South Beach Campground, Olympic National Park

 

Last time we were at South Beach Campground, part of Olympic National Park, was in August 2015.  We arrived around 5 pm, and barely made it into the park.  It is a first come, first serve park, costing $10 with National Park Senior Card.  Today, we got here at 2:30...and the park wasn't even half full!  It is nearly 9 pm, and there are still a couple of spots, and people are still coming in.  Last time we were here I think we stayed 3 or 4 nights...today it will be just one night.

   

The left picture above is the north side of the park, the right is the south side.  I took these about 90 minutes ago...now the empty spots are nearly all taken.

Thought this mural on the Ace Hardware in Raymond WA looked kinda neat...the whole town was full of metal art pieces of animals, Oregon Trail wagons and oxen, and stuff like that.  Looked like a neat little town, and we enjoyed eating breakfast/lunch there along the side of a park.

 

 

Much of our trip today looked like these pictures...lot of trees, lots of open road, very little Ocean.  Accidentally missing a turn for Highway 101 and we ended up going about 10 miles up Long Beach...which is a peninsula that ends at Leadbetter Point.  At least I caught it before I went the entire 20 miles before finding out I missed a turn.  That's what I get for not using the GPS, which is a rare thing not to have it going.

 

GOOD NIGHT!

RV Park at the Bridge, Chinook, WA

 

Yaquina Bay Bridge

We had a good night sleep at South Beach State Park near Newport Oregon.  Had a minor electrical problem, but I think I fixed it.  Got on the road by 10 am, and traveled up to and through Astoria Oregon, and stopped at the RV Park At The Bridge in 158 US-101, Chinook, Washington State.  140 miles seemed to be more like 400 with all the stops we made alongside the ocean.  Tomorrow we are shooting for a campground in Olympic National Park.  OR, we might just head over to Mt. Rainier National Park...I'll make that decision later.

 

Above and what follows are pictures we took along the ocean between Newport and Boiler Bay Viewpoint.

There are a number of pullouts, and a few alternate routes which parallel US 101.  It is so pretty, one could spend hours gazing out at the ocean.  

 

Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint is one of Marcia's favorite views along the coast...especially this northern view.  So much so, I did a complete blog post on this back in 2015, which you can view HERE.

As you get closer to Tillamook, you see lots of farm land, with lots of cows 

We did not even stop in Tillamook...we have done Tillamook many times over the years and neither of us were into doing it again. 

The same with Astoria.  Here is a picture of the Astoria–Megler Bridge, which connects Oregon to Washington over the Columbia River.  Opened in 1966, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America, and the second-longest in the world. 

Here is the view out of front.  That is a slice of the front of the van to the left (along with a neighboring RV), the Columbia River, and if you look closely (or open in a separate window and increase the size) you can see the north end of the bridge.  And yes, the road right in the foreground is US-101.  Mostly autos moving along the route, so the noise is not that bad.

Here is the taller section of the bridge, which is closer to Oregon.  The City of Astoria is in the background.  
 

 

I did a search as we got closer to Astoria, and found RV Park at the Bridge to be the lower priced choice.  For $60, cash, we are good to go for the night (most other parks are in the $90 to $120 range).  As for tomorrow, that is another adventure...