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...

 

 

Newport Oregon -- Marcia’s Favorite Oregon Coastal View

Isn’t is something how people see the same view, but they see it in different ways?  In 2012 we found this turnout on Highway 101 just north of Depoe Bay, south of Lincoln Beach,  called the Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint, and when you look north, this is the view (picture above).  

	Waves are crashing…
Birds are resting…
	People are on the beach

But what Marcia sees…is something most people overlook…

Can you see it now in the picture above????

It is this little waterfall…among everything out there, she spotted this little waterfall…and with that focus, she just loves this view of the crashing waves, the flying birds, the noise, the smell…and this little waterfall.

   

Above is what it looked like back in July 2012…it was a cold, foggy, misty day.  But she saw it…and today, as we drove down highway 101, unbeknownst to her, I knew exactly the spot…and I pulled in saying something like, “Don’t know if we ever have seen this view before….”  But this excitement IMMEDIATELY came upon her….”This is it…this is it, isn’t it?”   Unfortunately, no place to park…fortunately, it is only 16 miles from our RV Park, so we drove back later in the HHR. 

Newport has this very large RV park down at the marina…Port of Newport RV Parks…three RV parks, two full hook-ups, one dry camping.

…right near the Yaquina Bay Bridge right along the waterfront area.  We are in the park’s annex section, which is the older section on gravel/dirt.

They also have a dry camping area on pavement, $18 per night…but we sprung for full-hookups for $38 per night.

After having another seafood lunch/dinner, this time at South Beach Fish Market which Nancy Kissack had recommended (yes, it was good), I dropped Marcia off at the motorhome and I took stroll down Newport’s Fishing Pier, well within walking distance of the RV Park.

       

The seagulls are all over the place, and sit on the rail of the boardwalk…as you walk near, they fly away…making it easy to get a picture of the gull in flight.

  

A number of crab fishermen out on the boardwalk…and you can only keep them if they are so big.  This one on the right earned a trip back into the water.

And you get a pretty good picture of the Yaquina Bay Bridge at the end of the boardwalk…and if you wait a bit, you can get a gull flying into your picture.  Of course, it would look better if the sun was not shinning into your face.

Rogue Ales is a brewery which is headquartered here in Newport, right across from our RV Park.  They operate brewpubs in Oregon, Washington, and California, and micro distilleries in Newport and Portland.  We can see this building right out the front of the motorhome…and the fishing pier is just to the left of it.

The distillery is over toward the marina more, fairly close to the dry camping area.  Didn’t go into either, but they were open, and seemed to offer tours and drinks.

Here is a picture of Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, one of the two lighthouses which are in the Newport area.  We visited Newport back in 2012, and visited both lighthouses, and of course, Marcia’s waterfall ocean spot.  You can read that blog posting by clicking the link below:

Foggy, Overcast Oregon Day

Tomorrow we head on to Coos Bay.  A bit longer of a drive than we had the past three days by about 50 miles, but if the weather is like it was today, it will be a very pretty drive.  And as you could see by today's pictures...it was a very, very nice day, light breeze, low '70's.