August 19, 2020
Howdy everyone! Another update for you, grab a cup of tea and let’s catch up! Last time I wrote you we had moved to Silverton, Oregon, and we were enjoying all the produce of the region. We also did a couple small hikes in the area, there really wasn’t a lot of hiking around. We had to get a tire on the RV replaced before we left Silverton. Yes, our RV tires were just all replaced right before we left Ohio in early June. We are still getting excessive tire wear on the curb side (passenger side) front tire on the RV. We had the axles aligned before we left too. Our best guess is that the axles are out of alignment again, or something is defective with that axle to keep causing the tire wear. Anyhow, Steve noticed the tire was very worn and we didn’t want to keep driving with it that way. So we found a place that could replace it for us and we stopped there on our way out of Silverton. They didn’t have a waiting room, we just sat in the truck, they changed the tire with the RV hitched up. About an hour, then we were on our way!
Seems tires are our thing these days! Here’s some more pictures from the rest of our time in Silverton. We drove around through the orchards which were really interesting to see (and we got more fruit!) https://photos.app.goo.gl/UzfhyXgxPT7UoPHD8
We left Silverton and moved to Astoria, Oregon. Astoria is in the very northwest corner of Oregon, on the coast, where the Columbia River begins. We enjoyed several days in Astoria, then moved to Long Beach, Washington, which is just north, still on the coast. We were in Long Beach for 9 or 10 days, and arrived at our current spot, in Netarts, Oregon just yesterday. I’ll give you the run down of our last couple of weeks in Astoria and Long Beach.
Astoria was a nice little city…right on the coast, and some commercial fishing operations there. We also visited the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park there – the museum was closed, but they had a replica of Fort Clatsop there, and a few people dressed in period clothing, doing live demonstrations of what life was like back when Lewis and Clark were there. They built Fort Clatsop as their winter home during the expedition in 1805. It’s amazing what they did and was fun to learn more about how they lived off the land. Pictures of Fort Clatsop: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aNL3jgC9D6zCNwrj6
We went on one hike – there’s a state park not too far away – Ecola State Park – it has some very nice hiking trails, and is part of the Coastal Mountain range. But it was SUPER muddy! The forest was very dense and damp, even though it had not rained for several days, I think it is always wet in there. Made the hiking difficult with all the sinking into the mud. But the forest was beautiful, heavy with moss and ferns, and a few spots we could see through the trees to the Pacific ocean. Never a bad day when we’re out in the forest! Hike pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMMqwPwQHDh4LFTG6
We also spent an afternoon in Cannon Beach. Love it there!! Three years ago, when on our way home from Alaska, we stopped in Cannon Beach and loved it, which is the main reason we are here this summer, spending so much time in Oregon. We have been hoping to find more coastal towns like Cannon Beach. It is a cute little town (touristy, but in a good way), with beautiful coast views everywhere. Cannon Beach pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZGKTxoP7dbP7zezo6
Otherwise, our time in Astoria was pretty uneventful – a good Farmer’s Market, some good grocery stores in the area, and there was tons of seafood available. Steve is eating his way through the state! I’m doing my fair share too, trust me – but he is the seafood lover! I love the fresh fish and we’ve had lots of it on our grill for dinner. But he’s eating his way through all the oysters, clams, crab, smoked fish, you name it. 🙂 Here’s some more pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zqUwGWzCZdALyHSX6
We moved from Astoria, across THE BRIDGE to Long Beach, Washington. It’s on a small peninsula on the very southern tip of Washington. In a word, our time in Long Beach was….disappointing. If you look at it on a map, you may think, as I did….ocean on one side, bay on the other….a little town on the peninsula called Oysterville….how can it be bad??? Well….it wasn’t really bad, it was just disappointing. First, I have to tell you the story of THE BRIDGE:
There’s this big bridge that connects Astoria, Oregon to the Long Beach, Washington peninsula. We saw this bridge 3 years ago when we made a couple of stops in Washington and Oregon on our way back from Alaska. Back then, we drove the 2 hours around to avoid using THE BRIDGE. Steve does not like heights, especially if he is driving and he can see over the edge. This bridge is very high for part of it, then it slopes down, near the water, for about half of it. All together, it’s 4.1 miles long. Here’s a picture of THE BRIDGE:
Here’s where the bridge then slopes down by the water
So, for the week we spent in Astoria, Steve kept looking at THE BRIDGE. We decided we would drive around and not do THE BRIDGE…we have plenty of time, why do that to ourselves, we asked? Then, when the moving day came, he decided he wanted to do it…and we did! He was really nervous, but all was good. In the end, we drove back and forth across THE BRIDGE several times during our stay. I don’t think he would say it is his favorite thing to do, but, he did it!
Our RV park in Long Beach, WA was really not very nice. Super small sites, all crammed in, no landscaping or anything to try to look nice. We couldn’t put out our awnings without hitting the guy next door. The people on the other side of us had a fire one night in their fire pit, which was literally right under our window. I was afraid the paint was going to peel away on our RV from the heat! Not to mention we had to close our windows to keep the smoke out. Ugh. It happens sometimes, not all RV parks are nice, try as I do to find good ones. But, it was right on the ocean – we just walked through some sand dunes and were right on a big beach (it was 28 miles long, they say it is the longest beach in the US). We walked every day on the beach which was great. It was never super warm – always a jacket or sweatshirt for me, Steve managed a couple of times without a sweatshirt, but it was mostly around 69 or 70 degrees and windy. Actually perfect weather, with cool nights too. But, the weird thing about the beach – they allow cars to drive on it! We had never seen this before. There are several entrance points where cars, jeeps, trucks, you name it – enter the beach. Then they drive up and down instead of walking! We actually saw several cars driving, with their dog(s) running behind them, instead of walking their dogs. Yikes! So when you’re walking like we were, with Gerry, you have to constantly be on the lookout for cars and trucks coming from behind you and in front of you. And depending on the tide, it could be pretty narrow. This really made no sense to us and really took away from enjoying the beach. People would bring their vehicles, set up camp for the day next to their car. Others would just cruise up and down the beach. Here’s a couple pictures (not very good but you’ll get the idea):
Dodging cars on the beach!
So….”what about Oysterville”, I hear you asking. We read in a brochure that 1 in every 4 oysters eaten in the US is from Willabay (where Oysterville is located). Well…we went the first time, it was closed. Found out they were only open Friday-Sunday. Oysterville is about a dozen homes, and one seafood shop where you can buy oysters and sit on their deck to eat them. So we went back on Saturday. Guess what??? No Oysters in Oysterville!!! They had a sign up that said the water was too warm and harvest was not possible. So you could buy pre-made, packaged clam chowder (yuck) or some berry jams. That was it! It was a cute little place, and a nice location on the bay. But no oysters for Steve that day!
All in all, we made the most of our time there, walking the beach every day and enjoying the sunshine. We found a Farmer’s Market nearby too which helps. But we weren’t sad when moving day arrived! It’s all part of the grand adventure, and we always have fun and enjoy where we are one way or the other. And the less than great places are still wonderful because we’re out in our RV, enjoying life and exploring together. And that’s what really matters! Pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6R5kasK3hBeJiPn86
So we’re getting settled into our new spot in Netarts Bay, Oregon. I’ll have an update for you from here, I’m sure. It is a very, very tight RV park (are you sensing a theme, here!). In fact, getting into our actual parking spot yesterday afternoon took over an hour. And the manager had to come help us. And we were blocking the street with our RV for awhile, while traffic backed up. Yes, loads of fun! And the drive through space we reserved turned out to only be drive-through-able if you were a small rig. Oh wait…I hear you asking…didn’t they know how big we were before they gave us that spot??? Yes! When I made the reservation, and again, one week before we arrived, when I called ahead to inquire again (based on what we have been experiencing with small, cramped campgrounds) – went over our size, length, etc with the nice lady on the phone – “oh yes, it’s a 45′ site” Wait – I say – our 5th wheel is 41′, not to mention our truck… “oh, it will be fine, and you can park your truck up at the office”. Well. It ended up not being possible to pull through the site. Long story, involving culverts, a drainage ditch and trees. Luckily I was out of the truck, watching and directing Steve and stopped him before our RV ended up in the ditch. That’s when we were blocking the road. The regular road, not inside the campground….they had you drive down the road and then (attempt) to turn into your campsite, over a culvert in a drainage ditch, to your site. Nope. Not us. Way too big to be able to make that turn. So I go back up to the office and ask for help. The manager comes and says “yeah, these sites don’t work for rigs your size. You’ll have to back out, go around the block, come back into the park, and back into your site”. What??? Now Steve is sweating. But we did, and the manager guy helped Steve maneuver until we shoe-horned ourselves into a way too small spot. Ugghhhh!
Our general impression of the Oregon coast RV campgrounds so far is that they are old (our current one was built in 1969), small, cramped and not very nice compared to what we have experienced in other places. It seems the thinking is the crowds come anyhow, so why invest in making the campgrounds nicer?? And by the completely full campgrounds we’ve been in, that seems to work. Our current location is on the bay, and I think it’s going to be pretty, with some of those rocky Oregon coast beaches we’ve been waiting for. And we’re not too far from the Coastal Range mountains, so there should be some hiking nearby.
So now you’re all caught up on our adventures. Hope you enjoy the pictures, and more adventures coming soon!