On Tuesday morning we headed out to spend at least one night at the beach with our Casita. We didn’t have a specific destination in mind as we headed down the driveway, but we quickly decided to go back to South Beach State Park just south of Newport, OR. (I add the Oregon since I have noticed on other blogs that unless I am following them on a daily basis I don’t necessarily know where they are at!) The weather was actually sunny to the point of casting shadows upon our arrival. That didn’t last, but the rain held off that day for the most part. Setting up camp is sure a lot easier than when we used to tent camp and a lot more comfortable for the duration!
I almost forgot to take a picture of our campsite until we were leaving. The blue contraption on the trailer roof is Tom’s homemade antenna which works excellently, by the way.
The afternoon walk was pleasant. We walked north on the beach with our backs to the wind. The south jetty was fairly close The return trip was through the campground, so the south wind was buffered by the trees.
Do you think there is enough sand?
I love what people do with the driftwood. This shelter would be nice for a very short person, maybe about three years old!
They even have a flagpole!
Here we are on the south jetty looking at the Newport bridge.
Tuesday morning we went on a long walk on the Cooper Ridge Trail. This would be the park evacuation route in case of a tsunami. There weren’t very many long distance views. But there were lots of rhododendrons and huckleberry plants.
By late morning we had decided to pack up and head south about 20 miles to Beachside State Park. This is a fairly small park, but the camping is really close to the beach.
This is our new campsite. The blue antenna is now on top of the car. The beach is just beyond that row of brush. Some of the campsites have less brush and better views, but they were taken.
Our afternoon hike was heading south into the wind and I didn’t last very long. I had forgotten to bring a wooly hat and the wind was brutal.
We were treated to another beach structure. This one was tall enough for short adults. Tom is slightly stooped over.
This is our guard seagull. He was perched in sight of our beach access walkway.
A lovely sunset and in the opposite direction:
We had rain on and off all night. I was very happy to have the MaxAir vent cover so we could leave our roof vent cracked. The humidity did build up.
The next morning, between rain squalls, we were treated to another rainbow. Unfortunately, the rain began in earnest so we packed to head home. Of course, as soon as we were on the road things cleared, but that made the driving more pleasant.
It was a very good trip and our modifications seem to be working well. The sleep sack worked great. There was no problem with the velcro holding the sheets in place and we were warmer with the ability to zip up the sack.
Another addition to a camping gear was a Camp Chef Camp Oven http://www.campchef.com/outdoor-camp-oven-with-grill.html. We had purchased it a Costco a couple months ago for about $160. It worked great! I baked some chicken it it the first night and was able to do the veggies on top of the stove at the same time. I noticed it was back in the Salem Costco today. I think it will be wonderful during warmer weather to make fantastic breakfasts and baked items.
Time to go make dinner now….
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