2017 Fall J@m - September - Pacif NW - T@b Gathering at Ft Worden State Park, Pt Townsend, WA

Mariner459

We are going to be camping at the beautiful Ft. Worden State Park the weekend of September Friday 22- Monday 25, 2017.  Decided to share it with everyone here and encourage any who want to join in to jump on making reservations NOW. 

• I have also reserved/paid for the day use "Beach Shelter" for Saturday (available 9 a.m. until 30 min before dusk) so we can get together for a potluck, music jam, talent show, or something. (I paid the shelter use fee so we could grab it and welcome a donation onsite towards the cost and some help cleaning up if possible ;-) Receipt for shelter will be shared. 
• Here is a screenshot of what is available at the beach side campground in green as of a few minutes ago.  They also have a forest campground on the other end. Once I see we have a group of folks joining in, I will propose an agenda for the Saturday get together for input.  Calling it the 2017 Fall J@m right now. 
• Here is the link to register/reserve (Ft. Worden just went onto this reservation system):   https://washington.goingtocamp.com/Home.aspx  
• Here is a link to read about the park itself but note you make the camping reservations now at above link! They also rent other accommodations but camping is now on the goingtocamp site above.   http://fortworden.org/ 
• WA State Parks honors various discounts, too, such as Disabled, Veteran, etc. if you sign up accordingly.  

So, if you can go and get reserved, let us know here.  
This is our first attempt to do something like this!  We will arrive Friday night and leave probably late Sunday evening or Monday morning.

Melanie, Frank and our Three Corgis
2017 Max S Sofitel (still to be named)

Homebodyatheart

Greatidea! What site did you book?

Mariner459

We scooted down to 31 just because it's less distracting for the dogs than being near bathhouse.  Have you been out here before?

wizard1880

We are booked, site 32!

I love this campground!  Been coming here since I was a toddler.  There's awesome military ruins on the hilltop for young ones to explore, and plenty of history to be had!  Walking and hiking trails are not in short supply, that's for sure.

The beach site is wide open, with no trees.  They have full hookups including sewer.  If you have a clamshell model, be prepared to cook indoors as wind is a common event, especially in the mornings.

Oh, and if you plan to take the ferry from Edmonds, it will cost you 80-90$ each way!  Best to drive around if you can, the Tacoma Narrows bridge toll is much cheaper, and only charged one way.

Mariner459

Great!  It'll be fun!

AldebaranJill

@Mariner459 thank you for the private message alerting me - am seeing if I can attend. Appreciate the heads up!

Dalehelman

Booked site #30 arrive Thur depart Mon

Mariner459

Wonderful! You will have time to enjoy the group, the park, and wander over to the shops if you want. We can't wait to meet all yall.

j_ntabowners

We booked Site # 12 Arriving Friday Departing Monday. 

Mariner459

Yippee! The more, the merrier! 
More Park Info for folks:
http://www.outdoorproject.com/adventures/washington/camping/fort-worden-state-park-beach-campground-upper-forest-campground
http://parks.state.wa.us/511/Fort-Worden 
http://parks.state.wa.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/1873
http://ptguide.com/

Dalehelman

I would like to bump this forward. We are getting a good sized group together for a late May rally at Lincoln Rock Wa. SP and some of them may be interested 

AldebaranJill

I booked site 35 - arriving Thursday.
Thanks again to @Mariner459 for the invite.

A tip for folks going on the ferry - if you have a Fantastic Fan Cover be sure to TAKE IT OFF before you get on the ferry because it will cause you to exceed the 7'2" height limit and bump you into a whole other fee category. Learned this the hard way as it doubled the fee in the under 30' category.

Vehicle Under 30' Under 7'2 in
Vehicle Under 30' Over 7'2 in.
Vehicle Under 40'

Jill

Mariner459

Jill,  Wow, great info about the ferry.  We use the ferry all the time BUT haven't taken the T@b yet, usually drive around for other errands in the south direction.  Great to know!  Also be sure gas including pilot light is off on refrigerator while traveling, onboard ferry, or at gas station, just fyi.       Everyone, I added a few links above for checking out the location and beach shelter we will have on that Saturday.  Melanie 

AldebaranJill

Mariner459 said:

Jill,  Wow, great info about the ferry.  We use the ferry all the time BUT haven't taken the T@b yet, usually drive around for other errands in the south direction.  Great to know!  Also be sure pilot light is off on refrigerator while onboard ferry or at gas station, just fyi.      

Yup, and gas off and tagged for ferry - they'll give you a bright tag when you pay for it.

Yeah, it was $22 without the vent cover, and $45 with it! Ouch.

JerryandVicki

Woo Hoo!  We're in.  Site 45.  Thank you, Mariner.  This will be cool.

TTTab

I jumped in and reserved 42  It is my first planned trip so far.  I didn't even check but they take dogs don't they????  I will plan my travels from MN to arrive there by Thurs. Looking forward to this

Mariner459

We take our Corgis on leash....not in beach shelter, lighthouse, nor other buildings though. There is a parade field we also like to walk them on and fly kites. Port Townsend is very pet friendly except at the downtown farmers market.  

http://parks.state.wa.us/179/Rules-Regulations 

You can give them a call if you want to hear it direct. Be sure you tell them you are in the beach campground, not one of the historic houses.

Welcome more J@mmers! 

Homebodyatheart

Mariner459 I'm sorry we can't make it! What kind of kites do you have? We have an assortment of kinds and sizes, mostly dual line stunt kites. Bought our first dual line kite on our honeymoon and added one a year for a while from there.

Mariner459

Home bodyatheart, maybe next time for sure. Kites...sounds like we aren't in your league by any means :-) We got a small collapsible round canister shaped kite about 20 years ago at REI and have enjoyed it. Seems we see less kites, more drones, but love to see the kites flying.  
Check out the WA Kite Festival.  

http://kitefestival.com 

Maybe we should research their events and match up to a nearby state park or commercial park and see if camping is a feasible plan for a T@b event for one.  ???

Homebodyatheart

Mariner 459, either that or find a really big field mid-state. The kite festival is always very crowded from what I've heard and we aren't fond of big crowds in a small place. Now some other weekend on the coast would be nice, but this year we have to stay fairly close to home and we are in Eastern Washington. Our first was a diamond kite and we had so much fun we just sort of went a bit crazy for a few years. The man who held the world record for Trilby's had his own kite shop in Seaside and we were on a first name basis after a bit with he and his wife. He's not there anymore last we checked, but he had great kites! Long Beach has a nice kite shop, too. They are fun to fly, and there's a learning curve for sure! We also have a large stationary kite, just because it's fun to put up and tie down to mark our 'spot' on the beach. Been a while since we've flown, but they are on my "what to pack" list!

ericnliz

Homebodyatheart, Becky, with your "what to pack list", you're gonna need a bigger boat (or tow vehicle)! 

Homebodyatheart

Eric. Eric. Eric. Fitting lots of things in small areas is one of my specialties! Ask Mr. Homebody how I won $10 in a bet in the early days...if he decides to remember. :-) Also...I'm trying to be (sort of) careful with how much goes in. Oh, and RnR mailed my new plates to us, arriving today, like that does me any good! (HAHAHAHA!) We will have them put them on when we do the walk through. Sigh...

ericnliz

Just sayin'.....

wizard1880

Oh man, yes, this place is AWESOME for kites! We will be bringing ours.

Homebodyatheart

Wizard 1880 what kind do you fly?

Mariner459

We stopped by the day use area at Fort Worden last weekend. Over a couple of hours visit, four different families came over and asked to see the T@b up close, asked all kinds of questions, and gave us a chance to share our enthusiasm.  Looking forward to our Sept. J@m!

wizard1880

Homebodyatheart said:

Wizard 1880 what kind do you fly?

Nothing fancy, just some $10-20 kites from Fred Meyer I believe. 

Homebodyatheart

Wizard 1880 still kites, and they are fun (once you learn how to keep 'em up!)

ericnliz

Run Forrest, run!!!!!!

Mariner459

Bump

wizard1880

Kite flying at Fort Worden is the kind where you can just let all the string out, and it will stay up there for hours!