Landing in Eugene, or to be more accurate Coburg, OR located 7 miles from downtown Eugene, I set up camp at Eugene Kamping World. The campground gets a C+ in my book, and remember that I am Old School, and that means they were a little better than average. They did have a little dog area that was very sad looking and not well-maintained. But it did have location working for it. Five miles away was a tremendous dog park at Armitage Park that was 2 acres big and fully fenced. Plenty of dogs were usually there and it helped Jasper burn off some energy. While Jasper may have loved being in Eugene my sinuses did not. I was miserable my entire time I was there. I popped Claritin like candy for a few days and that provided some relief, but I was nowhere near normal. I learned the reason was twofold. First, The Willamette valley is a deep valley, and what falls into it stays there. Some have gone so far as to call the valley “the valley of sickness and death.”
I did the best I could, and having a friend nearby helped me cope with the adversity I faced. She knew all of the hotspots to visit. One of which was the PublicHouse in Springfield, the interior design is stunning, as the place used to be a church and has been transformed into a food court with numerous beers on tap.
In Eugene, we went to the Beer Garden on a beautiful Saturday Afternoon and the experience was fantastic.
Despite having periods of good times, I was excited to leave the area with high hopes of having my allergies clear once I leave the area. After 3 weeks of suffering, I headed south with the first stop at a Harvest Host venue in Winston, OR called Freed Estate Winery. The was a great place for a visit. The wine was acceptable, and the venue was large and attractive. The bar area was sparsely populated as most of the folks who were there stayed outside to craft jewelry. The bartender was young, attractive and friendly, and she had some travel experiences of her own.
I continued on to Brookings, OR, which is a coastal town near the California border. The impact of my allergies was completely erased in short order as I left the valley and headed to the coast. The drive to Brookings started out dull but then I hit the coast and the scenery improved as I drove although I knew I would be seeing it all again as I headed north to my next destination Driftwood RV Park. The park itself was nothing too special and they lacked a dog park, but they did have a great location. It was a 5 minute walk to the ocean and it was close to the center of town. I booked myself for a week there with my primary goal being to see redwoods.
The Oregon Coast
The redwood grows near the Pacific Ocean along the northern California coast in a more or less continuous belt about 450 miles long and 15 miles wide. I made a few excursions to see the trees.
The tree above is around 300ft tall. Many people travel to the coast from the interior of Oregon because the temperatures are much cooler during the summer months. Of course, fishing is a popular activity that lures people to the area as well and this is true of all the small towns on the coast. Below is the local dog park.
Next up for a week stay is Lincoln City, OR. This is also a coastal town, but this one has a huge casino, the Chinook Winds Casino. The casino provided no joy. The town also had several breweries which were ok, but this certainly had the tourist town vibe. It was nice to be close to the ocean and I found my stay relaxing and I viewed myself as back to normal. After my week in Lincoln City I continued north with a 1-night stay at a Harvest Host in South Bend, WA at a small brewery called Willapa Brewing Co. They specialized in pizza and beer. The afternoon I arrived was a slow night for them and few people showed up so I had an opportunity to talk with the bartender who quickly made friends with Jasper.
Next stop is Seattle, WA. My goal for this trip was to visit the northwest and the more northern states since I had the opportunity to take the southern routes coast to coast a couple of times in my youth. My destination was Lake Pleasant RV Park which is close to the city and just north of Kirkland, the home of Costco.
I was able to take a few trips into the city which was the largest city I had seen in a while. I was surprised that the traffic was not too bad, and I was able to get downtown without issue every time I tried.
Next to the Space Needle is the Chihuly Museum, which gave me my dose of culture.
I was struck by how expensive Seattle was. I paid $4.99 for regular gas and then I saw this at Costco.
Offsetting this was Sparta’s. Where else can you find the best pizza in the universe?
I spent 9 days in Seattle then began my return trip east. First stop was at a Host in Cle Elum, WA at Dru Bru Taproom & Brewery. It was right off the interstate and provided an enjoyable stop.
Nexxt up is Spokane, WA for a 4-night stay at their fairground. It was a large parking area that provided electricity and water with a dump station available. Three of the 4 days the temperature hit 97 degrees and I noticed the heat. There was a car swap at the fairground plus the town had a variety of breweries. I also took a trip to see the Codger Pole which is something that I had joked about for a while.
IN 1988, NEARLY 4,000 PEOPLE turned out to watch a touch-football game in the tiny town of Colfax, Washington. It was one of the biggest events in the town’s history; there were even three TV stations on hand to capture the moment. The big deal? The game was a rematch from a meeting 50 years earlier between Colfax and its neighboring rivals, St. John.
Colfax lost that 1938 match to 14-0, but the next meeting 50 years later had a better outcome with Colfax winning 6-0. In commemoration of that long-time-coming victory, the Codger Pole, a 65-foot-tall chainsaw-carved wooden sculpture was erected.
On the way to Spokane, I ran into a problem that many people with a travel trailer experience – the dreaded tire blowout. Standard issue on most travel trailer are cheap tires. My trailer is a light version weighing around 6,000 pounds, riding on two axels. Two critical factors that can result in blowouts are incorrect tire pressure and excessive speed, neither of which I was guilty of. It was more of an ordeal than it should have ben to change the tire and the 95 degree temperature didn’t help, but 1.5 hours later I was back on the road.
