We had a couple more nights booked at Pacific City, so on our last day we hung out and used the pool until lunchtime, then we geared up and went for a motorcycle ride north along the ‘Three Capes Scenic Route’. There was definitely some very nice scenery but not a lot of pull outs to enjoy it while stopped.
We made it to the Cape Meares lighthouse but unfortunately the road past there was closed for some reason so we had to backtrack.
We decided to head into the slightly larger town of Tillamook in the hopes of getting some decent cell service. We wound up at a little 50s diner on the main drag and hung out for a couple of hours working. Before leaving town and heading back to the campground we checked out the Tillamook Creamery where they make good quality ice cream and cheese. We didn’t brave the long line up for ice cream but we did enjoy some cheese samples before departing.
It was finally time to leave Pacific City, but rather than heading further up the coast we detoured a couple hours East towards Portland. We had booked a couple nights in Champoeg State Park about 30 minutes outside of Portland to use as a base for visiting the city. On the day we arrived we stuck around the campsite working and taking the dog for a walk along the nearby Willamette River.
The following day we went into Portland around 10:30am on the motorcycle. Traffic wasn’t too bad going in. We grabbed some lunch and checked out the Pioneer Courthouse Square and then walked around the city for a couple more hours. All in all we felt it was a bit of a letdown and not as nice as it was hyped to be. It was getting late and we were worried about the dog alone and the traffic so we headed back around 3pm, still getting stuck in heavy traffic as the temperature climbed and we sweated on the bike. We relaxed around the campground that evening.
The next morning we ran a bunch of errands including getting Misty’s hair cut, picking up new tires for the motorcycle trailer, and finally getting the front license plate holder put on the motorhome. We finally got underway towards our next destination around 3pm, back out on the coast at the southwestern most tip of Washington State. It would be our last Thousand Trails park of the trip. It started raining halfway there and didn’t stop all evening. The park was pretty disappointing and probably one of the worst TT parks we stayed at – awkward setup for hookups, lousy roads and facilities etc. We were glad to only be staying the two nights.
We took our time getting going the following day but wound up back in Oregon in the border town of Astoria right on the Columbia River, walking around and checking out the local brewery which was in an old warehouse. Oregon really does their craft beer well, in fact they claim to have invented it. After a few hours hanging around Astoria we headed back over the big bridge to Washington state and explored Cape Disappointment State Park, checking out the lighthouse before heading back to the campground for dinner.
We left there fairly early because we didn’t have any reservations for the next two nights. All the campgrounds in Olympic National Park that took reservations were booked up already, but there were a couple first come first served options. We got to the first one – South Beach Campground early enough that there were a number of sites open, so we snagged one right on the ocean. The campground itself was nothing special, just a big open parking lot but the ocean views and sound were amazing and you couldn’t beat the price just $15 per night. We spent the afternoon watching the fog roll in, walking on the beach and playing ball with Misty.
The following day we got some work done in the morning then headed out on the motorcycle for a ride to the Hoh Rainforest. We walked a couple of the shorter trails through the spectacular other-worldly trees covered in moss.
