July 2009 Camping Trip

Our early summer camping plans with Dave & Sandy, had to be canceled due to the loss of Karen's mother Val, but we did have some great timing with this trip to Harbor Vista Park in Florence, Oregon (our first camping trip together this year).

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Abby & Karen in the Bay

As usual... as soon as we setup our camp, the next item of importance is "watering" the dogs. Dave & Sandy's dog Maggie is a cross between a Boxer and Basset-Hound, and is Abby's best friend. Those two just love playing together, and have worked out a system while playing "stick" in the water. Karen or I will throw the stick way out into the water, and Abby will take off for it. Meanwhile, Maggie waits patiently for Abby to return closer to the shore, and then will swim out to bring the stick in the rest of the way when Abby is closer. They do this time and time again... sharing like two best friends.

Maggie & Abby playing in the water

This was our first time to the Harbor View Park, and we fell in love with this campground. It has both Water and Electric (30/50 Amp in most sites), but does not have Sewer connections. They do however have a Dump Station located on the way out of the campground. All the sites not only have lots of room and space, but they have a great deal of brush between each site, so you also get your privacy.

Site 18


Plenty of room to stretch out with a warm blanket...

or the warmth of the sandy ground. Whatever makes you happy.

I had mentioned earlier that we had planned this trip perfectly, in that the Willamette Valley (50 miles East of us), was having a heat-wave. When this happens it creates an inversion along the Oregon coast, and brings the cooler coastal air inland. While the Valley was roasting at 100+ degrees, we were at a comfortable 65 degrees. In the evenings, we could actually see our breath as we ate dinner at the picnic table. We even managed to stay up long enough to have an actual campfire!

Ahhhhh... Summer along the Oregon Coast

While camping at the Geysers & Geezers Rally in West Yellowstone earlier this June, Forum member Bill Teetz gave me a set of "Koozies" that he had. He said that since I actually owned a HitchHiker II, that they would work better for me. Well Bill... Thank You very much! Even though we didn't get a chance to drink a lot of "COLD" beer, when it did warm up... I tried them out.

The Beer Koozie at work

Luckily on this trip... we managed to escaped any serious "Thurlacki" experiences (even though I do have a few stories to tell), but more importantly, we didn't have to do any evacuations while staying at Harbor Vista!

The "Tsunami" siren warning system by camp

What a great 6 days of fun we had. No rain, the sky was blue (most of the time when there wasn't fog), and the temperatures were nice and cool (compared to the scorching Valley). We arrived back home to record breaking temperatures - 108 degrees! Today was much cooler however, and we only managed to get up to 107 degrees. I almost missed a warm campfire just thinking about the much cooler weather today.

The Sun sets behind the fog bank just off the coastline

Traveling to new and unfamiliar destinations is what I like most about camping. You never know what you'll see along the way, or what you'll find once you get there. But as long as you have good friends to share your adventures with, it's not the destination... but the journey that matters.

Happy Trails...

-Gary & Karen-