We ended our five-day stay at the Harris Beach State Park in Brookings, Oregon and have moving up the coast to Florence, which is about half-way between California and Washington.I'd recommend Harris Beach to anyone who likes to camp along the Oregon coast. Its 149 campsites and 6 yurts are all situated close to water and showers. Many sites come with electrical hookups as well.
The staff are helpful and courteous, even when they're correcting minor rule violations! The other night a ranger approached our neighbor's camp and asked them to turn down the boom box, saying, "You know, that's one of my favorite CDs. But I've got to ask you ..."
This is our fourth time using the campground. Each time we visit, usually in July, we encounter different weather. Be ready for cold, foggy mornings. A heat wave is defined as any temperatures above 90.I prefer C Loop. The campsites (both RV and tent sites) that are the roomiest are situated on the outside of the loops. D Loop is closest to U.S. 101. Expect lots of highway noise until later in the evening.
Reserve your site ahead. We've learned the painful lesson that Harris Beach is popular. It's almost impossible to get a reservation this time of year. When you find unreserved blocks of days, they rarely include electrical hookups. These are the least desirable sites as well.
We were fortunate this year. I made a reservation a week before heading north for a tent site with no hookups. The spot (C5) wasn't as roomy as we like, but it was acceptable.
We're heading inland tomorrow and plan to end up somewhere along Orgeon Highway 58, possiable Odell Lake. Until then ...
Chef, Thanks for your blog!
ReplyDeleteSummer Camp Foodservice
I found a web blog recently by a Chef Steven Karoly called Round the Chuckbox. Chef has 35 years in the business and is looking towards retiring and running a camp kitchen in the mountains. His blog addresses the challenges and the solutions that he has found to dealing with the hectic nature of camp foodservice.
Having provided food products to summer camps for the last seven years I thought I had a firm grasp of what the challenges were for my customers. However this year I got to be on the other side of the equation as in June the Isaeff family went to summer camp with the White Stag Leadership program.
This youth program started in 1958 has evolved and challenged thousands of Boy and Girl Scouts in their personal growth.
We arrived at the Camp Cutter Scout Reservation in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Boulder Creek on Saturday June 24th. The Kitchen Director, Chris Balog, had already been on site since Thursday and the delivery of the week’s food had taken place on Friday. Volunteers receive and store the products.
Staff turnover is high as the kitchen here is run entirely by volunteers who come up for as little as one meal service up to the entire week. The challenge then is delegating manageable tasks to the good folks that wander in looking to help out.
Chef Karoly’s has had some repeat staff which helps in continuity, but according to his blog he schedules in training on food safety, job assignments, and to orient the staff in the kitchen.
Our week at Camp Cutter had us serving 130 people 3 meals a day Saturday morning through Saturday morning and culminated with graduation lunch on the final Saturday for about 400.
Our Graduation lunch was a resounding success with a tip of the hat to Chef Steven Alton King of David Walley’s Resort in the town of Genoa, who provided the recipe for his almost famous Cowboy Sirloin Steaks!
Final lunch offering was a choice (or combo) of Cowboy Steaks, Oven BBQ Chicken, Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Garden Burgers, Pasta Primavera, and a salad bar. Fresh baked chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert.
Peninsula Foodnews
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