We left Victoria, British Columbia on a ferry only to land smack in the middle of vampire country. Welcome to Olympic National Park! I did not like dem woods.
It was only when I crossed the vampire treaty line and arrived on the coast at La Push, WA that I let my guard down a little.
That is, until a “test” tsunami warning blared over the loudspeakers. From then on I kept one eye on the ocean and one eye on the woods at all times.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - La Push, WA
And then, in the middle of nowhere with who knows what lurking about, my humans locked us out of the trailer. The moon was full and there wasn’t a locksmith for miles. It took me about 20 jittery minutes to jimmy a window and crawl inside. My nerves with my humans! But hey, they do all the driving, shopping, cooking, cleaning and setting up so I can’t complain too much. They also know how to build a great fire to keep the critters away!
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - La Push, WA
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - La Push, WA
We continued south to Copalis Beach, WA where you can drive for miles on a very wide flat beach. We took the truck onto the sand for a test drive and since it was so easy we decided to try this further south on the 26 mile Long Beach Peninsula with the trailer hitched up. Camping right on the beach… sounds great, right? People have been driving on this beach since the automobile arrived in the west. So we followed all the other cars to the beach access, but when we arrived at the shore it was high tide and there was nothing but soft sand. Everybody else just turned around, but we couldn’t with our 45 feet of rig. So we backed up for a 1/2 mile! Let me just say this was not the highlight of the trip and all pictures have been destroyed.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Cannon Beach, OR
We were so happy to arrive in Oregon. I have longed to see this stretch of coast, and we did, all 363 miles of it. People actually bike the twisty 101, lugging all their camping gear and stopping overnight in the 48 or so beautiful State Parks along the way. Watching them struggle their way up the many Capes with vertical climbs of 500 to a 1000 feet made me so glad to be zipping along in the silver bubble.
We first stopped in Cannon Beach where we learned to appreciate that beast called “the fog”. So in that spirit I am dedicating this post to fuzzy landscapes.
Ecola Beach State Park
Luckily we still had lots of beautiful sunsets! It was here that I discovered the joys of grubbing for sea food. Much better pickings than the left over bits of marshmallows I was finding in the woods. I’m not sure why my humans put a stop to this, I thought dead crabs are good for you?
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Cannon Beach, OR
© Richard Broadwell
Next we took a little detour inland to a very warm and sunny Portland to visit some dear friends. What a great city! A big shout out to Ruth and Debbie who lovingly showed us their wonderful town.
This is me in a little Zip car Debbie rented. We had a blast!
Back to the coast, and the fog! We hunkered down at the Sea and Sand RV park in Depoe Bay for 3 days until it broke. But when it did…WOW!
The further south you go the less developed it becomes. It’s a wild coast, full of rocky sea stacks and crashing surf. Below is lovely Gold Beach.
© Richard Broadwell - Gold Beach, OR
And we loved this long stretch of Samuel H Boardman State Park.
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Samuel H. Boardman State Park
© 2011 Richard Broadwell - Samuel H. Boardman State Park
But as much as we liked the Oregon Coast, the best was yet to come.
Coming up next: California Dreaming!
Ginger Goes Glamping 
Oh, Ginger, you are just too funny! We laugh out loud every time we see you in shades.
Thanks, Richard, for your superb photos of our favorite coast. We’ve been California dreaming too, at http://tripsfor2.wordpress.com. Happy travels!
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Thank you tripsfor2! Happy Trails to u2!
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Hey Ginger! Thanks for the update and the beyoutiful pics! Frida and I envy your being able to romp and stomp the beaches down the Oregon coast! We miss being out in the fresh air getting exercise and eating crab chips like you have been doing! It is so cold here in BC – grey skies.
Love to you and your humanoids!
Annie
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Hi Frida and Annie!! We miss you guys. A good time was had by all, one more post and I am all caught up. Next on the agenda, Baja! Love to you and your humans too!
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Baja? Yikes! Fasten your seat belts. We just drove the Expedition (sans the Stream) from San Diego to La Paz – I panted and shook for almost an entire day around those hairpin curves with Big semi-trucks coming at us – no shoulders on some of those roads. After running and swimming all day this afternoon, I guess the trip was worth it. DO NOT drive at night – Cattle are grazing like crazy all along the non-shoulder roads. After all the recent rainfall the dessert is green and breath taking. My humans are complaining about how cold it is and I make them cover me at night with my fleece blankie at night. Burrr and Woof. Sparky aboard sv/El Tiburon
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Sparky, thanks for the update! We have heard about the drive so are going with a caravan and taking it slow, only driving a few hours a day, total of 9 days to get down there. I will keep my eyes peeled on the road at all times. How’s the sailing? Looks wonderful from your blog. I can’t wait to get down there and run and swim too! We are there Jan and Feb if you are around the area let me know. Woof woof!
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Ginger,
Thanks for keeping us updated! I was gritting my teeth when I read about your being locked out and the 1/2 mile back up. Yipes! Glad you made it in and out! The pictures are lovely and make me wish I was there too! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
Love and blessings to all,
Marie
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Love to you and yours too! xoxo
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aaaAAH I want to go to la Push as well! 😀
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Miss you guys! xo
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Love the blog…photos…stories…and you too!!!
Merry almost Christmas!!!
Joe
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Joe, thank you so much. Love and miss you guys, hope to see you next summer hopefully during our east coast travels. Merry Merry to you and yours! xoxo
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