Camping at Fort Flagler

Summer decided to arrive last week, on Tuesday to be exact.  I had planned a last minute camping trip for Thursday to Saturday and was hoping that summer would stay.  It did!  It reached the low 90s in Seattle, but stayed in the mid 80s up in Port Townsend, perfect camping weather.  I had been to Fort Flagler for the day, but never to camp, so we were excited to try it out.  It did not disappoint!  Thursday night the campground was pretty quiet.  Outi and her kids camped with us.  Our sites were right across the road from each other and the kids had a great time running back and forth between them, playing with water balloons, trying to catch lizards and snakes, and generally having a blast.  By Friday afternoon, the crowds started showing up, but we still enjoyed being there.   Our campsite had an amazing view of the water and a "private" beach just a few feet down the road, and down a steep stair case.  The kids loved playing on the beach and in the sand dune cliffs.  I loved sitting on the beach, visiting with friends.

Mariann and Izaac, and Shannon and her kids came up to spend the evening with us on Thursday.  Brooke and her gang joined us on Friday for the day.  After playing on the beach for a while on Friday, we went to explore the bunkers.  We imagined what it must have been like 70 years ago when there were no trees blocking the views to Fort Worden and Whidbey Island.  We saw a submarine coming in and tried to guess where it had been, and if there were excited families waiting back at the sub-base to welcome home their submariners.  We headed home Saturday afternoon, after packing up camp and a quick cliff climb for the kids.  We'll definitely be returning to Fort Flagler to camp.  Maybe not this year, since there are so many great places to camp nearby, but someday soon!