Dave and I planned to take one more short trip to Maryhill State Park this week. We've been having some frost warnings this week, so I called the park to see if they had turned off the water hookups. Sure enough, they had turned them off for the season on Monday. Last year they turned them off on November 1, this year, on October 24. It all depends on the weather.
So we changed our plans, and instead of heading east, we headed west. The parks along the coast of Washington and Oregon rarely have to turn off their water because their weather is milder. We wanted to go somewhere that was only about two hours from home, so we decided to go to Astoria, Oregon.
Site A8 at Lewis and Clark RV Resort, Astoria, OR
Our favorite RV park in Astoria is Lewis and Clark Golf and RV Resort, just south of town. It's a nice park, but even better, it's one of our 1/2 price Camp Club USA parks. We are staying for three nights, and the price for a premium (golf course frontage) full-hookup site is $22.50 per night--a little higher than our $6 Washington State Parks, but not too bad, especially since there's a lot to see and do in Astoria. We also paid $2 per night for WIFI, which used to be included in the price.
The weather was beautiful when we got here on Tuesday, and Dave played the nine-hole golf course that afternoon.
The golf course, as viewed from our site
Wednesday the weather was drizzly and cloudy. We took the 20-mile drive along Highway 101 south to Cannon Beach. We took a picnic lunch and ate in the car while we admired the Pacific Ocean from Tolovana Park south of Cannon Beach. I could have sat there all day! After lunch I visited a quilt shop in Cannon Beach. I'm not ready to buy much yet, but I enjoyed looking at all their fabrics and supplies. The store had a wide selection of Japanese-style prints and patterns.
Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon
Today (Thursday) the weather was beautiful. We drove to Youngs River Falls, and after than we visited Astoria Column. For some reason, even though we've been to Astoria quite often, we had never been to Astoria Column. Dave made it to the top of the column but I chickened out. The views from up there are magnificent, even if you don't climb the 164 steps up to the top. The price is right, too, only $1 for parking and the parking pass if good for a whole year!
Youngs River Falls, located 10 miles south of Astoria
Astoria Column, built in 1926
Dave waving from the top of the Column
We came back to the motorhome to eat lunch, then headed out for a bike ride. I had heard about a path from Warrenton to Hammond, but we could only find bits and pieces of the path. Oh well, we had a nice ride anyway, even though it was a bit cold and very windy by the time we got going.
The Astoria Bridge that crosses the Columbia River, as viewed from the Column
Another view of the Columbia River, looking across to Washington
Tomorrow we need to head back to Vancouver so Dave can referee his last varsity football game of this season. After this weekend the teams will have another three weeks of play-offs, then it's on to the state play-offs for the teams that make it that far.
