to Oceano.  We visited the small airport there and then road through Oceano State Beach Campground.  It's a great campground with two sections, one with partial hookups and one with no hookups.  The park was quite full.  I enjoyed taking some pictures of some of the geese in the park. 

The geese were hungry, but no, they weren't eating Jelly Bellies.

Is there more food in the street than in the grass?

This white beauty was evidently not hungry and was posing nicely.

Oso Flaco Lake and the Dunes

After a refreshing overnight rain, the sky was still a bit overcast this afternoon as Dave and I drove about 20 minutes south of Pismo Beach on Highway 1 to Oso Flaco Lake, northwest of the small town of Guadalupe. 

This is part of the state park system, so we paid the senior day use fee of $4 to park.  The first part of the nature trail was an ordinary trail through a riparian area  containing creekside vegetation. 

Then comes the interesting park--a bridge walkway over the lake.  I forgot to take a picture of the bridge over the (non-troubled) water because I was so busy taking pictures of the lake itself.

I am sorry to report that dogs are not allowed on this trail, but it's a good place for strollers and wheelchairs and people like us who don't like to walk on water or in sand!

After crossing the lake, the bridge turned into a boardwalk through the coastal dune scrub area.

A panoramic view of the end of the boardwalk amid the dunes.

And, finally, our reward, a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean!

I'll share just a few bits of cultural history that I found interesting about this area:

1.  Chumash Indians resided in the area, making their huts out of the willow branches, covered with tule reeds.

2.  In 1769, Spanish explorer Portola landed in the area.  While hunting for meat, his men shot a bear at a fresh water lake and named the lake, "Oso Flaco" which means "Skinny Bear".

3.  In 1923, the film "The Ten Commandments" was filmed on the dunes. 

4.  From the 1930s to the 1980s, The Dunites, a group of artists, mystics, and hermits resided in the dunes. 

Butterflies and More

I am happy to report that after a full day of taking Vicodin, for a total of four pills, my hand and wrist are back to normal.  I am SO happy not to have any more pain!

Today's walk was intended to be to the Monarch butterfly migration area just south of Pismo Coast Village RV Park.  We started out on the sidewalk along Highway 1.  When the sidewalk ended, we walked through Pismo State Beach Park.

This park is closed for maintenance, but it's a nice non-hookup park right on the beach and right next to the butterfly area.

Camping sites

We saw a path that went south, so we took it.  It went up to the butterfly area, but it also went west toward the ocean.  We skipped the butterflies for now and went on to the beach.  We ended up at a long boardwalk area which had views of both the beach and the state park golf course.

Ocean view from the boardwalk

Looking back toward town  Golf course and wedding tent

Golf course

We walked all the way to the golf course along this boardwalk path, 2.6 miles.   We still had to walk back to the RV park, so we decided to walk back along the highway, and we visited the butterflies on our way back.

A butterfly lesson

The butterflies are hard to take pictures of

Eucalyptus trees

Our walk today turned out to be 4.1 miles.  That's the most we've walked at one time since we have been here.