Month: May 2018

We got a leisurely start today. Our route ran up Hwy 101 most of the way. About half way we stopped at Ruby Beach. Ruby Beach is part of Olympic National Park. The beach was really wonderful and fairly crowded. We ate a sandwich on the beach. The route also took us by Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. Another spectacular view. We had lots of time to enjoy the view because road construction had us stopped quite a bit of the time. We got to the Elwha Dam RV Park about 3pm. The park is quite nice with decent room between sites. We get good cellular and satellite coverage which is always nice. Once set up we ran into Port Angeles to check it out. The town has a nice vibe and the views of the ocean and Vancouver Island were great. We decided to eat at LD Woodfired Grill for a Mother’s Day steak. It was pretty pricey but we really enjoyed it.

Today was a pretty chill day. We drove to Aberdeen and ran a few chores. After that we drove North along the beach to check out the rest of the surrounding area. Not much to report. Before going back to the coach we decided to check out some of the gift shops around Ocean Shores.

Today we bummed around the Aberdeen area. We started off by going to Ocean Shores which is on the Northern jetty of Gray’s Harbor. It was raining on and off so we didn’t spend much time out of the car. We headed into Aberdeen proper and looked around a few stores. We headed to Westport for a highly rated brew pub. Westport is on the South side of the Gray’s Harbor jetty. The pub is called Blackbeards Brewery and specialized in pizza. The beer and the pizza were pretty good but it is not much of a destination. After lunch we stopped at the Gray’s Harbor lighthouse but it was closed for tours. We then hit the beach. Maverick had a great time playing in the sand and surf. The beach is also a great location for finding Sand Dollars. We spent the rest of the evening chilling at the coach.

We got up this morning and took our time getting ready to leave. Donna made a quick run to the local bakery to get some awesome baked good she discovered yesterday. The bakery is about a block away. We re-traced our steps to I-5 and then across towards Aberdeen where we had lunch at Subway and restocked at Wal Mart. Re-stocked, we headed to Copalis Beach and the Driftwood RV Resort. Resort is a little optimistic. The route from Aberdeen to the resort is only about 30 minutes but seems a little run-down in this area. I fear Aberdeen will be the only appealing site in the area. This stop is mainly intended as a mid-point to Port Angeles so I didn’t expect too much. Our site backs up to the Copalis River which wind itself lazily to the ocean near here. The RV park is undergoing expansion so most of the place looks like and is a construction zone. Without the construction it might be pretty with the many large trees but it isn’t now. After getting setup I had to pull up jacks and move forward about 15 feet to find satellite reception. That was an annoyance, but it was worth it. We stayed around the coach the rest of the afternoon, postponing exploration for tomorrow. While setting up it started very light rain and that continued into the night.

We headed off this morning for Mount Saint Helen National Monument. There was only one route near the mountain open and that required a long route back West to catch the open road and then back East to the mountain. It was a pretty long drive, over 2 hr one way, but we didn’t really have anything else to do today. We stopped not far outside of Packwood to see the Cowlitz Falls park. We thought based on the name we might find a waterfall. What we found instead was a quiet park and lake where we were the only ones there. Maverick really enjoyed running around off-leash. After the park we next stopped in Mossyrock to take some pictures of a Tulip bulb farm. While we were there they were cutting the tops off of the Tulips as part of the process to grow bulbs. We got some nice pics before they were gone. We stopped in Toledo for a burger at about the only place in town called Betty’s Place. The burger was pretty good but also pretty slow. We sat outside in the warm clear weather. Once on the road we headed up the mountain. I wasn’t positive what we could see since the Johnston Ridge Observatory was closed until May 16. It turns out we had great views and could drive all the way to the Observatory even though it and the Visitor Center were closed. The views of the mountain were great and the viewpoint information signs were very good. The mountain erupted explosively in 1980. Much of the area was quickly cleared and replanted by a logging company that owned much of the area affected. Today there are 35 year old trees everywhere that will resume logging in about 2026. The highway viewpoints provided a very nice view of the crater and the resultant lava and mud flows. The weather was mid-70’s and very clear so the views were great and the stops very pleasant. After viewing the mountain and crater we stopped at Castle Lake. Castle Lake was created by the eruption and is very beautiful. Maverick enjoyed the break from the car. On the way back we were treated with partial views of Mount Ranier peaking over and around the closer mountains. You could even see it from our RV spot today. Tomorrow is a travel day to Copalis Beach. Why Copalis Beach? No particular reason other than it is about halfway to Port Angeles. Port Angeles is a destination for Olympic National Park and day trip(s) to Victoria B.C. Copalis Beach is, as the name implies, on the Pacific so that should be nice.

Today we got up and said a moment of prayer because there isn’t any fountain diet Coke within 45 miles of Packwood. That is really harsh! Ok, after dealing with the Coke issue we headed out for the Nisquallly (West) entrance to Mount Ranier National Park. This entrance is 23 miles North of Packwood via National Forest Rd 52. NF-52 follows a river most of the way to Hwy 706 which leads to the park. NF-52 is a beautiful drive and we took our time during the trip stopping very often to admire the raging rapids of Nisqually River. A few miles inside the park is the Longmire lodge and museum. The Longmire buildings are historical dating back to the early 1900’s when the park was the 5th established National Park. The lodge is pretty small and basic compared to Yellowstone, Yosemite, and other big parks. We had a nice basic lunch in the lodge dining room. After lunch we drove to the Paradise Lodge and recreation area. All along the route are beautiful views of the mountain and three really nice waterfalls. The road to Paradise is the only part of the park open at this time. The weather was pretty nice, in the 50’s to 60’s. The mountain started off being obscured by clouds but by the halfway point the mountain was visible except for the very peak. Pretty good for this time of year.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Got up and topped off the coach with propane and diesel at the park and then hit the road. The trip required about 4 hours of driving and the Portland traffic was a pain. We stopped about halfway in Woodland WA. We ate at the Guadalajara Mexican food restaurant and it was pretty good. Back on the road we pulled into Packwood about 3:30pm. The park is pretty underwhelming, but its only about $32/night and has full hook ups. There is probably only about 10 of us total in the park so it should be pretty quiet. Packwood is only about 2 blocks long with a couple of places to eat. The park has large mature trees throughout but surprisingly we receive 2 of 3 satellites and also have 4-bars of Verizon. Nice. The temperature today is really warm with a high of 75F and intermittent showers. It is supposed to be cooler the next couple of days. We had pretty good views of Mount St Helens on the way in but have yet to see Mount Ranier. I hope the weather cooperates.

This morning we tried out Crepe Neptune. There really isn’t any seating at the restaurant and we waited in a pretty long line to place our order. It was worth the wait. The crepes were superb. We drove from Cannon Beach to Fort Stevenson State Park. The park features some great beaches and we walked out the length of jetty of the Columbia River and enjoyed the beach. We explored the Russel Battery. The battery had a 30ft long cannon/gun that was active until the early 50’s. This Fort has the distinction of trading fire with a Japanese submarine during WWII. It was the only time during the war that the continental US received enemy fire.
After leaving the Fort we headed to Pier 39 and Rogue Nation Brewing Company. The pier required driving across a one-lane wooden pier to the structure. It obviously was some kind of fish processing facility in the not-to-distant past. The brewery was kind of cool and food pretty good.
On the way back to Cannon Beach we stopped at the Fort Clatsop / Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. The visitor center had a lot of really interesting history on Lewis and Clark. The park has a recreation of their winter Fort located at the same site as the original Fort.
We returned to the coach and Donna ran errands in town while I cleaned the windshield and got the coach ready for the trip tomorrow. When Donna returned she said someone mentioned roosting Puffins at Haystack Rock. We decided to revisit Haystack Rock one more time with our binoculars to look for Puffins. We enjoyed our visit but failed to find any Puffins.
Tonight we finish preparations to travel to Packwood Washington. Packwood is just outside Mount Ranier National Park and near Mount St Helens National Monument. I expect most of the Ranier Park to still be closed due to snow but we will see what we can explore.

Today we headed to the Oregon Aquarium in Seaside. Tripadvisor had positive reviews but made it clear this was a small aquarium. The aquarium had a nice collection of Anemones and smaller sea life. It did have a tank of sea otters that were really funny begging for our small fish bits purchased to feed them. One of them continued to purposely splash me until I fed him/her.
Heading back to Cannon Beach (the town), we stopped at Public Coast Brewing Company.  The food, service, and dining experience was really nice. After lunch I surprised Donna with the short trip South to Hug Point State Recreation Area. The beach here has some sea caves and a hidden waterfall around a rocky point. We climbed some rocks and timed our walk to avoid the surf to get to the waterfall.  Maverick had a great time running around and climbing the waterfall rocks with me. After about 30 minutes of play time we headed back. Uh-oh, the tide was obviously coming in and was now at least another 6 inches deeper than when we first came around the point. I was able to climb higher on the rocks and time my run to avoid getting very wet. Donna and Maverick ended up wading through 6 inches of surf to get back to the main beach. We are glad we didn’t wait any later.

Today we headed out to see Ecola State Park. The park is perched high on a hill/mountain with spectacular views of the coast. We spent a hour or so at the park just soaking up the views. You had a great view of the Haystack rock to the South and the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse on an island to the NorthWest.
Once through with the park we drove to Seaside, 6-miles North of Cannon Beach. Seaside has a nice retail downtown with the typical tourist stores. The weather was pretty and warm so we walked up and down the 3 block strip. After the stores we drove a couple of blocks East to the Seaside Brewing Company. We sat outside next to a gas fire-pit and really enjoyed the food.
We returned to the coach and Donna headed back to Cannon Beach (the beach) to read a book while Maverick and I hung out around the coach. While she was gone I installed one of my LED rope lights permanently under the edge of the coach and then relaxed in my hammock until Donna returned. She returned frozen by the beach breeze. After she warmed up she headed into town for a pedicure and to bring home chicken.