Netarts Bay

Aug 10- We drove to Netarts Bay RV Park and Marina today. We stayed in a park about 20 years ago called The Happy Camp at Netarts Bay. This was divided and sold to have condos and rentals built several years ago. We went to where the camp sites used to be and could see where we stayed but it was grown over with buildings nearby. We had lunch at the Schooner. This was a little bar that looked out at the bay. It was added on to and remodeled over the last few years. The park we are staying at is real nice with all the amenities. Most of the guests are here to go crabbing and clamming in the bay. Here is our view of the bay from our site.


When the tide is out there are huge sand bars where people dig and rake clams. It is quite a site. We heard from a boat owner that people get so involved in clamming they don't watch the incoming tide and have to be retrieved by boat.

Aug 11- We went to Tillamook, 6 miles away, to the Tillamook County Fair. It is rated as one of the top 10 county fairs in the country. We were really disappointed. No big rides, horses and very few vendors. It appears the community is quite religious. There were quite a few booths relating to the local churches. It was senior citizen day so there were walkers and chairs in abundance. We helped lower the average age which doesn't happen often enough.
We then went to Blue Heron French Cheese Factory and Tillamook Cheese Factory. Tillamook was crazy busy. What a tourist attraction. We looked around but didn't buy anything. Blue Heron was very nice with cheese and wine tasting. We bought some very nice blue cheese dressing and a chili mix.

Aug 12- We went to Cape Lookout. We took a nice hike along the southern edge of Cape Lookout that was picturesque. It was quite a drop to the ocean. There are sand dunes in the area that are very popular with the dune buggies and sand rails. Here are a few pics:

Aug 13- We went to see Cape Mears. There was vandalism at the lighthouse so the light is closed to the public. There is a real nice beach on the way to the park so we watched a surf fisherman. He was kind of rude when we were parking so we wanted to see if he caught a fish or washed down by the surf first. We lost interest before either happened so drove to Oceanside. What a nice quiet community. Then back to our park and lunch at the Schooner. Fresh made crab bisque. Fantastic!

Aug 14- Today was laundry day so we got on the "list" to get it done. We had the 1:00 appointment so we went for a walk in the area. Lots of crabbers in the bay with quite a few crab caught by fellow campers as we saw at the cleaning station. The limit is 12 per person in Oregon. After laundry we went back to camp to spend our last day here.

Tomorrow off the kite festival at Long Beach,WA.

Netarts Bay

Aug 10- We drove to Netarts Bay RV Park and Marina today. We stayed in a park about 20 years ago called The Happy Camp at Netarts Bay. This was divided and sold to have condos and rentals built several years ago. We went to where the camp sites used to be and could see where we stayed but it was grown over with buildings nearby. We had lunch at the Schooner. This was a little bar that looked out at the bay. It was added on to and remodeled over the last few years. The park we are staying at is real nice with all the amenities. Most of the guests are here to go crabbing and clamming in the bay. Here is our view of the bay from our site.


When the tide is out there are huge sand bars where people dig and rake clams. It is quite a site. We heard from a boat owner that people get so involved in clamming they don't watch the incoming tide and have to be retrieved by boat.

Aug 11- We went to Tillamook, 6 miles away, to the Tillamook County Fair. It is rated as one of the top 10 county fairs in the country. We were really disappointed. No big rides, horses and very few vendors. It appears the community is quite religious. There were quite a few booths relating to the local churches. It was senior citizen day so there were walkers and chairs in abundance. We helped lower the average age which doesn't happen often enough.
We then went to Blue Heron French Cheese Factory and Tillamook Cheese Factory. Tillamook was crazy busy. What a tourist attraction. We looked around but didn't buy anything. Blue Heron was very nice with cheese and wine tasting. We bought some very nice blue cheese dressing and a chili mix.

Aug 12- We went to Cape Lookout. We took a nice hike along the southern edge of Cape Lookout that was picturesque. It was quite a drop to the ocean. There are sand dunes in the area that are very popular with the dune buggies and sand rails. Here are a few pics:

Aug 13- We went to see Cape Mears. There was vandalism at the lighthouse so the light is closed to the public. There is a real nice beach on the way to the park so we watched a surf fisherman. He was kind of rude when we were parking so we wanted to see if he caught a fish or washed down by the surf first. We lost interest before either happened so drove to Oceanside. What a nice quiet community. Then back to our park and lunch at the Schooner. Fresh made crab bisque. Fantastic!

Aug 14- Today was laundry day so we got on the "list" to get it done. We had the 1:00 appointment so we went for a walk in the area. Lots of crabbers in the bay with quite a few crab caught by fellow campers as we saw at the cleaning station. The limit is 12 per person in Oregon. After laundry we went back to camp to spend our last day here.

Tomorrow off the kite festival at Long Beach,WA.

Cascade Peaks

July 31- Aug 6-  Gail, Carley, one of the lovely grand daughters and I left for Cascade Peaks on July 31. This is our "home park" in the camping group we are a member of so we stay there free. It is about 6 miles West of Packwood on the Cowlitz River. When we arrived Carley and I went fishing on Skate Creek. She caught a small trout but it was not as productive as in the past. We went back to the park and had a swim in the pool. After dinner we tried fishing again but no luck. On the way back we saw about 40 elk and deer in yards and by the road. Carley was awe struck.
Monday-Carley played around the park and we swam in the pool. Went fishing on Johnson Creek with her. No luck again but we saw where a lot of elk had bedded down the night before.
Tuesday- We were joined by Steph and Caitlin, Carley's sister, Tracy and Erik, their kids and Erik's mom from Alaska and friends Hart and Amy and their two kids. This group set up their tents a ways away from our trailer. Caitlin slept in the trailer for a couple of nights.
Wednesday- We all went fishing in Skate again. Yup. No fish again but all had fun. With all the group in the park there was a lot of traffic through morning and went into Packwood to have some tavern french fries. Just a little treat for us. Went back to the park and joined the gang on the bank of the Cowlitz. Everybody had a great time just messing around. The river was quite high with all the melt off and rain in the hills. Carley and Emerson, the six year old, had dinner and spent the night with us.
Friday- Another nice day around the park. Kids swimming, bicycling and riding the zip line.
Saturday- Time to go home. We really like our new trailer. It has everything we need for our comfort. The truck pulls it nicely and it looks great.

Next week off the the Oregon and Washington coasts.

Cascade Peaks

July 31- Aug 6-  Gail, Carley, one of the lovely grand daughters and I left for Cascade Peaks on July 31. This is our "home park" in the camping group we are a member of so we stay there free. It is about 6 miles West of Packwood on the Cowlitz River. When we arrived Carley and I went fishing on Skate Creek. She caught a small trout but it was not as productive as in the past. We went back to the park and had a swim in the pool. After dinner we tried fishing again but no luck. On the way back we saw about 40 elk and deer in yards and by the road. Carley was awe struck.
Monday-Carley played around the park and we swam in the pool. Went fishing on Johnson Creek with her. No luck again but we saw where a lot of elk had bedded down the night before.
Tuesday- We were joined by Steph and Caitlin, Carley's sister, Tracy and Erik, their kids and Erik's mom from Alaska and friends Hart and Amy and their two kids. This group set up their tents a ways away from our trailer. Caitlin slept in the trailer for a couple of nights.
Wednesday- We all went fishing in Skate again. Yup. No fish again but all had fun. With all the group in the park there was a lot of traffic through morning and went into Packwood to have some tavern french fries. Just a little treat for us. Went back to the park and joined the gang on the bank of the Cowlitz. Everybody had a great time just messing around. The river was quite high with all the melt off and rain in the hills. Carley and Emerson, the six year old, had dinner and spent the night with us.
Friday- Another nice day around the park. Kids swimming, bicycling and riding the zip line.
Saturday- Time to go home. We really like our new trailer. It has everything we need for our comfort. The truck pulls it nicely and it looks great.

Next week off the the Oregon and Washington coasts.

Our new trailer

July 31, 2011- We sold our 18' trailer to a friend so we needed a new "house" for our travels. Don had been looking on line at some, mostly dreaming, so we kind of knew what we wanted. The one we liked he saw on line at a dealer in Helena, MT. We found a dealer in Bonney Lake that was willing to deal. It is a 24' Keystone Bullet. We love it. Gail calls us "condo campers.
Here are some pics:

We are off to Cacade Peaks near Packwood today with Carley, one of our grandkids. Her Mom and sis will join us Tuesday with our other daughter and family and some friends.

Our new trailer

July 31, 2011- We sold our 18' trailer to a friend so we needed a new "house" for our travels. Don had been looking on line at some, mostly dreaming, so we kind of knew what we wanted. The one we liked he saw on line at a dealer in Helena, MT. We found a dealer in Bonney Lake that was willing to deal. It is a 24' Keystone Bullet. We love it. Gail calls us "condo campers.
Here are some pics:

We are off to Cacade Peaks near Packwood today with Carley, one of our grandkids. Her Mom and sis will join us Tuesday with our other daughter and family and some friends.

More July Travels

July 9 & 10- We spent Saturday in Anaconda most all day watching the boys play softball. They won three but were in the loser's bracket so Sunday was a busy day for them. They played four more games but lost out so were out of the tourney 4 games short of winning it all. It made Don realize even slow pitch is a young man's sport.

July 11 &12-  We drove to Cheney staying at Ponderosa Falls RV Park. This is nice park but nothing going on there. We went to Greg and Donna Wozny's house for dinner. I worked with Greg at KCDA for about 19 years. A little reminiscing about work to  help me appreciate retirement. Not the job, WORK.

July 13 &14- We left Cheney for Alta Lake and space 58 in the trailer loop. Note to self-Don't get site 57. There is a tree in the middle of the site. Tracy, Steph and the girls and Oly and Sadie ( the dogs) were there setting up their camp. We avoided this until they were done. HEE HEE. We had dinner at our site with all. It was a great time with lots of laughs, spaghetti, mac and cheese and salad. Yes there were a few adult beverages as well.

July 15-18- The weather at Alta was weird. It is usually very hot, windy and dry. This time the temp was rarely over 80 with some showers. Don's sister Terry and Krisani, her granddaughter, came in Terry's new motor home. It's a real nice 23 footer. Brother Bob and his kids and grandson Jessie came as well as sister Cheryl, her son Patrick with a couple of his friends. It was real nice to see them all. On the 18th the grandkids wanted to have a squirt gun battle. In all about 6 little ones with Don as the main target. It started with squirt guns, going to water balloons, then to buckets and tubs. From there to a nice swim in the lake. We had some good sunsets when the skys cleared in the evening.





July 19-We packed up in quite a rain on the 19th and drove in a hard rain. When we turned West at Wenatchee  the sky was clear and about 75. Icicle River RV Park is real nice. The upper area sites are paved with great grass and landscaping. Our site, #59, was right on the river which was running high with the rain and snow melt. There were two campers in the park that I knew from working at KCDA. What a great coincidence. Yes Steph their husbands are firefighters.
The river was running about 4 feet higher than last year so was really roaring. We almost had to read lips while sitting outside. The view was great.
Here's a pic of the river running down from our site

We also walked Front street in town. Lots of shops, restaurants, pubs, wine tasting rooms, etc. We had a sampler tray of six of the brews made by Icicle River Brewing and dinner at the Soup Cellar. Then a nice evening at the park enjoying drinks, the river and our fire.

July 20- Today we went on a long walk in Leavenworth along the Wenatchee River. The trail was good with a lot of history and info about the area. Then we went to Icicle Ridge Winery. It was a nice day so we sat out on the deck sampling wines. The house is a beautiful log home made from locally cut wood. We had some nice wines and cheese and bought a nice Merlot. Then back to the trailer for a relaxing afternoon of lunch, reading, and enjoying the river and fire.

Gail had a phone call from her best friend form school, Teddi, so they talked and we will be seeing them this summer.

 July 21- Only 133 miles home. We had a great time on this trip as we have on the others. On the road again on July 31. Thenks for letting us share our experiences. Don and Gail

More July Travels

July 9 & 10- We spent Saturday in Anaconda most all day watching the boys play softball. They won three but were in the loser's bracket so Sunday was a busy day for them. They played four more games but lost out so were out of the tourney 4 games short of winning it all. It made Don realize even slow pitch is a young man's sport.

July 11 &12-  We drove to Cheney staying at Ponderosa Falls RV Park. This is nice park but nothing going on there. We went to Greg and Donna Wozny's house for dinner. I worked with Greg at KCDA for about 19 years. A little reminiscing about work to  help me appreciate retirement. Not the job, WORK.

July 13 &14- We left Cheney for Alta Lake and space 58 in the trailer loop. Note to self-Don't get site 57. There is a tree in the middle of the site. Tracy, Steph and the girls and Oly and Sadie ( the dogs) were there setting up their camp. We avoided this until they were done. HEE HEE. We had dinner at our site with all. It was a great time with lots of laughs, spaghetti, mac and cheese and salad. Yes there were a few adult beverages as well.

July 15-18- The weather at Alta was weird. It is usually very hot, windy and dry. This time the temp was rarely over 80 with some showers. Don's sister Terry and Krisani, her granddaughter, came in Terry's new motor home. It's a real nice 23 footer. Brother Bob and his kids and grandson Jessie came as well as sister Cheryl, her son Patrick with a couple of his friends. It was real nice to see them all. On the 18th the grandkids wanted to have a squirt gun battle. In all about 6 little ones with Don as the main target. It started with squirt guns, going to water balloons, then to buckets and tubs. From there to a nice swim in the lake. We had some good sunsets when the skys cleared in the evening.





July 19-We packed up in quite a rain on the 19th and drove in a hard rain. When we turned West at Wenatchee  the sky was clear and about 75. Icicle River RV Park is real nice. The upper area sites are paved with great grass and landscaping. Our site, #59, was right on the river which was running high with the rain and snow melt. There were two campers in the park that I knew from working at KCDA. What a great coincidence. Yes Steph their husbands are firefighters.
The river was running about 4 feet higher than last year so was really roaring. We almost had to read lips while sitting outside. The view was great.
Here's a pic of the river running down from our site

We also walked Front street in town. Lots of shops, restaurants, pubs, wine tasting rooms, etc. We had a sampler tray of six of the brews made by Icicle River Brewing and dinner at the Soup Cellar. Then a nice evening at the park enjoying drinks, the river and our fire.

July 20- Today we went on a long walk in Leavenworth along the Wenatchee River. The trail was good with a lot of history and info about the area. Then we went to Icicle Ridge Winery. It was a nice day so we sat out on the deck sampling wines. The house is a beautiful log home made from locally cut wood. We had some nice wines and cheese and bought a nice Merlot. Then back to the trailer for a relaxing afternoon of lunch, reading, and enjoying the river and fire.

Gail had a phone call from her best friend form school, Teddi, so they talked and we will be seeing them this summer.

 July 21- Only 133 miles home. We had a great time on this trip as we have on the others. On the road again on July 31. Thenks for letting us share our experiences. Don and Gail

July travels

7/5 We left Kent this morning with Anaconda, MT as our ultimate destination. We stayed in Osburn, ID at the Blue Anchor RV Park. It is a real nice park with only 31 sites. It is a home site for people with real fancy ATV's they use to explore old mining roads, camps and other sites. I was told they travel upwards of 100 miles per day. Sounds like a lot of fun. The people parked next to us were bicyclist who rode tandem bikes. Like fancy "bicycles built for two". This sounded like fun too but a lot more work.

7/6 Left Osburn going to Anaconda. The weather was very nice in the 80's. We arrived in mid afternoon and got settled in at Fairmont Hot Springs RV Park. A nice park about a block from the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. Quite a posh facility with two large swimming pools, one with a 350' slide. They are heated by 150 degree water from hot springs. Yes the water is cooled with well water to a comfortable temp. There are also several hot tubs and spas, a very nice restaurant and a golf course. We are here to relax and visit friends from here and Kent, some of whom are playing in a big slow pitch softbal tourny Don played in until 2005.

7/7 Don played golf at Fairmont with some friends. It was hot when we started but got windy and rained on us late in the round. There was some lightening too. We went out to a "family style" dinner and ran into some friends from Kent and Tri Cities we hadn't seen for several years. That night, about 1:30AM, the wind came up so we had to go out and lower the canopy so it didn't get torn apart.

7/8 Don played golf again but at Old Works in Anaconda. It is rated as one of the top 10 public courses in the country. It was a nice day except for some of the golf part. Later we went to a softball game in Anaconda and then back to the park for dinner. It was a good night to hang around the trailer for the evening. Tomorrow more softball and whatever we want.

July travels

7/5 We left Kent this morning with Anaconda, MT as our ultimate destination. We stayed in Osburn, ID at the Blue Anchor RV Park. It is a real nice park with only 31 sites. It is a home site for people with real fancy ATV's they use to explore old mining roads, camps and other sites. I was told they travel upwards of 100 miles per day. Sounds like a lot of fun. The people parked next to us were bicyclist who rode tandem bikes. Like fancy "bicycles built for two". This sounded like fun too but a lot more work.

7/6 Left Osburn going to Anaconda. The weather was very nice in the 80's. We arrived in mid afternoon and got settled in at Fairmont Hot Springs RV Park. A nice park about a block from the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. Quite a posh facility with two large swimming pools, one with a 350' slide. They are heated by 150 degree water from hot springs. Yes the water is cooled with well water to a comfortable temp. There are also several hot tubs and spas, a very nice restaurant and a golf course. We are here to relax and visit friends from here and Kent, some of whom are playing in a big slow pitch softbal tourny Don played in until 2005.

7/7 Don played golf at Fairmont with some friends. It was hot when we started but got windy and rained on us late in the round. There was some lightening too. We went out to a "family style" dinner and ran into some friends from Kent and Tri Cities we hadn't seen for several years. That night, about 1:30AM, the wind came up so we had to go out and lower the canopy so it didn't get torn apart.

7/8 Don played golf again but at Old Works in Anaconda. It is rated as one of the top 10 public courses in the country. It was a nice day except for some of the golf part. Later we went to a softball game in Anaconda and then back to the park for dinner. It was a good night to hang around the trailer for the evening. Tomorrow more softball and whatever we want.