Aug 17, 2012 - Back to Being Cool

Today was another short travel day, back to the coolness of the coast. We traveled around 72 miles but we are only about 25 miles north of the last park we stayed at on the coast. You should see people's faces when John tells them that we only traveled 25 miles in a week. But we love the slow pace. -- For the weekend, we will be staying at the Cape Kiwanda RV Resort (park) in Pacific City, Oregon. The reason I chose this park is that the beach is right across the street. The park is like a big family friendly campground and there are a lot...

Jul 25, 2012 - We Struck Out . . .Again!

This time we followed the advice of our native Oregonian neighbors and checked and double checked the weather out on the coast before heading westward to revisit Cape Meares Lighthouse, the Three Cape Scenic Drive, Cape Overlook and Pacific City. The forecast showed the same beautiful weather we were experiencing in Salem; sunny, cloudless blue skies and mid 70s temperature! So, off we headed. However, we wanted to take a different route to the coast than the same one we had already traveled four or five times and headed northwest from...

May 29, 2012 - Pacific City OR

Today’s journey was a pretty short one. We didn’t cover a lot of miles and we weren’t gone very long, but what we saw was pretty neat. The weather started out good, then it got overcast, then it got better, then around sunset it got overcast again, but all in all it wasn’t too bad. We pulled out of the campground around 10:00 and headed north to do the Three Cape Scenic Drive. It’s a loop that goes past Cape Lookout, Cape Meares and back to Cape Kiwanda which is here in Pacific City. Our first stop was at Cape Lookout where we wandered the...

May 28, 2012 - Pacific City OR

We headed south on Hwy. 101 from Astoria through a handful of small towns until we hit Cannon Beach. This is one of the most photographed stretches of the Oregon coast, mainly because of Haystack Rock. We had to park the bus in a remote lot and disconnect the Jeep and drive it to a parking lot on the main street so we could get to a beach access. While it wasn’t painless, it could have been worse. And I didn’t hit anything, though they gave me plenty of chances, so that was good. Over 100 years ago Oregon enacted a law that effectively...

May 20, 2012 - A few days at Pacific City

From Whalers Rest campground near Newport, we headed up the coast a ways to Pacific City near Tillamook, Oregon. A beautiful area, we visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory as well as the Tillamook Air Museum. The cheese factory was ok, the air museum was pretty cool. It is housed in an old blimp hangar from the 40's, a lot of history there. The area was beautiful, but we were beginning to grow tired of all the rainy days. The wonderful green countryside definitely comes at a cost.

Sep 13, 2011 - Pacific City, OR

Today was cloudy and cool, but it was still a good day for a walk on the beach. This was the first time I ever set foot in the Pacific Ocean. Yes, it was cold! But that didn't stop the surfers. They must be very determined to get out in that frigid water, even with wetsuits! I went back out to the beach after lunch and hiked to the top (well, almost to the top) of a huge dune at one end of the beach. Gorgeous view of the coast! Then when I got back to BART, the sun had come out (partly) and was starting to set, so we walked back to the...

Sep 18, 2010 - Along the Oregon Coast

Bend-Sunriver Thousand Trails Reserve Saturday, September 18, 12 pm PDT Bend OR The last 2 weeks have been a big improvement over the previous 3 weeks. The drive to Pacific City Thousand Trails (TT) Reserve was short (75 miles) but nerve-wracking. The last 40 miles of the trip on OR 22E goes through the coastal range where the road is narrow, winding, full of one-lane bridges and shoulder-less. It is also gorgeous. But I have no pictures because there is nowhere to pull over and take any. I managed the drive and backing into my camping...

Sep 12, 2009 - Pacific City, OR

Visited Pacific City today - a little few miles north of where we are staying. It is a cute town, like all the towns along the coast. We spent all our time on Cape Kiwanda beach where we climbed one of the tallest sand dunes in Oregon - 250 feet and very, very steep. We also saw Haystack Rock in the ocean and hiked around on the sculptured sandstone cliffs between the dune and the ocean watching the waves hit the cliffs. We saw several photographers - apparently, it is a photographer’s dream destination. It was gorgeous and we found one...

May 4, 2009 - Pacific City

We have arrived at Thousand Trails in Pacific City. The weather is typical coast. sun, clouds, rain, wind, in any mix or combination. We are adjusting to retired life. Most pressing decisions to be made are “what shall we do today?” and “what is for dinner?’. We have managed to remain busy & active. The opportunity to stay put in one spot long enough to really get a feel of the area and explore leisurely is relaxing. The down side is that phone reception & internet service is limited, making it more difficult to stay in touch. There are...

May 1, 2009 - Pacific City, OR

Our sincere apology's for not updating the BLOG on a day by day basis lately. As you can see our life has been very hectic AND wifi or air-card connectivity hasn't been available. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! We finally catch up to our brother and sister, Tim & Donna Triden. They patiently waited for us at Newport, OR a weekweek, we had to cancel out on that. So now we catch up to them 2 days late. Whew, we made it and none to soon. One day of nice weather then the rains come off and on for a week. Nice weather days we go...

May 1, 2009 - Bought our new rig, March 2009

We bought our "new to us" Rexhall American Clipper from Guaranty RV March 25th in Junction City, Oregon and a day later took off on our first trip, just a short one, out to Pacific City, about 2 hours away from Beaverton, where we live. Since I hadn't driven a motorhome since I traded in my Class C on a Chalet trailer a year ago, it was a little unnerving driving a Class A! Pacific City Thousand Trails is where we camped and this is a beautiful park. From the upper levels of the park there are many sites that look out over the ocean. We...

Apr 22, 2009 - Pacific City Thousand Trails

This was our first trip as Thousand Trails members. The Pacific City Preserve is nearly on top of Cape Kawanda, but on the east side of Hwy 101. The roads are narrow, and mostly paved, but we had no trouble with our 40’ coach and towed. The campsites undulate up and down, will some near the Hwy for easy beach trail access, and some (like ours) up on the side of the hills with a spectacular view through the windswept trees (see photo). The park staff were all very personable and helpful. I had read where this preserve was overrun with...