Nehalem Bay State Park, Oregon - Located at the beginning of a four-mile sand spit that separates the Pacific Ocean and Nehalem Bay.
You cross the really cool high bridge from Astoria to get to this state park where we enjoyed a week. The campground is large with plenty of wonderful spots for tents and RV's. Our spot had both electric & water and there was an easily accessible bathroom that had both flush toilets and four shower stalls (with nice hot water/pressure).
The day we arrived was the hottest day, on the coast, during the heat dome. It was 101' when we left Cape Disappointment and 98' with 85% humidity when we arrived here. I could not stop sweating and it felt like we were in a sauna so we didn't do much other than walk on the beach a bit. It happened to be my birthday so we thought we might go out to eat afterward, but I think everyone in Portland had headed to the coast to escape the heat! After trying six places (and realizing we'd have to wait for over an hour outside in the heat each time - even for the food truck) we gave up and just got yummy things at the grocery store and then enjoyed the a/c in the RV. Luckily, the next day the temperature dropped almost 30' and back to normal.
The beach was easily accessible from the campground and had the most gorgeous grass covered sand dunes. Several times I plopped my chair down and just took it all in. This beach is covered in pieces of sand dollars. We loved seeing how different the colors were depending on the weather.
Early in our stay Kim came up to spend a couple of days and we hiked the beautiful Cape Falcon trail which goes through old forest growth above Short Sand Beach and out to the end of the cape. We had read that the trail was often muddy and were glad we wore waterproof shoes as we mucked our way through some spots. We spent an hour plopped down listening to the waves crashing on the rocks and watching all kinds of wildlife (sea lion, cormorants, murres, gulls, pelicans and various small birds). Just tons of activity to watch and take in all while being surrounded by gorgeous things to look at in each direction.
We even watched this beautiful deer as she browsed her way through the daisies above the crashing waves.
Another day we hiked to the Devil's Cauldron and loved the sounds and sights there as well. We spotted a lot of Common Murre's (which resemble penguins at first glance from a distance!) sitting on top of rock stack.
One day we hit some mountain bike trails at Kloochi Creek and stopped by Ecola State to see some of my favorite views. Another day we did a hike out to the spit.
The views from the overlooks along the highway through Oswald West State Park are really stunning and afternoon we just stopped at each one to see the different perspectives. I noticed this gorgeous Peregrine Falcon at one of those enjoying the same thing.
Kevin/Heidi (my brother/wife) and beautiful Bella came up to join the fun the last couple of days. There was ample room for them to pitch their tent on our spot. We enjoyed AMAZING cooking as they prepared some incredible food (curry chicken salad for lunch, yummy avocado appetizers, hobo dinners & smores that night, homemade English muffin breakfast sandwiches the next morning). Yum! With Kim there as well it was a fun family party as we celebrated the fourth of July weekend.
The picture of Kim looking over the cliff is really cool. Reminds me of that painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. I'm only a few days away!
I enjoyed all the photos and the text as well. I wish we were close enough to pop in for a few days camping near you like Kim and your brother and wife did! Sweet dogger too. Thanks for sharing 😊