Out of Washington (finally!), into Oregon and down the Redwood Highway

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

Aaron was finally finished with Wenatchee (for now) and, it was time to head south. On our journey south we spent one more night in Washington in the Yakima River Canyon. And then it was goodbye to Washington and into Oregon.

Driving through Oregon is incredible. There is high desert, mountains, waterfalls, and the start of the Redwood highway. Our goal was to get to the Pacific coast in northern California, so we spent one night in Oregon on our way down to CA. We stayed at Schwarz Park on Dorena Lake for the night. It was a very pretty campground with a nice shady spot under some really big pine trees.

We had a reservation at MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg, CA to get to and, we had the Redwood Highway to drive. I was finally getting to the Pacific coast! Again, the drive was beautiful and challenging. I am glad that Aaron was driving those curvy and narrow highways. I was able to just soak in the sights and the beauty. Pictures do not capture the size and majesty of the redwoods. The first one gives you an idea with the cars on the road next to and across from the trees. My first views of the Pacific were a foggy view, but it was beautiful.

After a harrowing drive down CA Highway 1, and I mean nerve racking, oh sh*t, is this the only road to get there, and holy cow we made it drive, we got to Mackerricher State Park in Fort Bragg and settled in for a few days by the beach.

At the Confluence again with new toys and visitors!

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Some of the parts had arrived and Aaron had more work to get done. Back to Wenatchee we went. Driving down the highway, we saw a bighorn ram on the side of the road! We didn’t see it in time to get a picture. I was quite disappointed that I missed the opportunity. Little did I know, the females would visit us at the campground! I still haven’t been able to catch a photo of a male with the curling horns but, I still have hope. Our friend James was in Oregon for work and took a ride north to hang out with us on a Saturday afternoon. It was really nice to spend time with an old friend. Thank you for taking time for us, James!

When Aaron had finished with the job (until more parts arrived), we took a ride down to Boardman and picked up our bikes, our Starlink dish, our bike rack and whatever else it was we had ordered. And then we moved ourselves to Wanapum State Park in Vantage, WA. I was really excited to go there because the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State park was just down the road. We got settled in, and then it was time for Aaron to open all the boxes and start putting together and installing all his (our) new toys.

Our oldest son, Gage, was going to be in Seattle for work, so he paid a visit to us while we were at Wanapum. He and Aaron took a bike ride and they both went with me to see the Ginkgo Petrified Forest. Well, the forest didn’t look like a forest. The petrified wood was beautiful but, it was hard to get a good picture of it since it was all caged to protect it from vandalism and theft. One interesting thing I found out, petrified wood is Washington’s state gem.

We really had a great two weeks of visiting with our son and a friend who is family to us. We got new toys, saw bighorns, and got to enjoy a hike and a few bike rides. We had to stay in Washington for a little while longer, so after Wanapum, we went back to Entiat again so Aaron could finish the job at last, and we could take the bikes on that trail we had admired last time we were there.

At the Confluence, into Entiat and shopping online

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Bath Time!

Since February 28, 2023, we had traveled over 5,000 miles. We had hand washed the truck and camper once already, but, they both needed a real good scrub. We had some time to kill before we could check in at our next campground so, we looked for a carwash that would be tall enough for our home to fit. Once we found it, we washed the dirt and grime from our truck and our home. Fresh and shiny, we were ready to check-in at our home for the next few days.

We settled in at the Wenatchee Confluence State Park. Aaron went to the job site to see what was needed. We were hoping that the job wouldn’t take long and we could be on our merry way. Well, that wasn’t quite the case, and it looked like we were going to be in Washington for a good while. The park we were in was lovely and we enjoyed our stay, but we decided we wanted to see more of the area since we were going to be in the area for a while.

We found a campground run by the city of Entiat, WA. The campsites were close together, but the view was amazing. When we arrived, we noticed that there were numbers painted on the side of a mountain and, we could not figure out what they represented. We did some research and learned that this was a tradition that went back 100 years. Since 1923, each graduating class designed their year’s number and painted it on the mountain. Recently, they added the numbers for the classes of 1920, 1921, and 1922 to honor them as well. Then, we found out the name of the mountain is Numeral Mountain. This added a unique and cool view to our home for the next 10 days.

The park had a beautiful walking/biking path that ran right behind the campsites. We enjoyed the walk and envied the people on bikes. Aaron had always had a bike and really missed the e-bike he sold before we started this journey. We talked, researched, and decided that folding e-bikes were the answer. We did more research and found some e-bikes that we really liked. Now that we knew what we wanted, we needed to figure out how to get them to us. The Boardman, OR office was about 3 hours away and they could receive our packages! We started ordering and planning. Then we realized that even though they were folding bikes, they would be too big for the inside of the truck, and we didn’t want to store them inside of the Airstream during travel. We had some time to kill (Aaron was waiting on parts for the job) so, we ordered our bikes, Starlink, a bike rack, and other things that we had found we would like to improve our life of travel, make Aaron’s remote work easier, and make life a bit more comfortable for us both.

Our time was up at Entiat, and we packed up, hooked up our home and headed back to Wenatchee, with a quick detour up a national forest road where there was still a little snow and dirty snowmelt. It was a sketchy but cool drive that left our camper and truck the dirtiest they had ever been. Luckily, we knew there was a carwash waiting for us back in Wenatchee.

Over the river, through the chemical weapons depot, and past the Manhattan Project site we go

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The drive to Wenatchee, WA was an interesting one! On our way out of Oregon we got to drive past a chemical weapons depot in the high desert, cross the Columbia River into Washington into more high desert and then into the hop farm and vineyard country of Washington. We got there before spring had sprung, so the orchards and vineyards weren’t green yet. It was interesting seeing them in their dormant state.

After we crossed the Columbia, and drove for a bit, started noticing a fence line that wasn’t ending with signs about no trespassing, warnings, and information. It looked like just fenced in sand, no livestock, no crops, just dirt roads on the perimeter. We, being the curious sort, decided to stop and see what it was all about.

They only provide tours a few times a year, and we couldn’t get one booked for this visit, but we will be going back sometime in the future to get an inside (as much as the government will allow) of this historical place. It is also the largest nuclear waste site in the US.

We had a few days of travel before we were going to get to Wenatchee, so we stopped at another Harvest Host for the night. Velan Winery was another fun place to stay. We had a wine tasting and purchased 4 bottles of wine, which we have thoroughly enjoyed. The owner of the vineyard was a very friendly and interesting person. We had a wonderful stay!

The vineyard was surrounded by an apple tree grove.

Our next night was spent at another Harvest Host, Seed Cupboard Nursery. It had a really neat shop onsite and, we found a little decor for the camper! They were exactly what we needed over our dining area. We haven’t named them yet. Any suggestions?

We had to keep moving, and needed another overnight stop. This time we stayed at a lavender farm! We were literally the only ones there. With Harvest Host, they ask that you purchase something from the place you are staying. Since there was no one there, I ordered from their online store and had some bath bombs and body butter sent to my daughter. She said they were amazing. I was quite a bit envious.

We spent a very quiet and peaceful night at Lavender Estates and, the next morning it was time to get moving again. We had a reservation at Wenatchee Confluence State Park, and poor Aaron had work to do.

Oregon, here we come!

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On our way to Oregon, we made a few stops, the first one being Woodward Reservoir, a little northeast of Modesto and just south of Eugene, CA. It was a beautiful setting with LOTS of geese. Geese are big birds that leave big bird poops that look more like a cat’s or small dog’s than a bird’s poop. It was everywhere. Fortunately for you, I did not take pictures of the poop. There were also a lot of feral cats at the campground. Not quite the wildlife viewing we have been looking for but, we took what we could get. We did enjoy our stay there. Aaron even made a few friends.

On our way up to Oregon we got to drive over Mt. Shasta. It was a beautiful drive and a cold one. We stopped for the night at a Harvest Host location. Mt. Shasta Brewing Company. The food was excellent, as was the stout I had with dinner and the IPA Aaron had with his dinner. It was nice to be able to park, enjoy dinner and a beer and get a good night’s sleep.

After our night at the brewery, it was on into Oregon. Oregon is beautiful and diverse with mountains, high desert, forests and the Pacific coastline. This trip, we didn’t get to drive the coastline, but we did hit mountains and high desert. It was my introduction to the Columbia River. We made it to Boardman, OR and stayed in a campground on the shore of the river. It is a beautiful river and for the next month we saw the Columbia River and crossed that river more times than I can count.

One good thing about being there is that Aaron’s company has an office there. So, we were able to have our kids send us our mail and, we were also able to get things we wanted to order from Amazon shipped to the office. That was great. As Aaron was finishing up his work in Oregon, he got another call. It was time go further north into Washington. Our plan, originally, was to wander California in the colder months and then head north into Oregon and Washington in the warmer months. But, needs must and plans change. So, off to Wenatchee, Washington we went.