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portions. Its best seller is a giant dinner
plate-sized warm cinnamon roll served with
butter.
Smith and his crew felled most of the
red cedar and fir used to build the 14,000
square foot log cabin, then prepared it at
his sawmill on a property nearby. There is
a lounge upstairs and an event space down-
stairs which house two large buffet tables.
Logging photos line the walls. There is
a large photograph of Smith’s father and
uncle on either side of an old growth tree
with a long handsaw between them. There
are several photographs of Smith, now 89,
his family and other loggers.
A giftshop full of souvenirs is near the
front entrance, which is decorated with
chainsaw art of loggers, wildlife and Big-
foot. The entrance has doors hand carved
with logging scenes and real axes as door
handles.
Outside the restaurant, you can stroll
the grounds of the outdoor logging history
museum, visit a loggers’ memorial or walk
a short loop nature trail along the creek and
woods. Huge pieces of old logging equip-
ment are on display, including a giant water
wheel which provided power for a house in
Photos by Carolyn Hoard
the area before electricity was connected.
Blue stellar jays, chickadees, juncos and CLOCKWISE: Camp 18 is located along U.S. Highway 26. Guests enjoying lunch next to the cozy fire. Outdoor dining with heating lamps is
hummingbirds all frequent bird feeders that available for customers.
overlook the surrounding forest. If you look
closely across the creek, a life-sized topiary
elephant can be seen in the woods.
A unique history
Smith, born in Astoria, was raised in
Jewell before joining the U.S. Air Force.
He was the first American to fight in the
German Judo Club. He earned his black
belt upon return to the U.S. in the All Star
Judo team. He grew up in a logging family.
In 1966, he put a saw mill on the 50 acres
he bought along the East Humbug Creek
off of Highway 26 and added the restaurant
in 1986. Smith said he is happy to share his
logging stories with customers.
Smith’s family is part of the restaurant.
“Our family grew up here,” Smith said.
Smith owns Camp 18 with his wife,
Roberta. Their daughter, Elaine Cavin, and
daughter-in-law, Karma Smith, help run the
restaurant as managers. Cavin also manages
the gift shop.
Gordon and Roberta’s son, Clay, is
kitchen manager. Their other son, Mark,
visits often. Some of his employees have
been with the restaurant for 30 years. The
couple has 17 grandchildren, some of
whom work at the restaurant.
The owners are generous with their food
and in many other ways. For example,
when a major storm slammed the coast, and
Highway 26 was closed due to tree debris,
Camp 18 hosted over 100 stranded travel-
ers, fed them and let them spend the night
in the restaurant.
Managing under COVID-19
On one Mother’s Day, the restaurant had
close to 900 reservations and on Thanks-
giving 2019 it had over 1,000 reservations,
Gordon said, but the restaurant closed last
year, due to the pandemic. As with many
restaurants, the pandemic has taken a toll.
The restaurant’s menu has been limited a
bit, Karma said, but the restaurant has kept
many customer favorites including nightly
specials, clam chowder, steaks and the
homemade giant cinnamon rolls.
Last year, the staff built an outdoor, cov-
ered dining area with heat lamps.
“We had to take half the tables out of
here (and) build an outside room so folks
can eat outside in a covered area,” Karma
said.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the
restaurant’s event space hasn’t been able to
be used. It has hosted many logging com-
pany parties.
“We’ve had a lot of weddings here,” she
said. “We had to shut the whole downstairs
down.”
The restaurant continues to follow health
guidelines and has recently extended its
hours to stay open for more time during the
spring.
THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021 // 5