Leaving the Beach

On Thursday morning we were in no big hurry to leave Long Beach heading for Chehalis, Wa. We knew that we had about 120 miles to do and that was a breeze. At just about 8 am we heard the Leivas rig start up and knew that the clocks had to be wrong because they usually do not leave at that time.

We got busy real fast and were out of the campground by 8:30 am. We went north on Hwy 101 and then east on Hwy 4. The roads were mostly 2 laners with lots of curves but very good surfaces. The drive was beautiful and very interesting.

After about 60 miles we hit I-5 and continued north on it for 40 miles to Chehalis, Washington. We got off at exit 71 and followed the Thousand Trails Signs for approximately 7 miles. The campground is outstanding. It is the original campground in the Thousand Trails system. We feel very lucky that we were able to get a full hookup site as they only have 33 of these throughout the grounds. The only problem that we had is that we could not get our satellite to work between all of the trees. It took Russ and neighbors more than 3 hours to get service and then Russ worked on it again on Friday after purchasing a 5 foot section of pvc pipe. We now have good service.

For the past 6 weeks we have been complaining of how cold we were. Well today (Saturday) the heat has found us. My thermometer says that it is 89 outside and the sun is shinning and the skies are a most beautiful blue. The temperatures are suppose to go back down beginning tomorrow.

Well time to start dinner so will give more information in the next few days. Wish everyone a great week.

Grays River Covered Bridge

Russ and I decided to forgo breakfast this morning and go and search for the Covered Bridge in Rosburg, Washington. (We saw a sign that said that the name of the town was Rosburg not Roseburg). The map showed that it was about 30 miles from the campground and it is the road that we will be taking on Thursday so this was a good chance to see how we would be traveling. We knew that we would not be able to take the motor home across the bridge so that is why we decided on a day trip.

Information on the bridge:

Name: Grays River Covered Bridge

Built: 1905

Span: 158 feet

It is the oldest remaining covered bridge in the northwest and the only one of its kind in the state of Washington.

This afternoon Russ and I walked down to the beach as he wanted to try and dig up some clams. We had no luck in finding any. The afternoon has proved to be the best we have seen since last Tuesday. It warmed up to about 65 but the air is still a biting cold. I was able to sit out in the sun for a while.

Port Ilwaco and Ocean Park

This morning Russ and I were up early and headed for the Port Ilwaco Farmers Market by 9 AM. We walked along the boardwalk looking at all the wares that people had out for sale. The only thing that we saw that we might have bought was a hobby horse for my great-niece Jenna but passed it up for now and will find her one when we get closer to the east coast.
We left Ilwaco and headed to Long Beach where we stopped at McDonald’s and got us a breakfast sandwich before heading to Ocean Park and the Garlic Festival. There were booths with people selling wares and some were selling garlic stuff also. Russ purchased a bottle of Garlic Ginger Sauce which he said tasted good on his pork chops last night. We enjoyed seeing what all was there.

We drove back down Sandbridge Road and found a Cranberry Museum. It told of how the cranberries are grown and picked. We took a self-guided tour of the field and learned much about the process of growing cranberries.

During the late afternoon and night we had rain. Not hard just gentle showers.
The weather has still been chilly and grey while we have been here. We have decided to change direction on Thursday and instead of staying on the coast we are going inland toward Chehalis where we will be able to see Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. Hopefully it will be warmer also.

Thousand Trails Long Beach, Washington

This morning we took a walk with Jim and Nancy down to the beach. The path is lined with much beach grass and beautiful flowers of different kinds.
The walk is between a quarter and a half mile and a very easy walk. Once we reached the beach the tide was way out and Russ walked out to where his feet finally found the waves.
This beach allows dogs off leash so Buddy really enjoyed being able to chase the waves and check out all of the smells and things that a beach have to offer. Cars are also allowed to travel on the solidly packed sand.

Later in the day, Russ and I decided to go and find the lighthouses that are in the area. We headed to the right from the campground on Hwy 100 and found North Head Lighthouse that was built in 1898. The views through the trees to the ocean were awesome. Upon reaching the lighthouse we could see for miles and miles out in the Pacific Ocean. This lighthouse is one of the two in the area.

We traveled about a mile down the road to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center within Cape Disappointment State Park. We took one of the beach trails and could see Cape Disappointment Lighthouse from it.

This was a very fun filled day finding the lighthouses and information about the area.

Travel along Hwy 101 through Oregon

We left Whalers Rest, near Newport, Oregon, this morning about 8 AM and headed north on Hwy. 101 along the Pacific Ocean coastline. It was cloudy all day but the drive and scenery were beautiful. Traveling along 101 you go through many small towns and the speed limit is down to 25 – 35 mph. The roads are also very windy but with the slower speed there is no problem negotiating the curves.

At about 11:30 AM, we arrived in the town of Astoria, Oregon. We drove through the town headed for the bridge to cross the Columbia River into Washington.
In order to reach the bridge you do a pigtail up. Once on the bridge it is 4 ½ miles long and very scenic. We continued on Hwy 101 through the towns of Chinook, Ilwaco, and Seaview to just before Long Beach where we are camped at the Thousand Trails Park. It is a very nice park with side by side parking and the sewers are shared by four camp sites so you must make sure where you are parking.

We got set up and decided to ride up to the town of Long Beach and get some lunch. We stopped at Doogers and the food was excellent. Russ had Salmon and chips while I had Chicken Strips and salad. We left there and headed back to the park to greet Jim and Nancy Leivas. They were about an hour and a half behind us. They are parked on the outer road facing the trees.
We all just rested for the rest of the afternoon and will see what we can find tomorrow.

Whalers Rest Resort, South Beach, Oregon

On Thursday morning it was early rising only because we had become accustom to it while having work done at Camp Monaco. We wanted to stay out of the way while those still needing repairs were taken into the shops.

At about 8:15 am Russ pulled up to the dump and did the necessary actions there while I went to the lounge to turn in our evaluation of the service provided to us and to also bid farewell to those we had met while here at the camp.

We drove north on I-5 to Halsey, Oregon, exit 216 where we decided to fill up with diesel ($4.83 per gallon) and have breakfast as we needed to kill some time. Once breakfast was over we headed more on I-5 to Hwy 34 and headed west on it. Hwy 34 connected with Hwy 20 and we followed it all the way to Newport, Oregon. The road for the most part was very good but there were areas where it was winding and narrow. Russ did very well and we made it to Whalers Rest Resort, a Thousand Trails/NACO park about 12:10 pm and were able to get a pull-thru spot thanks to Jim and Nancy Leivas. We are in space 91 and can get out satellite tv with no problem. We are using the Wilson Antenna for telephone and computer and that is okay.

Today Nancy and I went into Newport to Wal-Mart and on the way back we stopped at the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse and bridge. It is beautiful here but still really cold and windy. The temperatures have been in the 60s but the wind makes it feel a lot colder. Hopefully along the way we will find some heat but we have heard when it gets hot it is HOT.

The park is having a fishing derby here this weekend and it is like a scavenger hunt, you find little paper fish and mark a net with your name and campsite. I found one of the fish today and it weighed 120 lbs., Russ found one last night and it was 44 lbs. Nancy's was only a little guy at 6.75 lbs. Sorry Nancy.

Russ also washed a very dirty motor home and car today. They both look really nice. Thanks Baby.

Well will post some pictures and then head down to the clubhouse to see who wins the fishing derby. Everyone take care.

Camp Monoco, Harrisburg, Oregon

Monoco Factory Repair Facility, Harrisburg, Oregon.

We arrived here on Sunday afternoon after doing the Redwood Highway from Klamath, Ca. We are here at the Monoco Repair Facility to have some things repaired, to have some maintanence done and hopefully have the smudged window replaced. We do not know exactly how long we will be here but we at least have electric and water. They also provide us with free washers and dryers and a large lounge with wi-fi.

When we arrived on Sunday the hook-up spots were all taken so we just stayed in the overflow area.

At 7:30 am on Monday morning you saw rigs start moving in to have there stuff done and a number of them left. We were called Monday afternoon and told that we could move into a spot and they would be out to see us at 8:30 am Tuesday. That was fine with us. We will probably be here for the better part of this week.

Traveling the Redwood Highway

On Sunday morning we left Klamath River RV Park heading to Harrisburg, Oregon. We traveled Hwy 101 north to Crescent City and then took Hwy 199 North East through the Redwood Forest. It was a very pretty and interesting drive. The big redwood trees were literly sitting on the road and then there were cliffs that you could look straight down. And the winding around the hills was first this way then that. I felt at times that I was having to hold the motor home on the road, it was that close. There was also wind out there so that did not help either. Thank goodness Russ is a very careful driver and we made it to our destination safe and sound. He was very tired when we got here.

A real interesting drive for the day.

Fun Bus Tour

From Klamath River RV Park.

Thursday we called about the Fun Bus Tour that was provided from Kamp Klamath, the next rv park to us. They had a tour scheduled for Saturday going down to Fern Canyon.

The four of us decided that we would take it having them pick us up at our campground at 10.

When they picked us up there were 10 people already on the bus. We drove down Hwy 101 to a field that they were having Happy Trails Day for the city of Orick. We browsed around the booths until noon and then took off south again to Drury Road. We drove down this gravel, wash-board road for about 8 miles. It was just wide enough for one vehicle much less a 26 foot bus. We ended up having to stop a couple of times as we were meeting traffic coming the opposite way. Once we arrived at the park we went on the trail that lead back to where Jurassic Park had been filmed.

We crossed streams and climbed hills and ducked under fallen trees and just had a wonderful afternoon learning all kinds of things from Aaron and Andy our tour guides.

We also saw Elk along the way and really had a good time learning from these guys.

After leaving Fern Canyon, we went up to Big Tree Park. This redwood stands 304 feet tall and is 67 feet in around. It was hard to believe how big this tree actually grows. We walked a path learning about the trees, fern and plant life that was there. Another enjoyable place to visit and learn.

We had a really good day and once back to the campground, Jim, Nancy and I went over for ice cream and a walk. It was then back to the motor home for a relaxing night of watching some TV and enjoying the view.

Travel to Klamath, CA

We left Thousand Trails, Russian River Park, on Wednesday morning at 7:30 am heading north on Hwy-101. Out next destination was Klamath, Ca. which was 244 miles away. There was little traffic on this road all day. The scenery was amazing and we enjoyed the ride.

Along the way we saw beautiful hillsides, further north we saw huge redwood trees and then all of a sudden we were looking at the most beautiful sight of the Pacific Ocean in front of us. It was awsome, as neither Russ nor I had ever been up this way. We are really enjoying seeing this part of California. When we arrived at Klamath River RV Park, the temperature was 57 degrees and the wind was blowing. The sun was out but that wind was cold.

We waited for Jim and Nancy to arrive and then we took a ride up to Crescent City. We found a nice Seafood Restaurant and had dinner there. Jim had a calamari steak with clam chowder, Nancy had shrimp and chips with the chowder, Russ had a seafood combination plate (clams, fish and shrimp) and I had fish and chips. It was all very good. We then rode around the city and then headed back to the campground. We passed "Trees of Mystery" which Russ and I went back to today and enjoyed the museum very much. It was free and very interesting. We will go up and see the trees tomorrow if the weather is better. Today it was cloudy and drizzling most of the day and still cold. Again about 59 degrees all day.