Cape Disappointment

      Cape Disappointment was anything but disappointing. The campground was very well maintained and the people we met over the weekend were very friendly. All of the sites were paved and level and laid out like crop circles, functionally it worked very well. During our visit, the weather was fifty and a bit breezy, but that didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the outdoors. Lots of kids on bikes, some playing catch with a football. Overall the park had a great atmosphere. I think part of the enthusiasm for all the outdoor activity was the total lack of phone or Internet connection in the park. You don’t realize just how much you use the Internet until it isn’t at your fingertips. 
     The park has access to a beautiful beach lined with driftwood, complete with a picturesque lighthouse on the cliff above. Just outside the park is a small store/café that will deliver to campers. There is also a jetty that extends far out into the ocean. The rocks from the jetty were quarried from the property that Jackie and I used to live on 90 miles up the Columbia River from here about 100 years ago. 
     The Cape is just outside the small fishing town of Ilwaco. Unfortunately, Ilwaco doesn’t offer much, but just to the north is Long Beach. The town is touristy with lots to do. The beach is 29 miles long and drivable when the tide isn’t up. In the summer of 1977, I drove (with my parents in the car) our family station wagon up the beach more than six miles past the last beach access and got it stuck in the sand. Mom and I went for help and Dad stayed, emptied the car and watched the tide come in and take it out into the surf. I don’t drive on the beach anymore.   Another fun note about the park, it is the home to many black bears.  We didn't get the chance to see any bears, just a few deer.  Maybe next time.