For the first time in a long time, the pain in my hip allowed me the freedom to get in the car, on a longer jaunt, to Palomar Mountain. My wife & I were treated to a Photographers Heaven, with crazy blue skies, & impressive light play, the result of bright sunlight escaping truly massive clouds & cloud ceilings.

We waited about 10-15 minutes, to be able to continue to PMSP entrance, due to a road repaving inconvenience, up near Palomar Mountain SP, where road crews were hitting it hard. The roadwork this crew had already done, the bottom third of the way up the mountain, felt super smooth in my Rav 4.

Oak Creek Campground is so peaceful and a treat for the eyes. The cheery babbling water of Oak Creek provides the soundtrack to your stay. My wife and I camped here for five nights on Spring Break, 11 years ago. We had the space reserved for 1 more night, but an incoming snow storm forced us to retreat to a hotel in Flagstaff AZ. Best thing I remember from our visit was the overall tranquility and beauty of Oak Creek, right behind our campsite. Other memorable moments were watching waterbugs gliding atop the surface of Oak Creek, feeling connected with a Robin that flew into our campground to hang out with us, dipping my feet into Oak Creek, and seeing a Golden Eagle, all lit up by the sun, in a tree near our camp site.

We had a great time here. I'd recommend camping at Oak Creek Campground to anyone!

The Cowlitz River Blue Creek Ramp, was a nice launching ramp on the Cowlitz River, very close to the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery.

This launch ramp is where lots of Pro Fishing Guides trust launching their high dollar jet boats from. It has a wide, nicely-tapered concrete launch ramp, with no sudden drop-offs.

Todd, our guide, from Two Tails Guide Service, told us that this was typically a good area to fish, during peak Steelhead Runs here, as the Steelhead Trout, which return from the ocean to spawn, were raised just a short distance away, at the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery. Because of this, the Steelies will stick around, for long periods of time, in this 2 mile stretch of the Cowlitz River.

It was a pretty crazy day, weather-wise, on the Cowlitz. We left the boat launch at 6:45am, on 4/3/23. Skies were dark then, with strong cloud-cover obliterating any sunlight from seeping out early. Temp on the water then, was a chilly 40 degrees F.

As the day wore on, we'd get patches of bright blue sky, with huge puffy white clouds that'd quickly drift past us. The bright sunshine beaming down on us, during these stretches, felt so rejuvenating.

Then, moments later, dark clouds would sail back into position, blocking all that scintillating sunlight. Moments after that, small pellets of hail began incessantly pounding down, & the wind would pick up noticeably. The hail felt worst, whenever our fishing guide, Todd, went to reposition the boat, up river. We'd be flying across the water, directly into the hail & wind, with small hailstones bouncing wrecklessly off our faces. This is typical Spring-time weather in this part of Washington, according to my son.

We saw two groups of Blacktail Deer along the Cowlitz River. 3 of the 6 deer in the large group eased themselves into the edge of the river, & played there a bit, until our boat spooked them back onto the bank. I also saw 2 Bald Eagles- one of them flying directly over our heads, plus 2 of the larger Golden Eagles.

Earlier in the day, we saw 3 large fish leap acrobatically out of the water, before splashing back into the Cowlitz. Parts of this river were scenic, & hard to look away from, especially bathed in majestic sunlight.

As far as amenities go for this boat ramp, there were 2 concrete block-built restrooms with pit toilets in them, which looked rather sketchy, cleanliness-wise. There were also several Porta Potties, near the boat launch. Didn't go in any of those, but I'm guessing they weren't pristine, either. That said, hey, when nature calls, you can't always be too picky about the details.

There was a large parking area here, at Cowlitz River Blue Creek Boat Ramp, perfectly-capable of handling all parking needs, of folks trying to launch their boat, even on a busy day at this boat launch.

Schafer State Park is large & spread out, meandering along the Satsop River. The main entrance gate was closed on 11/8/23, so we continued on this road a short distance, & parked in a medium-size parking lot, on our right, just shy of a bridge spanning the Satsop River. We paid the Day Use Fee, $10, in an envelope provided here. You may also display your Discover Pass, should you possess 1. There are several decent fishing spots along the river here, although much of the shoreline is unfishable, from the bank. Campsites are available, within the park, though only in the warmer months.

What we saw this day, was incredibly beautiful Fall scenery, with orange & tan-colored leaves blanketing the forest floor, beneath countless tall, moss-covered & leafless Maple trees. Lush ferns lined the pathways through the forest in many places.

I saw a woodpecker, quite a few small squirrels, chattering and racing up & down the tree trunks here, a medium-sized tan bird, that was quite comfortable diving & swimming in the river, time & again, before flying to one of its favorite spots, a sand bar & log, stuck on it, midway out in the river. Flying through the air, along the Satsop River, were many inch-long, red-tinged moths. I noticed most were ascending, into the tree branches, & lit up beautifully in the bright sun.

Walking beneath the leafless trees, bright beams of sunlight crazily lit spots below, on the tranquil forest floor. The park was so pretty around 11am, with beautiful light glinting off the Satsop River, & also brightly illuminating the profuse & neon green patches of moss, which almost completely covered some trees, on our walk through Schafer State Park. Blue skies, mixed with cotton-ball clouds at the periphery, completed our scenery panorama today.