The Cascadian Nomads hit the road again today. We are returning to one of our favorite spots in all of Cascadia, a place we visited just seven weeks ago. Can you guess where we're off to now? Return for the "where to now" answer when we post about these recent Cascadian adventures on Saturday!
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Typist: Bethany As we drove into Fort Stevens State Park we were welcomed by a beautiful herd of grazing elk. In hind sight, this unexpected greeting at the entrance of Oregon's northwestern most park foreshadowed the remote and wild day we would enjoy at this lovely, leashed dog friendly locale. Of course, the elk didn't have anything to do with our choice to visit the park during one of the worst storms the area has had in months. Jason, Wilhelm, Brychwyn, Huxley and I didn't mind the pouring down rain. We're from Cascadia! But the wind, which gusted up to 86 miles per hour, was more than we're used to venturing out in. We began our afternoon at Fort Stevens State Park in the historic area. Having visited Fort Worden many times, Jason and I were pleasantly surprised that the historic buildings at Fort Stevens are very clean and well preserved. A dog friendly hike around a fascinating historic site is much more fun without worrying about trash or broken glass. I also enjoyed the graffiti free photo opportunities at Fort Stevens. The rain managed to literally dampen some of our photo taking but the storm only figuratively soaked our adventure!
We left the historic area and drove South to re-enter the park and drive to the beach. The drive through the coastal forest of Fort Stevens State Park was beautiful but with the high winds it was a little frightening at times. When Jason saw some of those tall evergreen trees bend, he thought maybe we ought to turn back. But the whole reason we had come to the park was to see the wreck of the Peter Iredale, a boat that ran aground in 1906 with some remains still scattered on the beach at Fort Stevens State Park. We couldn't turn back with out seeing the shipwreck! But when we arrived at the beach where the shipwreck stands, the sand was blowing off the dunes so furiously, it was coating the wind side of people's vehicles like brown spray paint. We couldn't safely get out of the car. So, now we have yet another reason to someday return to Fort Stevens State Park. I still want to see the shipwreck. But what we did see, the sand whipping off the dunes, was incredible! We made two more stops farther North in the park. The wind continued to howl but there was less rain and less blowing sand so Jason and I safely exited the car to marvel at the storm from the South Jetty lookout tower. The wind was gusting a little less on the river East of the South Jetty so we decided it was safe for the dogs to have some legally leashed beach time. But the rain soon came back and hiking became less fun for all of us. Since the weather had cut our evening hike at Fort Stevens State Park short, we stopped at Eban H. Carruthers Memorial Park in Warrenton, Oregon, at dusk. This park is the trail head for the Warrenton Waterfront Trail and home of the Warrenton Dog Park. It was too dark to do much more than glance at the Columbia River and the waterfront trail but there is a large street light above the off leash area so Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley could do plenty of playing. Warrenton Dog Park is a nice, volunteer funded off leash park with fully fenced large and small dog areas, plenty of poop bag stations and trash cans. There was water for dogs and a nice restroom for humans. What a lucky find! I hope to return to hike the waterfront trail and I know the dogs would not pass up an opportunity to again race around the large trees in the off leash park. With so many dog friendly things to do in and around Fort Stevens State Park, I know we will need a lot more time in the area to explore it all. I have to admit that I hope we have slightly less dramatic weather on our next visit though we had so many wet, wild and wonderful stormy experiences on this day that I wouldn't trade for any amount of sunshine. The last thrill the storm gave us was on our night time return East across the Young's Bay bridge. Jason and I saw the power go off briefly in Astoria. We were driving the long, wind wobbly bridge and suddenly our destination disappeared! After agreeing we both actually saw the blackout happen and we caught our breath, we each said our hearts felt as if they had literally stopped beating. It's a good thing the dogs were snoring away in the back of the car. They had no idea our motel had temporarily vanished. As long as they got dry and fed, they were too tired to notice much else anyways. Fort Stevens State Park is definitely one the dogs would put high on their "it made me so sleepy" list.
Day two was President's Day and the Pacific Northwest had just experienced a massive storm that included hurricane force winds, hail, rain and snow. Long Beach was a very different place than we had experienced just 48 hours earlier. The beach was too soft for us to drive on so we parked at Bolstad Street West again and this time headed North on the Discovery Trail. Obviously, the dogs knew where we were but they tried to enjoy the leashed trail hike for a while. It wasn't far to the North end of the trail and there we turned West, over a sand dune to the beach. The calm, clear mirror beach we had seen just two days ago was gone and the sand was littered with debris like driftwood and kelp as well as masses of sea foam. I kept Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley on leashes at first because I feared them finding dead animals or dangerous trash. But surprising little of what was washed up on the shore was unnatural or dangerous. So the dogs were soon running happily free on the beach again, chasing and getting covered in sea foam. Long Beach is a wonderful, dog friendly destination which we highly recommend and will be frequently returning to ourselves. I'd like to one day hike the entire Discovery Trail. This is, however, the first of three visits that I have been comfortable letting the dogs roam off-leash on the beach (leashes are required by law on the boardwalk and Discovery Trail and we always obey the leash law.) Motor vehicles are allowed on this beach and that poses an obvious danger to loose dogs. This beach is also very popular and can be crowded. I don't want my dogs to be known as spoilers of picnics! The biggest concern I always have anytime I consider letting my dogs off leash on any Pacific northwest beach where it is legally allowed is the possibility of salmon poisoning disease. Fortunately the two days we spent on Long Beach last weekend it was easy to scan for possible dead fish. We nomads sure know how to pick the right weekend and the perfect destination to reinvigorate our Cascadian wanderlust. Windy and wonderful Long Beach, Washington.
Making a new friend at Westcrest Off-Leash Park Typist: Huxley Yesterday was one of those epic fit dog days that Wilhelm, Brychwyn and I so often get to enjoy. We got a sunny ride in the car under the blue Seattle sky and ended up at Westcrest off-leash park. And you will never believe what happened there; another cardigan corgi hung out with our pack! His name is Zephyr and he is really fun. I was having a great time greeting every single canine and human at the park when for some reason Bethany made us leave. I still had a lot of energy so I started a little game of bitey face with Brychwyn on the way to the car. It wasn't long until I learned why we had to leave the dog park; we met Zephyr at a different park and went for a long hike through the woods, over a river* and along the beach. Fantastic! Hiking on the soft, cool trails in Schmitz Preserve Park is one of my favorite fit dog activities. Plus it was a really beautiful day at Alki Beach. There weren't nearly as many dogs and people to meet and visit with than there were at the crowded off-leash park, but I still managed to enjoy myself. While Wilhelm, Brychwyn, Zephyr and I marveled at the crashing waves of Puget Sound on the seawall, I learned that my new friend Zephyr's name means "light wind." Wow! My whole day was full of fun kinds of wind to sniff, feel blowing through my fur and to play with. You just can't ask for a better fit dog day than that! *Not really a river, Schmitz Creek. Have you ever had FitDog outings that included a variety of activities? Please share with us in the comments! |
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