OR, Seaside/Astoria/Portland-Seaside RV Resort

July 21-Aug 4, 2019

We knew that we wanted to spend a little more time on the Oregon Coast this year but instead of staying at one of the places we have stayed before, we decided to try a new location. So we chose Seaside RV Resort in Seaside, Oregon for two weeks. While I didn't love the campground itself, it was part of our campground membership, it was pretty close to the beach and the overall location to other areas to explore was great.

It was about two miles from our site to the actual waterfront so it definitely required a drive to get there but there was a nice parking lot that we could always find a spot in. The beach water was too cold for us but the kids had fun wading in the water, catching crabs and the hundreds of “giant bugs”. We learned that these bugs are Pacific Mole Crabs and that they do not have pincers but it was just one other reason that I would not get near the water! There were so many of them in the sand just waiting to tickle your feet!

We also had a couple of meet-ups on the beach. One night we had a campfire with five other families. One in particular, we met during our second year and I think we run into them every year. Jordan and their daughter enjoy spending time together. Two of the families were new to us.

On another night, we met for dinner at the beach and let the kids play.

And the kids finally tried out Pickleball after having taking tennis lessons while in Austin. Jacob is hooked for sure and the whole family had a fun time playing.

In Seaside, we visited the Seaside Aquarium. The seals were just adorable and reminded us of puppies. One in particular would watch and wait for you to throw some fish and if you didn't (s)he would splash you with water! It was too funny!

The aquarium also had some great other displays, including sharks and octopuses. It wasn't a big place but definitely worth a visit.

We also strolled along the Promenade. On one side, the promenade contains houses and a few restaurants but on the other is the beach with mulitple access points. It was a pretty day with enough wind to keep us cool.

During our stroll, we also visited the Lewis & Clark Salt Works (again). This is where several men spent 7 weeks boiling ocean water to gather salt. They boiled water 24 hours a day so that in the end they had 28 gallons of salt to be used on their return trip home. This area gave them plenty of wood for the fire, elk to hunt and sea water that was not diluted by the Columbia River.

On another day, the kids and I spent a morning at Fort Clatsop. I have been before and debated whether I should go again but I LOVE learning about the Lewis & Clark Expedition and we could go for free with our NP pass, so we went! I am so glad that I did. I always learn something new and this time there were more demonstrations taking place.

This is where (as far as all records indicate) the expedition group spent their last winter before heading back east. They started construction of the fort around December 7^th and the last of them moved in around Christmas (I can't remember the dates exactly). And I'm sure their structure was more crude than this one but that seems so fast knowing that they did it in cold, rainy weather and had to chop down the trees to even start. Interestingly, all the trees that they needed were brought down in only a couple of days.

(Lewis & Clark's room)

(Lewis & Clark's room)

(Sacagawea's Room)

When I go on a camping trip, I plan A LOT but I just cannot fathom the planning and foresight that was put into this trip! I am truly amazed. This time I learned about a lead container created by Lewis and a plumber for storing gunpowder. They designed it so that it was watertight and would keep the powder dry but also it was made of lead so that if it fell overboard along the river, it would sink (rather than float away) for easier retrieval and then once the gunpowder was used up, the canisters could be melted down to make ammunition or other items. So awesome! Maybe I never think like that because I can't MAKE anything!

We watched a gun demonstration, talked to one of the docents awhile and checked out the fort.

Also interesting was that when the Oregon Historical Society acquired this site in 1900, all of the trees here had been removed by the potato farmer that had Homesteaded here. So all of the trees that are here now have just grown in the past 119 years. Obviously, the conditions here are really good for growing!

We visited Ecola State Park again, as well. This time we hiked the trail to Crescent Beach. It was a big reminder that we need to get back into hiking shape! The beach seemed so close but we went up and down and back and forth for 45 minutes. But it was so worth it. The tide was out and we were able to explore pools and caves! We saw tiny fish, crab, sea stars and anemones galore!  And on a side note, Lewis & Clark traveled here as well searching for a beached whale that natives had told them about.

And in the background, you can see Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach. This is same rock from the opening beach scene in The Goonies!

We also made a couple of day trips. The first was to Portland, where we had never been. I've often heard that it is like Austin. Well either I have a very different view of Austin or we were just in the wrong parts of Portland. I think the latter is probably correct but I have no strong desire to return.

Our first stop in Portland was Powell's City of Books. I must say this place was really amazing. It is the largest independent book store in the world! It occupies a whole city block and has 65,000 sq ft of retail space! They carry new and used books and it is divided into different color rooms on multiple levels. I could easily spend a couple hours there.

After that, we had lunch at Great Notion Brewery. Greg LOVED his beer and food. It was just ok for the rest of us.

Then we rode the sky tram for the view of the area (it was much shorter than I anticipated) and then we walked across one of the bridges.

We stopped by Keller Fountain on our walk to VooDoo donuts. The fountain was pretty, but the walk got really gross and felt very sketchy and then sadly, the line to VooDoo donuts was way too long for us.

After that, we decided to leave Portland and drove to Multnomah Falls. We attempted to stop at the falls two years ago when we came through but we were towing the RV and had no place to park.

(view from the bridge)

It's a pretty short walk to see the falls and it was so pretty! I challenged everyone to guess which was taller, Niagara or Multnomah? It's deceptive because Niagara is so massive but it is much shorter than Multnomah! Multnomah has two drops with the first being 542 feet and the second being 69 feet, while Niagara is only 167 feet tall! The only falls taller than Multnomah in the US is Yosemite Falls.

Our other day trip out of Seaside was to Astoria. Yes, the same Astoria where The Goonies was filmed and based! What could be better than Goonies AND Lewis and Clark?! But this time, we did not do anything related to either of those. Ha ha

The first stop was to Bowpicker's for Fish and Chips. I hate seafood but this place has GREAT fish and chips. It opens at 11ish and the line forms before then. We got there about 11:30 and waited in line at least 30 minutes. But it is so worth it!

Then Greg took a tour of Fort George Brewery while the kids and I strolled around town browsing though a toy shop and then the Astoria Sunday Market.

That pretty much sums up our Seaside trip! I am not sure we will be back soon but it is on the list for sure!

Bend/Sunriver, OR-Bend/Sunriver RV Resort

July 10-July 21, 2019

Once again, we have made our way to Bend, Oregon. This is such a great area with so much to do in and around. This year, we only spent a week and a half in this location and didn't get to do all of the things we wanted, but we did a few regular things and checked out a couple of new activities as well. 

The kids have always enjoyed this campground as well.  Each year, they find something new to do.  Jordan asked to go do some schoolwork at this little school desk a couple times (btw, it is summer break!) 

And it's always fun when you make new friends...

(New friend, Zoe)

Here are the rest of the activities:

Tubing in the Little Deschutes River-this can be done right in the campground. We just took our tubes down to the river and hopped in. It snakes around for a while and then you hop out and walk the short distance back to the beginning and do it again! So awesome that it is so easily accessible.

Mountain Bike Riding at Mt.Bachelor-This was a new one for us, actually just the kids. Because we have always struggled with finding the right solution to bring all the bikes along, we decided that on this trip we would just bring the kids' bikes. We could have rented bikes but at $90 each, it was just too expensive.

Both kids were a little nervous about it, especially since we sent them up the mountain alone but they quickly learned how to load their bikes up on the lift and they successfully made it down. 

Jacob loved it. Jordan HATED it. She hasn't really spent too much time on her new bike and so slipping around on gravel and riding over rocks was just too much for her. And she probably needed and easier warm-up.

But Jacob kept going and enjoyed quite a few runs.

On Friday nights, Jacob went to play Magic the Gathering tournaments at Main Phase Gaming and Jordan spent time at open gym at OOA gymnastics center where she went to summer camp a few years ago.

While the kids did those things, Greg and I walked the river path, which is so beautifully adorned with flowers, and checked out the downtown area. 

We also hung out around the campfire with a few families we have met before and met five more families!

And the highlight of our trip was white water rafting with Seventh Mountain River Company. We have done rafting years ago when we were in Canada but I don't think we have done this level before. These were level 3 rapids. Greg, Jacob and I were paddlers along with three other people. Jordan just had to enjoy the ride.

The trip took about an hour and our guide was great at instructing us. It was very fun but the water was VERY COLD as it came pouring down over the top of us! Greg chose to ride the front of the raft through one of the lesser rapids. It was pretty comical as he didn't last long and came tumbling back into the raft! I think we were all a little sad that it ended so soon. It's something that we will look forward to doing in the future.

That's it for Bend!  I'm sure we will be back!

NV, Great Basin National Park-Baker Creek Campground

July 7-9, 2019

Great Basin National Park is not well known and one of the least visited National Parks but it is certainly beautiful. I wish I could have captured the view driving into this place. We entered a very flat land area that went on forever to the right and left but ahead you could see the beautiful mountains stretching up to the sky.  I don't think I have ever experienced anything quite like it.

There is not much around the park. I thought it would be the perfect place for bears so I was surprised to learn that there aren't any and weren't ever any that we know of. Well, the ranger said IF there ever were any they would have been a prehistoric short faced bear. But in any case, the kids breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing there would be no bear encounters.

We camped at Baker Creek Campground which is dry camping. Only a couple of the campgrounds are suitable for RVs our size and even at that, it was a SUPER tight squeeze. In some areas the brush extended out so far that our truck barely fit through. So our RV definitely rubbed it.  And all along the campground road Greg was dodging tree limbs. We were keeping our fingers crossed that we would not meet another RV heading in the opposite direction!

Then was the attempt to park the RV. We tried 3 different spots a total of 4 times. They call them pull thru sites but they are curved and lined by boulders which made it so difficult to maneuver our 37 feet into. We tried driving through them and backing into them to no avail. The last spot we tried was actually THE last spot available in that campground. We lucked out on that one.

(There we are on the right!)

We only had one full day in the park. We started the morning with a drive up to the Wheeler Peak area to do a hike. The drive itself was pretty and had a couple of areas to pull off and take in the view.

The hike to Wheeler Peak was closed due to dangerous trail conditions so we opted to do the loop hike to Stella and Teresa lakes. Even though it was July, there was still so much snow and mud on the trail. We were able to avoid most of it on the way up and past the lakes but on the way back down, there was no way but directly through it. Not the best when you don't have waterproof shoes, but no one complained of cold feet. And surprisingly, we all did very well considering the hike began at 9,800 feet elevation!

(The meadow areas were so pretty)

(Stella Lake)

(There's no place better for a snack break!)

(Teresa Lake)

In the afternoon, we took a tour of Lehman Caves. I was a little hesitant since we have done several cave tours and I doubted anything could be as good as Karchner in AZ but it was a very pretty cave! It was VERY decorated and even included shields and helictites, which are not very common!

(a shield)

We later tried to check out Pole Canyon but dusk was too near and so we turned back.  Our short stay was over...