Trip Report: California and Oregon

[TMan59]

Love it!
Thank you for taking the time to keep us up on your travels!

[Fushux]

Day #5

Sorry for being a couple days late but the internet was spotty at best here.

Total Miles: 127
Total Time: 5 Hours

This was our shortest travel day between sites. We traveled from Chiloquin, OR to La Pine, OR. We had set our departure time at 9am. Even though it was a short travel day, we wanted to make sure we had enough time to take in all the sights. We headed in to Crater Lake National Park. Let me tell you, this was by far the most beautiful national park we've been to. The snow on the ground, the clear blue water and Wizard Island in the distance. We took a bunch of pictures, got the kids national park stamps and took in the scenery for a while.

We had lunch in the Rim Visitor Center parking lot before heading out. Rant: There are only 5 or so RV/bus parking spots and they were mostly taken up by* cars. I don't park in your spot, please don't park in mine.

The road from the visitor center was absolutely stunning. Between all the trees, you could see the snow sitting on the ground.

Pictures from Crater Lake and the drive:







We arrived at La Pine State Park at 2pm to set up camp. This is another great Oregon State Park with electricity* (50/30 amp), water, and sewer at the site for $26 a night. All the sites are paved with a fire ring and picnic table. There is a good size grassy area in front of our site for the kids to play.



We got set up and met some friends in Bend, OR for dinner and drinks. We went to a place called 10 Barrel Brewing. Our friend works there and the place was great. My wife and I shared a pizza and it was great. The beer was also really good. He even gave us a case of all the different beers to try. Off to bed we go. We are staying here for the next couple nights.

Andrew

[Fushux]

Day #6

Once again sorry for being late. Internet was bad here.

Total Miles: 0
Total Time: 0

We had another day at La Pine State Park and it felt good not to have to pack up and head out. We enjoyed a nice bacon and eggs breakfast and a morning walk around the campground.

On our way to Bend yesterday, we saw a museum that we thought would be pretty cool to check out. It's called High Desert Museum. A little pricey $15 for adults and* $9 for kids. It had a bunch of interactive things for the kids to do. We paid for the birds of prey exhibit ( a extra $3 per person) which was pretty cool. I got buzzed by a falcon that hit me on the top of my head.

I could have taken or left the museum. It was cool but didn't make up for the high admission fee.




We headed in to Bend after for a lunch/dinner at Red Robin and our customary trip to Walmart. Did I mention my wife loves the heck out of going to other states Walmarts? It's OK cause I needed a couple shirts and DEF for my truck.

While parking the truck in front of the trailer, I hit the* 5th wheel pin with my tailgate. Leaving a nice dent right above the Ram emblem on my tailgate. God this made me mad and I can't stop thinking about it. Just a stupid mistake on my part. I even have a backup camera 3 inches above where it hit.



We went for a walk along the Deschutes River which partially runs through the campground.



Had our first camp fire of the trip. The kids got to roast marshmallows for Smores and crawled in to bed about 11pm. It's interesting how late it stays light out here. You can really lose track of time. It's gonna get pretty cold here tonight.

Headed to our "destination" tomorrow.

Good night.

Andrew

[Fushux]

Day 7

Total Miles: 206

Total time: 4 hours 45 minutes

We left La Pine State Park at about 9:45 with our sights set on Reedsport/Winchester Bay Oregon. We took the 97 to the 58 to the 5 and then 38 in to Reedsport. The highways were absolutely stunning with the river on one side and a mountain on the other.

Only picture we took of the drive:


Interstate 5 was the first time besides the 15 to get out of Riverside that we were on an Interstate. Almost 1500 miles in to the trip. I'm proud of that as we like to avoid major highways. Now on the way home, we will spend a considerable amount of time on the 5 but that is to get home quickly.

We arrived in Winchester Bay at around 2:30. We are staying 8 nights at the Windy Cove Campground. It's a county campground. Nothing to fancy about it. 30 amp/water/sewer at site. When we arrived, the camp host told us somebody had left a trailer at our site and they couldn't get a hold of the person. Mind you check out was at 11am. I asked them if we could move the trailer in to the overflow parking but they wouldn't let me touch it. They gave us another site until those people come back and get the trailer. Kind of stinks cause we wanted all 3 spots together. Maybe he will come and move it soon.

Our site:


We chose this area because there is plenty of stuff to do within a short drive. This part of the Oregon Coast has sand dunes that we will ride quads and drive cars on. We will also go crabbing and have a chartered fishing trip planned someday next week. I'll make sure to get pictures of everything as we go. Our travel days are done until next Saturday when we head home.

Andrew

[Fushux]

Day 8:

Total Miles: 0

It gets pretty cold here in the mornings so it was to stay in bed until 830. We got up and headed to the dunes which were about 2 miles down the road. We rode for a few hours but it was terribly windy. Hopefully that doesn't continue all week. If anybody is familiar with riding and dirt bikes. I ride a CRF450 Honda. Not very well but I ride it. Haha! We also have a Polaris RZR in our group as well as a variety of quads. It was fun getting the kids out on the smaller quads and watching them ride. Here are a few pictures at the top of a dune overlooking the ocean.




We headed back to camp around 330 and went for a early dinner at a place called Ungers. It is literally a boat that sits on the water and has the best fish and chips. You have to check it out if you're out this way. But, with it being smaller place and pretty crowded on a Saturday, we waited over an hour for our good. Still as good as I remember it.

Now time to sit by the campfire.

Andrew

[nothermark]

Nice! Thanks for posting!

[JMonroe]

Great trip report. Thanks for taking the time.

[Fushux]

Day 9:

Total Miles: 0

Not much to report today. We woke up, ate some breakfast and went riding again. The wind was absolutely brutal and blistering cold. We plan to visit a different riding spot tomorrow for some better weather. We didn't take a single picture so sorry for the boring post.

We did finalize our fishing boat charter for Tuesday so there should be plenty of pictures of that.

Andrew

[TMan59]

Where will you be fishing out of?
Bottom fish?
I saw a great show on the dory fishing from Pacific Beach.
I have a crf450 myself. 2007, no air forks.
Thanks again for the reports.

[Fushux]

Day 10:

Total miles: 0

We woke up this morning with it a bit drizzly and muddy so we decided against riding today. We decided to check out the Sea Lion Caves north of Florence about 35 miles from here. It was pretty cool. Like a lot of things this trip, I thought it was a tad overpriced at $14 for adults and $8 for kids. Our 2 year old was free. I understand a little with it being seasonal as the sea lions travel and the maintenance costs going in to it. Here are a few pictures from the caves.






Sorry for some of the poor quality photos. They don't allow flash.

After the caves, we ate some lunch at a hole in the wall place in Florence called Rosa's. We were craving some Mexican food cause it's not a normal camping food. I had the seafood enchiladas and they were very good.

When we got back to the site, the weather had gotten better so we went for a ride. I enjoy riding the dunes here cause they are a lot different from what we get at home.

Bbq chicken for dinner and a late night by the fire.

Good night.

Andrew

[Fushux]

Originally Posted by TMan59

Where will you be fishing out of?
Bottom fish?
I saw a great show on the dory fishing from Pacific Beach.
I have a crf450 myself. 2007, no air forks.
Thanks again for the reports.

We are fishing out of Coos Bay which is about 25 miles south of us. Mostly for bottom fish.

I enjoy the 2 wheels but I'm thinking about going back to 4 after this. I'm getting beat up pretty bad. But these dunes are awesome here.

Andrew

[Fushux]

Thank you everybody for the kind words. I've read so many of these reports that I hoped I could help and provide a little entertainment with mine.

Andrew

[Fushux]

Day 11:

Total Miles: 0

Unfortunately, we had to scratch fishing today. The weather was just bad enough that we didn't want to be sick. We were really looking forward to it.

Not to waste the day though, we decided to go to another riding location on the coast. This one was called Siltcoos Day Area. I wanted to bring the kids to this one because you're able to ride up and down the beach for miles. It is a pretty cool place.

The toys with the ocean in the background.



You can see by the flags how windy it was. Would have been bad out there on the open ocean.

I took a video of us riding along the shore. I'll try to post it but I'm not very tech savvy.

https://vimeo.com/172681371

After riding, we went in to Reedsport and had Bedrock's pizza for dinner. It's a good spot that I remember having as a kid.

It was an early night for us. All kids showered and in bed by 9pm.

Good night.

Andrew

[Fushux]

Day 12

Miles: 0

My wife woke up a little earlier than I did as there was some laundry to be done so I was on kid duty. Getting 3 kids ready and fed in the morning can be quite the chore. Especially since all they want to do is go outside and play.

The woman and children didn't want to ride today so they went to the little shops in Winchester Bay while my brother in law went for a pretty fast paced ride. I wasn't used to riding this hard and I'm paying for it now.

After shopping and riding, we went to the Umpqua River Lighthouse for the tour. It was pretty cool learning the history of it. Had a little museum and we got to walk to the top of the lighthouse. It was pretty tight in there so if you get claustrophobic, I wouldn't recommend it either. We took our 2 year and and it was difficult for her to walk the stairs also so keep that in mind. It was* $6 for adults and $4 for kids 5-12. Our 2 year old was free. Here are a few pictures from the lighthouse:






Ate some tacos for dinner and a late night by the fire. The wind has picked up and it's cold tonight. Heater is going to be running.

Good night.

Andrew