4-4-2026 Whalen Island County Park, Oregon
Spring break. Down I-5, then across to Astoria at Longview. Stopped at a drive-in at Clatskanie. Stopped at the Fred Meyer outside of Astoria for groceries, and again at Tillamook for cheese curds and ice cream. Lorena is planning lots of stops these days to give my back a break. Makes for a longer drive, but my back feels better. I need to actually take some notes on the sites here so I remember which ones are good.
4-5-2026
Set up a chair by the mud flats at low tide after breakfast. Watched the birds through binoculars. Herons, gulls, storks, ducks, egrets, and an eagle. The eagle was foraging in the mud. The herons made a mix of squawk and honking when the eagle got too close.
It’s surprisingly warm. Sunny and 60 degrees. It’s usually raining like the devil when we are here. Down right enjoyable. There were quite a few campers here, but most of them have cleared out by this Sunday afternoon.
4-6-2026
Went into town to get boots for the boys. One brought no boots, the other brought 2 left boots. Lorena had bought a set of glass dishes with lids in Astoria, and when we setup here she put them on the top shelf of the cupboard. They ended up on the floor on the trip to town. Spent an hour cleaning tiny glass shards off everything, every surface, the floor, the sink, shoes. Literally everywhere. She hates plastic, but it’s the way to go with our setup.
Cooler today with a low fog. Makes for some really good photos. A little chilly, but the wool blanket in my camp chair makes it comfortable. Spent a good part of yesterday and today watching the herons and egrets through the binoculars.
4-7-2026
everyone else cleared out yesterday morning. We have the whole campground to ourselves. I will pack slowly and try to get out of here as late as possible. Lorena has a lot of stops planned on the driver to Beverly. We may still need to find more time wasters. Saw a pop-up camper on a Toyota Tacoma a couple days ago. Spent some time talking with the couple. An interesting option for when the current setup is too much for me to handle. There seems to be a number of downsides, but ease of setup, drivability, can fit anywhere. I’ll add it to the list of things to look at when the time comes.
Short drive to Lincoln City, a quick stop at a book store for Lorena, and then on to Beverly. The wind is higher here, as there is less protection, but the site we have has a nice windbreak. Started a fire, made hamburgers, and am now enjoying a drink.
4-10-2026
It’s been nice here. Sunny and warm. The camp site is shaded and can be cool though. Cold at night too. Got some wood and the boys made a fire. A couple of nights. This place is busy and I was concerned about noise from everyone else at night. Nice thing about it being cold is it moves everyone inside.
Matt and Misha came today for a day visit. Good to see the kids and grandkids. Spent some time with them on the beach looking for fossils. Found a lot. May have even found a shark tooth. Leon pocketed that. I hope Matt remembers he has it and makes him a necklace.
4-12-2026
Drove from Newport to Corvallis via hwy 20. Stopped at a byway for lunch, then the Avery Park Natural Area. The rose garden would have been much more impressive in another month. There was an old steam train that was neat to look at. Drove on to Lacomb to camp in Tracy’s yard. It’s still very nice out there and I truly enjoy our time there. Drove up to Portland the back way through Stanton and Silverton. Tried top stop in Mollala but the little pond we picked out had no access. On to Portland to visit Keltik and have lunch with her. Then up I5 to home. Gonna leave the camper on the pickup and parked for a while. Fuel is very expensive and I’ll drive the little econobox around town instead of the truck.