Oregon Coast Camping

It rained and rained and rained. You can see Kellen’s head behind the brown tarp, taking the same funny photo.

Mother’s Day itself, Pedro and I were in Palm Springs and it was 105 degrees (41 C) and dry. The following weekend we were home, and Kellen and I went to the Oregon Coast for our annual Mother’s Day camping trip. Oregon offered up what it’s famous for: nonstop rain.

Friday evening had no rain, and I set up camp without any idea of what amount of rain was about to occur. (I discovered my tablecloth is not large enough)

We stayed at the Carl G Washburn State Park. I had never stayed there before. Kellen knew the area well, since it’s closer to their home, and when Kellen and Cameron need a break from life, the coast is their favourite place. The last few years we have camped at Champoeg Park because I have usually participated in the Mother’s Day race there. This year I picked something I knew Kellen would love. Kellen loves cool, wet weather, and that’s exactly what they got.

Highway 101 in Oregon hugs the Pacific Ocean coast and is absolutely beautiful.

The campground is just wonderful: Set in a lovely forest and the campsites are totally separated from each other, with almost no visible sign of any other campsites when you are in your own campsite.

We did spend time on the coast, but this post shows some of our sights right there in the campground.

Wild pink rhododendron in the forest near our tent

We were there during peak rhododendrom bloom, and spotted the bright flowers throughout the forests.

I was impressed over and over with the massive rhodies along the roads and trails.

I found this little newt plodding its way through our camp Saturday morning.

It stayed pretty mellow, but was happy to climb slowly off my hand when I provided that opportunity.

Kellen and I were both eager to use our weekend together to unwind from particularly stressful work lives. It turns out, we needed about 10 days of it to get fully unwound. Two days were better than none, though. By day two, we had shared all our news, and switched to unloading our worries and hopes, and sharing our thoughts and opinions. It was healing.

There are trails around the campground, and we chose one and walked it Saturday afternoon when there was a break in the rain.

Not a single gardener makes this beauty happen, and that makes it especially nice for me.

Kellen brought a large brown tarp and I brought a bunch of pieces of rope, and we managed to string up a wonky cover to cower beneath in the relentless rain. We had plenty of wood and kept a fire going while in camp, and heated our food on it. I had my little gas stove to make tea and coffee with. The temperatures stayed in the 40s and 50s (4 to 13 C), and that meant that the ice we put into the cooler kept our food and drinks absolutely cold all weekend.

Every now and then, we experienced a sunbeam!

This enormous tree stopped me in my tracks. Kellen said, “Wait!” And they clambered up onto it, and posed for a photo.

We found another large tree, and I went to pose beside that one.

We explored the campground, and the trails around the campground, and talked with the camp hosts. We declared it an excellent place to camp. I highly recommend this place, even in the rain. :o)