Dan's Blog: Cruz Down The Coast-A Winter Camping Adventure

Last week I decided to take a "Cruz" down the Washington and Otrgon coasts. I confused a lot of people by calling it a Cruise. They thought I was taking the boat down the coast. But my "Cruz" was a car trip that involved camping for three nights a national and state campgrounds. I have been thinking about this for a few months to see if it is doable. I do not own a RV, so my camping consisted of sleeping in the back of my pickup and cooking under a canopy on the rainy days. Not the usual way people camp in the winter.

I got underway early Monday morning. I drove north around the Olympic Peninsula to the coast with my first stop at Rialto Beach in the Olympic National Park. I then backtracked and drove to the small village of La Push. Back again to Highway 101, I continued south through Forks. I decided a side trip to the Hoh Rain Forest was in order, so of I went up that road. Not many people were there and the visitors center was closed. After a short hike, off again I went to hook up with Hwy 101 again. I continued south to the National Park Campground at Kalaloch. I selected a great campsite overlooking the beach and the ocean and set up my canopy to provide some shelter from the rain. A campfire kept the chill off during the early evening until I retreated to my warm sleeping bag.

Tuesday evening I was underway early again and headed down Hwy 101 until the first opportunity to head back toward the ocean and Pacific Beach. I continued south to Ocean Shores for breakfast. After breakfast, I drove around Greys Harbor through Aberdeen to Westport. After a quick stop at Westport, I continued through Grayland and Tokeland to 101 at Raymond. From there I continued on to Long Beach for lunch and then to Cape Disappointment State Park where I was assigned a great camping site near the ocean. I hiked out to the North Head Light and the light at Cape Disappointment(Cape 'D"). This was a great sunny day but as night approached, it did get cold!

Wednesday, once again, I was underway early and crossed into Oregon. In keeping with driving the roads closest to the ocean, I left 101 near Warrenton and took a side trip through Fort Stevens State park to view the South Jetty and the wreck of the old sailing ship Peter Iredale. Again on 101, I continued south to Seaside and another side trip and on south until I reached Tillamook. Here I stopped at the cheese factory(something I have always wanted to do) before continuing on to the Air Museum in Blimp Hanger 'B' of the old Naval Air Station. That is a huge structure that was built during World War II and now houses a great display of old aircrafts and artifacts as well as dry storage for rent. After the visit, I continued on to Cape Lookout State Park were I set up camp again. I was hoping to hike to Cape Lookout, but I arrived too late in the day. This was a very stormy and rainy day, but with the right equipment, I stayed dry and comfortable.

Thursday, I again was again on the road early(have you noticed a trend here?) and drove back roads through Pacific City to the Little Nestucca Road that took me through the Coast Range to Highway 18 that I followed to McMinnville. At McMinnville, I visited the Evergreen Aviation Museum for several hours. I have been here before and was looking forward to seeing it again. On the road again, I drove to I5 and followed it north arriving home in the late afternoon.

This was a great road trip. I knew that it could be cold and stormy and it was for some of the days. But with the right equipment, I was dry and comfortable. The bunk I built in the back of the pickup provided a dry place to sleep. I proved to myself that this kind of winter camping is doable.