Slowly but surely we are recovering from our Alaskan adventure, the healing process having been delayed by back-to-back colds which rendered us less than energetic for the chores that needed to be done. Our first stop, after crossing back into the U.S., was a membership campground in Fall City, Washington. It turned out to be a poor choice, being very dry and dusty and certainly no place to begin cleaning the exteriors of coach and car. We knew enough not to expect sewer hook-ups but on our previous visit some years ago a honey-wagon was available for $7 per dump; that same service now costs $25. And this time we were assigned a spot which had absolutely no t.v. reception whatsoever. We’d had quite enough of “roughing it” and were ready for some good ol’ amenities.
So we pulled up stakes prematurely and headed to Troutdale, Oregon to a campground we knew had all the comforts of home and then some. It was there that we restocked the larder and Howie cleaned the exterior of coach and car – we even took the car to a detailer to have the engine steam-cleaned. Yes, folks, it was that dirty inside and beginning to show some tendency to stall from time to time.
Having no particular destination in mind except to be in Mesa, Arizona by December 1, we pulled a campground out of a hat and ended up in Neskowin, Oregon. Located only a quarter mile or so from beach access, the campground has been a delight. We haven’t taken advantage of the heated indoor pool or spa but we’ve enjoyed several trips to the beach, several trips to nearby Lincoln City and a reunion with our Oregon-based “family”, Gail and Ruthee. We had met them quite by chance earlier in the year during a stay in Ehrenberg, Arizona and have been in touch by email ever since. On one particularly busy day, we headed off early to hit the outlet mall, shopped til we nearly dropped and then headed to Mo’s in old-town Taft for a clam chowder lunch to fortify ourselves.
Feeling full-ish and just a little bit lazy, we continued south on Highway 101 almost to the city of Depoe Bay, making several stops along the way to admire the fine ocean views and picturesque Oregon coast. The views, of course, ebb and flow along with the tide – this little outcropping would be much less accessible at high tide.
Neskowin is primarily a residential area with street after street of “beach cottages”, some of which fit the cottage category very nicely and others which fall more into the mega-cottage designation. Regardless of the size, most yards were ablaze with flowers.
After Gail and Ruthee headed back to their ranch, we hit the road to McMinnville for a visit to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home to Howard Hughes’ famous (or infamous) flying boat, nicknamed The Spruce Goose. Conceived as a means to get fresh troops to Europe during WWII without encountering German U-boats, it took so long to build and test this enormous plane that the war was over with before its first (and only) test flight. The plane is not made of spruce but of birch and is nothing short of enormous – a B-17 was parked under its tail and was dwarfed by the huge gray bird. While not on a par with the museums at Wright-Patterson or Pensacola, the Evergreen is a fine display of vintage aircraft, including a number of excellent reproductions, after all, not everybody can lay claim to the original Spirit of St. Louis. Admission fees are high, $19 per person for seniors.
It was a beautiful day when we drove a bit north along Highway 101 to a scenic overlook for a view of the crashing waves, sea birds and an oncoming bank of serious-looking clouds. If it were a
bit earlier in the season, we’d certainly look into prolonging our visit to the Oregon Coast; instead we’ll put it on the list of places we need to revisit in the near future. The whale migrations will begin soon and that certainly would be something to see.
We also took a short ride to find the Drift Creek covered bridge. It was easy enough to find if somewhat of a disappointment. What wasn’t easy was making a left turn back onto SR18 – we ended up having to drive quite a distance east before we could make a U-turn and go west again. Traffic on both U.S. 101 and SR18 is heavy, regardless of the day of the week. Now that school is back in session, we thought for sure the congestion would abate. Wrong!
Next we’ll be heading to Eugene to have all new tires installed on the coach, after which we’ll make hops, skips and jumps with the intention of arriving in the California delta near Lodi by October 4. Stay tuned for our next slow-motion travel report.
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