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  View original topic: Exploring Nehalem with Epic Campsite trip report!
thatbaldwinlife Sat Oct 03, 2020 6:50 pm

Hey guys! We just took an amazing trip last weekend exploring the Nehalem river area of the Oregon Coast range. I have two versions for everyone. The first is the Youtube video and below that is the written version. Hope you guys enjoy the story!
nate


Anyone who has watched the news this summer has seen the devastating fires that tore through the western states and we had a close encounter ourselves during a camping trip on the east of the Cascades during Labor Day weekend. With some recent rains, the fire danger is down a bit and since we had spent most of the summer on the dry side of Oregon, we needed some ferns, moss, waterfalls and fir trees. The Oregon coast range was calling! We took off just before noon on Saturday as we did not have far to go.

We decided to follow the Nehalem River west looking for a good boondocking site.



The skies were a bit stormy and we figured we would get rained on at some point, which we were actually looking forward to. Fall camping is one of our favorite times to be out. Less people and temperatures are still fairly warm. Sitting under the awning, propane fire pit on, enjoying a good beverage while watching the rain come down is very relaxing.

We like to pull over and look around near rivers, bridges, old buildings, etc. When we had the chance to get off busy Highway 26, we took it.







Lower Nehalem Road soon turns to gravel and we took our time exploring side roads and found this really cool old bridge that lead out to some great properties along the river.



We stopped in Spruce Run Campground to make some lunch even though the campground was closed. Not sure if it was due to wildfire danger or COVID, but we had the place to ourselves. Homemade hummus, mushrooms, spinach and Cholula hot sauce in a tortilla wrap was made along with a cup of coffee for me.








After lunch was over we got back on the road with many stops along the way for exploring.
















The areas that I thought may be open along the river were all taken by campers already. All three campgrounds along the Nehalem river were closed so that pushed everyone out to the boondocking sites. We reached pavement again and headed north on Highway 53 out towards some state forest land. We found a nice side road that had a spur road that headed up the mountain. We went up with not a lot of hope that it would lead anywhere. Boy were we wrong! About 1/2 mile up, there was a clearing large enough for a few vans that had an epic view of the valley below and the mountains to the west.












We had a great night by the propane fire, watching the storms move in and out, showering us at times with a light rain.



The next morning we headed to the small town of Nelalem along the coast. It was a beautiful day with almost no wind which is rare for the Oregon coast.













After we made lunch at a viewpoint, we enjoyed the short drive home along the scenic Highway 6 and in no time, we were home. It was a nice, quick getaway to recharge before heading back to our busy lives.

Thanks for reading along! Hoping to get out again next weekend and have another report to post
nate

dkoesyncro Sat Oct 03, 2020 7:00 pm

That is probably the best Oregon coast places to be! Is the train bridge at the strawberry fork?

thatbaldwinlife Sat Oct 03, 2020 7:12 pm

dkoesyncro wrote: That is probably the best Oregon coast places to be! Is the train bridge at the strawberry fork?

We saw that part of the train just outside of Garibaldi.
nate

dieseltdi Sat Oct 03, 2020 7:36 pm

Camped with my kids at Nehalem Bay State Park years ago (my daughter was 13, she is now about to turn 40!). For someone pretty much raised in Texas, the beach is always a wonderful place to be. Although as I recall, when the fog came in that night, it soaked everything that was outside including the canvass on our popup trailer. It was like it had rained all night. My wife said that she just couldn't get used to all the green along the Oregon and Washington coast. Said it "hurt her eyes". Myself, I long to get back into that part of the states again now that I am retired and have my own Westy to explore with. Hayden

thatbaldwinlife Sat Oct 03, 2020 7:42 pm

dieseltdi wrote: Camped with my kids at Nehalem Bay State Park years ago (my daughter was 13, she is now about to turn 40!). For someone pretty much raised in Texas, the beach is always a wonderful place to be. Although as I recall, when the fog came in that night, it soaked everything that was outside including the canvass on our popup trailer. It was like it had rained all night. My wife said that she just couldn't get used to all the green along the Oregon and Washington coast. Said it "hurt her eyes". Myself, I long to get back into that part of the states again now that I am retired and have my own Westy to explore with. Hayden

Yep that is the Oregon coast. We love waking up to the fog and mist on a sunny morning.
It is weird how people crave different types of landscapes. We couldn't imagine living anywhere else than the PNW. Though I am excited to explore new areas like Texas.
nate

dieseltdi Sat Oct 03, 2020 7:55 pm

The thing about Texas is that you can explore many different types of areas from deserts, to the beach, to piney woods, to the Limestone Hill Country. My favorite part is the Big Bend. A harsh wilderness to be sure but it has a beauty that is breath taking. I have traveled in all the lower 48 states (except Maine, hopefully next spring) and I have found something to love in all of them (well maybe with the exception of North Dakota! :D ). My wanderlust began as a child when my parents would load up the stationwagon and a tent and off we would go. One summer, when we were living in Provo, Utah, my dad rented a Shasta trailer and off to California we went. We camped many nights just on the side of the highway! I never lost the love of travel. BTW the trip that I mentioned, we went from Texas through the Rocky Mountains up to Glacier National Park. Across into Canada for the day, then across to the Scablands then to Ranier and St. Helens before venturing down the coast to Nehalem and on to the Redwoods of California. Then to Yosemite, across to Mono Lake, down to Las Vegas then down to Tombstone and a trip into Agua Prieta in Mexico. Over 4000 miles! My kids still talk about it. We were camped somewhere in Arizona when OJ Simpson made his famous Bronco run.

thatbaldwinlife Sat Oct 03, 2020 8:01 pm

dieseltdi wrote: The thing about Texas is that you can explore many different types of areas from deserts, to the beach, to piney woods, to the Limestone Hill Country. My favorite part is the Big Bend. A harsh wilderness to be sure but it has a beauty that is breath taking. I have traveled in all the lower 48 states (except Maine, hopefully next spring) and I have found something to love in all of them (well maybe with the exception of North Dakota! :D ). My wanderlust began as a child when my parents would load up the stationwagon and a tent and off we would go. One summer, when we were living in Provo, Utah, my dad rented a Shasta trailer and off to California we went. We camped many nights just on the side of the highway! I never lost the love of travel. BTW the trip that I mentioned, we went from Texas through the Rocky Mountains up to Glacier National Park. Across into Canada for the day, then across to the Scablands then to Ranier and St. Helens before venturing down the coast to Nehalem and on to the Redwoods of California. Then to Yosemite, across to Mono Lake, down to Las Vegas then down to Tombstone and a trip into Agua Prieta in Mexico. Over 4000 miles! My kids still talk about it. We were camped somewhere in Arizona when OJ Simpson made his famous Bronco run.

Man what an epic road trip! Sounds like a great time.
nate

Merian Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:31 pm

The thing about Oregon is that you can explore many different types of areas from deserts, to the beach, to big Ponderosa pine forest, to the Limestone Mtn. Country in the Wallowas.


sagebrush steppe, juniper woodlands, Oak woodlands...

jimf909 Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:09 pm

Thanks for another great Baldwin Family trip report. It looks like you found a good spot. I love the shot in the video of the pop-top latch being opened and the pop-top opening up. Even though I have a high-top now, I'm conditioned to think that the camping is getting started when the pop-top latch is clicked and the top opens. Nicely done.

thatbaldwinlife Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:41 pm

jimf909 wrote: Thanks for another great Baldwin Family trip report. It looks like you found a good spot. I love the shot in the video of the pop-top latch being opened and the pop-top opening up. Even though I have a high-top now, I'm conditioned to think that the camping is getting started when the pop-top latch is clicked and the top opens. Nicely done.

Thanks so much for the feedback! Agreed, the pop top sound means we have found camp. Though we are looking at moving to a high top in the next few years, we will miss the pop top action.

nate

Jake de Villiers Mon Oct 05, 2020 7:34 am

Nice trip, Nate! Its invoked memories of camping at the Jetty Fishery "Campground" years ago with our good friends Don and Sharon and four kids. Unbelieveably windy with sand flying everywhere - tenst pitched on sand...we needed a place over night so... :shock:

Is that Aubrie Haney's recording of Cherokee Shuffle that Mrs. Nate's bopping along with at your landing site? 8)

dobryan Mon Oct 05, 2020 7:50 am

Awesome photos! Thanks. :D

Slimvest Mon Oct 05, 2020 2:00 pm

Nice pictures. Ain't easy boondocking the Northern Oregon coast. Very limited public space that allows overnight camping. You took the best option: inland.

thatbaldwinlife Mon Oct 05, 2020 4:40 pm

Jake de Villiers wrote: Nice trip, Nate! Its invoked memories of camping at the Jetty Fishery "Campground" years ago with our good friends Don and Sharon and four kids. Unbelieveably windy with sand flying everywhere - tenst pitched on sand...we needed a place over night so... :shock:

Is that Aubrie Haney's recording of Cherokee Shuffle that Mrs. Nate's bopping along with at your landing site? 8)

Close, it is Nat Keefe doing the Cherokee Shuffle! :)

nate

thatbaldwinlife Mon Oct 05, 2020 4:43 pm

dobryan wrote: Awesome photos! Thanks. :D

Thanks! We almost forgot to take pics since we were focused on filming. Need to keep both in mind.
nate

thatbaldwinlife Mon Oct 05, 2020 4:44 pm

Slimvest wrote: Nice pictures. Ain't easy boondocking the Northern Oregon coast. Very limited public space that allows overnight camping. You took the best option: inland.

Yeah the Oregon coast is tough to boondock for sure. Even heading into the hills can be tough due to the abundance of logging areas under lease and gated.
nate



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