Once again the Pacific Ocean calls to us and so we must go.

It is now early April and after reviewing our calendar and the extended forecast we come to the conclusion there is just enough time to visit the coast once more before turning towards home. 

Unfortunately this means we must leave the luxury and comfort of Fort Motsko and our good friends.  But Mark and Phyllis make a snap decision and decide to join us on the coast to further break-in their beautiful new Chevy truck and Bigfoot camper.

In a spitting rain and snow storm we travel west across the Cascades passing just south of Mt Hood and the Timberline lodge.

When I traveled north to Alaska for the first time in 1973, my brother, myself and two friends summited Mt Hood on a blue bird spring day.  I will never forget seeing the Pacific ocean over 100 miles away from its summit.

Today because of the wet weather we can’t see above the tops of the trees but the memories of climbing this beautiful volcano come flooding back.

It is tempting to wait for the weather to clear but we continue on to keep an appointment for routine maintenance in Tualatin the next day at The Sprinter Store.

By mid afternoon our journey west continues through wine country and the beautiful McMinnville Valley. Late in the afternoon we join Mark and Phyllis already camped at Tillicum Beach Campground just south of Waldport.

Tillicum is a great little Forest Service campground nestled in a lush coastal forest with a broad sandy beach that extends for miles up and down the coast.  

Mark and Phyllis found adjoining campsites for us on the bluff overlooking the waves, very nice.

It is sunny and almost 70, hard to believe this is the Oregon coast!

The dogs immediately take to the sand and run full speed up and down Tillicum’s beautiful beach.  

Denise and Phyllis spend hours bent over searching for the perfect agate or stone.  We soak up the sun, relax and beach comb for hours. 

Our evenings are spent around the fire pit eating good food, drinking stellar red wines and telling stories of our youth. Life is good.

After a couple nights at Tillicum we move north up Hwy 101 towards Cape Lookout State Park hoping to score a couple of campsites for the evening.

We stop for a few hours at Ona State Beach so Denise and Phyllis can continue their search for fossils and agates.  This beach has very unusual rock formations with many fossils embedded in the headlands.

In the town of Newport we stop for lunch and enjoy some great seafood at Local Ocean Restaurant, one of Newports premier harbor seafood eateries.  Its open air seating was perfect since it was sunny and in the mid 70’s.

By evening we arrive at Cape Lookout State Park and luckily find a couple of nice sites still available.  Cape Lookout is yet another beautiful lush Oregon campground located within a dense forest with a great beach, its hard to take.

Unfortunately our time has run out and we must depart for home.  We bid farewell to the Motsko’s and head north following the coast for as long as possible to bypass Portland.

When the weather is nice there is nothing quite like the Oregon coast.  Its vibrant lush forests, fantastic wild beaches and great campgrounds can make for very enjoyable camping.

Spending time along this coast always seems to make for an easy going laid back life that enables one to truly relax and enjoy oneself.  Must be the negative ions.

There is no doubt we will return.

Enjoy our latest video “Oregon Coasting”

Next stop…1500 miles to home, keep you posted