Washington and Oregon

Kansas and Colorado to go! Doubt we get back to NJ and DE.

When we began our full-time RV lifestyle, we listed places we definitely wanted to see.  Some places we had been to before, some each of us had been to separately, and some neither of us had ever been too.  Visiting locations along the Washington and Oregon coast (some in each category described above) was definitely on our list along with “must see” Crater Lake Oregon.  These would be the last Pacific Coast states we needed to camp in to fill in our sticker map of the contiguous United States. As mentioned before, we only add a sticker if we have camped at least one night in The Bus (we don’t count other visits or camping in past RVs).  

The Bus is equipped with small canvas awnings that we manually pull out to cover the windows and canvas toppers that protect the tops of the slides.  Being 11 years old, these fabric pieces were nearing the end of their life cycle and we could tell they would need to the replaced soon.  The need for replacement was hurried along when we misjudged a tree limb departing Yellowstone National Park and ripped one of the rear toppers.  Fortunately, one of the best companies to replace these fabric pieces is Tough Topper in Vancouver, Washington.  We called them up and they made us an appointment for the following week.  This set our path so; we departed Northern Idaho and headed southwest into Washington on a 105-degree day passing through Spokane toward the Columbia River.  We stopped for a few nights at a Corp of Engineer park along the river then made our way to a RV Park near Vancouver to wait for our appointment.  

During the wait, we took a day trip to the northwest Oregon coast to the town of Astoria.  Here we toured the Columbia River Maritime Museum and learned a great deal about the hazards to shipping entering and departing “The Bars” associated with the Columbia River meeting the Pacific Ocean. This is a truly treacherous bit of water that has claimed many good ships and crews.  It was humbling to learn about the courage these crews must exhibit to navigate these hazards and the Coast Guard crews who stand ready to respond when needed.

Once our new fabric toppers and window awnings were installed, we headed toward the Oregon coast. We could not find a reservation so we identified a few first come first serve campsites in Tillamook, OR and set out hoping to find something.  The first place we tried was the Ashley Inn.  It is a modern hotel with about 10 concrete RV spots that have electricity and water.  They had open spaces and we chose a large pull thru site.   Once set up, we headed over to Tillamook Creamery to learn how their state of the art facility makes dairy products and sample some of them.  It was impressive to see how the cows milk themselves.  No kidding.  When it is time, they enter and push a button with their nose and the laser guided machines do the rest.   When they are finished, the gate opens and out they go.   Tillamook Creamery is owned by a cooperative of local farmers and their products are outstanding.

We also toured the Aviation Museum in Tillamook.  It is housed in a very large wooden hangar that was used for blimp operations during WWII. The US Navy would fly blimps from strategic locations along the east and west coast looking for enemy naval vessels. Timber Structures, Inc. headquartered in Portland, OR built these extremely large wooden hangars.  It was good to see credit given to a company that a couple decades later, my father worked as General Manager.  

On other days we explored up and down the coast visiting lighthouses.  Occasionally we would see a whale breech or some seals loafing around.  We appreciated the diversity of the Oregon coast, as it seemed to change at every bend in the road.

Rockaway Beach Kite Festival 

Which picture is not from the Oregon Coast? Answer: They are all from the Oregon Coast

Coastal Protection. Note Coast Guard helicopter passing by lighthouse

After a few days at Tillamook, we headed south along the coast to Coos Bay, OR.  Here we had reservations for a week at a casino RV Park. It was a well-run park and we could use the hotel facilities. We spent a couple days visiting Shore Acres State Park and Gardens.  The rock formations along the coast were the most impressive we saw on the west coast. The gardens were beautiful and we hiked trails through and around them. We really enjoyed the hotel’s hot tub after a day of hiking.   

Some people ask, “How do you find such great spots to visit?”  Often it comes from other RVers that share their information online.  The Oregon Coast locations were given to us by a fellow USAF Veteran and RVer we visited in Idaho.  They volunteer with various agencies around the country and have spent a lot of time on the Oregon coast.  One of the things they shared was to visit Bandon, OR during the Farmers Market. Wow, what a treat this was! We picked up some fresh salad greens, sweets, and fresh fish.   

Bandon, OR Farmer's Market

On our last day in Coos Bay, we traveled north to the Oregon Dunes Recreation Area.  We stopped short of the dunes and read the requirement that each vehicle needed a safety flag to drive in the dunes.  As we turned away, a local family was beside their truck and started up a conversation.  We explained that we didn’t have a safety flag and they let us borrow a spare one they had with them.  How nice. We took off and did some four wheeling with the Jeep in the dunes.  When we were done, we found the family’s truck and dropped the flag off.

Departing Coos Bay, we headed south to see the Redwoods.  We had reservations in Brookings State Park for the following two days, but need a place for the night.   We used Google Maps to locate some spots along the Rogue River where we could dry camp for the night.  We found a great spot and were about to set up when a local came by in a truck and I asked if it was OK to camp there.  He said the area was recently closed to dispersed camping, but gave us a location a couple miles down the road that was also right on the river.  

Sundown smokey sky looks like a Tiffin brochure photo

The next day we headed south stopping along the coast highway for a picnic lunch.  We used Brookings State Park as a base for exploring down into northern California to see the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. It was impressive.  We hiked the Boy Scout Tree Trail that was moderately difficult mainly because the trail is covered with tree roots and you want to look up at the trees.  This is a hazardous combination; but we survived.  The quiet peacefulness of this redwood forest is worth the hike.

We try to avoid going into California with The Bus for a few reasons.  One is the Agricultural Inspection station at the borders. Unfortunately, our next destination in Oregon required us to drive a few miles into California then hook back into Oregon.  Doesn’t matter that we will not stop in the state or even open the door; the border guards want to know if we have any fruit or vegetables on board.  I get it.  They have valid concerns and are protecting the cash crops.  We offered our bag of California Oranges, but we were allowed to keep them.  Then they began asking what state we were from? What county we lived in? Really?  I am at the “Northern” border coming from an adjacent state. Oh well, we passed through not spending any money in the state or any more time than we needed.  Our next stop would be Diamond Lake to visit Crater Lake. You will have to wait, as that adventure deserves a post all on its own.

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!

RV Tip:  When dry camping (Boondocking), it is important for your onboard systems to function properly.  Sure enough, it seems as soon as we find a good Boondocking location, something that worked yesterday seems to fail.  This time we could not get our water pump to come on.  Thoughts of using a bucket to carry water drained from our fresh water tank for dish washing and toilet flushing flashed through my mind. I replaced the pump about six months ago and kept the old one as a spare, so you know if you have a spare pump, it is not a bad pump.  I put a “help” message out on the Tiffin Facebook page and got several responses for things to check including a very good troubleshooting write-up.  I went step by step through the troubleshooting checklist testing voltage at various locations and removing the pump to check it. Everything tested good.  Then I read a tip that a Low Side Latching Controller was hidden behind a board in the wet bay.  I found it and tested the inputs to it.  They were all good and the checklist said at this point it must be a bad pump. No way!  I thought about it for a moment then flipped my screwdriver around and smacked the controller three times with the screwdriver handle.  Everything began working properly.  Hmmm…there is a gremlin in this little black box.  I ordered two replacement units online (because you know one will probably be bad) and had them sent to a post office along our next route.  We picked them up and have them ready, but the one I spanked is working just fine.  Go figure.