A very rainy December 17, 2015 was our travel day to Tillamook, OR. It rained all the way, which makes for a very long and tiring drive. We drove Hwy 101 and did get to see some of the ocean along the way when the fog and haze lifted a little.
Some sections of the road were a little water covered and a few spots were washed out, but we were still able to get through.
We crossed the Columbia River at Astoria, OR, via the Astoria-Megler Bridge. It is a beautiful bridge and really long, Nancy's favorite kind- Not!
Setting up in the rain is never fun, and by the time we were done, both of us were soaked to the skin. We stayed at the Tillamook Bay City RV Resort, which is in Bay City, just north of Tillamook. Fairly small park, well maintained, but flooded right now. Sites were a little close together and just long enough for our rig and car. The laundry room was clean. Didn't use the restrooms, or showers, but the showers require quarters, one for every 3 minutes.
The Tillamook Cheese Factory was a must visit for this stop. You do a self-guided tour where you can see some of the operations in the cheese making and packing process. Cheese samples await you at the end of the tour. They have two gift shops, a cafe where we enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, and an ice cream shop.
Portland, OR was so much fun, we visited on a Saturday and got to explore their Saturday market. Vendors galore, with arts and food. Voodoo Doughnuts lived up to their reputation and Good Things do Come in Pink Boxes. The building inside and out is very eclectic and colorful. From the glitter brick, with coins stuck in gum, to the pink doors you know the inside will be wild.
Lots of color, stained glass, posters, art and a huge doughnut chandelier.
The doughnuts were delicious, and yes that is bacon on one of them.
Next door to VooDoo Doughnuts is the Kit-Kat Club, our daughter Katrina's nickname!
The Saturday Market is held across four blocks, one section is through these arches.
When taking pictures of buildings in a busy city it is always best to watch out for their electric trains. It would probably hurt if they hit you.
Of course we had to check out some breweries while in town. Nancy was excited to find Natain Brewery, they have a nice logo! Unfortunately we couldn't find their tasting room. We did get to Burnside Brewing, it is in an old building with high ceilings, which allowed for a very tall tree. Beer was good, and food was very tasty.
The road into Portland took us through the mountains and of course we hit some rain and fog. We followed the Wilson River all the way and passed a number of logging sites where new trees have been planted.
There are so many towns, parks and beaches along Hwy 101 that it is hard to get to all of them but we gave it a good shot.
Ecola State Park - the beach was a mix of sand and pebbles. The seaweed roots are amazing. As we walked the beach we came across this puddle that had bubbles coming up, as first we thought it was clams but after watching it we think it was air and water bubbling up.
There was a small cave and a very giant rock off shore.
Arch Cape - The tree tops are all blown in one direction from the wind - there is a light house on that rock way out in the water.
Everyone told us we had to go to Cannon Beach, once there we understood why. What a cute town. We stopped for coffee at the Sleepy Monk Roaster, the barista thought it was funny when we told her our favorite bar in Asheville, NC was the Thirsty Monk. Next door to the coffee shop is the Screws and Brews, brewery and hardware store! Lots of cute shops, and plenty of places to eat and drink. Fun statutes and sculptures throughout town.
Manhatten Beach was the last stop of the day, Mielikki had fun as always jumping over driftwood.
You can see amazing rock formation all along the coast.
Birds were coming in to roost for the night on this tree growing out of the rock.
We don't know the name of this rock but it can be seen from a number of the beaches we were on. If it was a little warmer than 38 degrees we may have ventured out to explore it up close.
The area surrounding our campground was perfect for walking the dog, even on the mornings it was raining. This double rainbow was so beautiful. Later when looking at the pictures we discovered that it looks like it is coming out of our RV. There is even a third row trying to form - don't think we have ever seen a triple rainbow. No, there was no pot of gold at our end of the rainbow.
The views made walking that much easier, and the neighbors were quite friendly.
On December 22, 2015 we headed to Sutherlin, OR. We chose this town so we could go to Bend, OR and Crater National Park, well neither one of those trips worked out due to snow in the mountains. So this turned out to be a resting stop. The drive here was with out rain until about half way, so once again set up was in the rain.
We stayed at the Hi Way Haven RV Park. A fairly large park with a number of permanent residents, but all are well maintained. There is a nice community room that has tables and chairs, and a perpetual jigsaw puzzle in the works. The laundry room is very clean and they have the cleanest restrooms I have ever seen, plus a poster of James Dean by the sinks!
Mielikki loved the two fenced in dog runs.
Each site has a cement patio with a metal table and chairs and it is surrounded by a wooden fence to offer some privacy, really nice idea.
The best and most unique part of the park is they have a drive-in move theater. If your RV is in the right area you can watch from the comfort of your RV and listen over the radio. This site was the towns drive-in theater and the people who bought the property kept the screen. Tim Allen's Santa Clause 2 and 3 were showing while we were there.
We did venture into downtown Sutherlin which is not a very big town. We are so glad we went into the Magic Mushroom Gift Shop. A hippie haven if ever we saw one. The owner Linda is super nice and they have a lot of local art work for sale. It is on Roadside Americas website as a must stop, and we agree.
While driving around we came across another oddity, every time we see a Volkswagen we think of our nephew Jim.
We celebrated Christmas here, a very quiet day. We continued our movie tradition this year with a movie marathon at the Roseburg Cinema's. We saw Mockingjay 2 and then Star Wars in 3D. We really enjoyed both of them.
It certainly was a different Christmas than what we are used to but we did enjoy it. We have a small tree, some Santas and jingle bell decorations.
We received gifts from Nancy's friend Gail, she even sent one to Mielikki. A little bit of Michigan here in Oregon.
Leaving Oregon and heading to California. Looking forward to seeing the sun again!
~ Propane. In a blog from Michigan we suggested checking prices of propane as the per gallon price can vary drastically.That still holds true, as we paid $2.10 a gallon in Sutherlin and when we arrived at the next location it was $3.79. A few other words of advice regarding propane.
1. When making reservations ask if they have a filling station, and if so what time it closes. This way you can plan your arrival accordingly. Twice now we have had to unhook the day after set up so we could move the RV to have the tank filled. Not a lot of fun.
2. Ask the price so you can compare to where you are at, and also watch prices while on the road so if you see it for a lesser price you can stop.
3. If they don't offer it on site ask for the names of local places so you can contact them to check on prices and times. We have found a number of them are not open on the weekends.