By Annie Bowler, Volume 19 October 1, 2024
It’s been a wild, fun, and challenging last few weeks. Early this summer, John and I finally took the plunge and bought a Sprinter van and contracted with Scenic Vans of Rancho Cordova to build it out. I’ve been dreaming about owning a van since 2020 so I was super excited to finally travel in a tiny but very comfortable home on wheels! Scenic Vans did a great job but like with any new build, there was a steep learning curve for us plus a few kinks for Scenic to work out upon our return.
We first headed north to Oregon and had a grand time with friends at Belknap Hot
Springs Resort on the McKinsey River, Oregon. We’ve camped here with the same friends many times now, but somehow this time seemed extra special. Belknap is not only on a beautiful stretch of the McKinsey River, but there are hot soaking pools, many trails, and even a magical secret garden to explore. During the day, some of us went fishing, while others rafted, paddle-boarded, and hiked. During evenings, we all gathered and shared food, including the steelhead and hatchery trout our gang caught, along with lots of stories
and laughter. It was all quite wonderful except we discovered after we left that we also
shared Covid. So, John and I got to try out having Covid while on the road.
Over the course of the last 2 weeks, we stayed at 3 hot springs, 3 Harvest Host
locations, 2 private campgrounds and 3 county parks as we wandered Oregon and a bit
of Washington.
Harvest Hosts is a fabulous organization that connects travelers with farms, wineries and other small businesses that open their places up to folks traveling with a self-contained vehicle. The fee is usually a bottle of wine or buying some of their produce. My favorite Harvest Host location was Nella Chestnut Farm, located just outside Hood River, Oregon. As you can see by the pictures, they used recycled materials to create most of their buildings, including many box cars. They even had an indoor skateboard ramp! The owner was super friendly; he helped me gather chestnuts and showed me how to roast them, something I’ve never done before. This place definitely isn’t for everyone but it you lean toward the artistic, organic style, you’d love it. Plus, its nearby Hood River, which is a charming town!
I stayed in a hotel for 2 nights in an effort to keep John Covid free, (which was a total
fail,) I stayed at Edgefield McMenamins near the Columbia River in Troutdale. Edgefield
is hands-down one of the most unique hotels I’ve ever visited. It’s a refurbished poor
house that has art and murals and quirky things everywhere. Well, at least I was
entertained. I included a few photos from Edgefield to give you a sense of what it is like.
Jerry Garcia at Edgefield
There’s a concert venue on the grounds that has a statue of Jerry Garcia.
We wandered over to the coast but along the way we saw mountain high piles of timber
and many mountainsides that had been clear cut. It hurt my heart to see those bare hills
and so many logs but then towns with lumber mills seemed to be thriving while those
with shuttered mills often felt like ghost towns. I don’t know the answer but clearly this is
a topic much discussed by Oregonians. I feel like there has to be a better way.
Lumber piles at Coos Bay A shuttered sawmill in McCloud, California
On the coast, we stayed in Florence at the lovely North Harbor County Park. (My mom’s
name was Florence so I’m partial to this sweet little town.) We walked the beach and
were all in heaven, but especially Buster, who took a first joyous swim sans stitches.
The downside was that our van felt like a sandbox that night. As I said, we still have a
few kinks to work out.
Buster's first swim sans stitches Seaweed! Coastal flowers are delicate beauties
A Safe Harbor
One of my overall impressions of Oregon is how many beautiful rivers there are; every
road follows a river and there are bridges everywhere. Call me old fashioned but I
wanted to see a real map of Oregon to get a better sense of how all these mountains,
rivers and towns fit together. Online maps give us such a slivered view of things, they
tell you how to get from here to there but never show all the possibilities. I got a bit
obsessed; I kept asking for maps at gas stations and grocery stores but to no avail,
through 20 years ago, everyone sold maps. I finally found one (that was free) at a
welcome center. A real map is a beautiful thing!
And before long, mostly healthy, and almost Covid free, no map was needed to find our
way home.
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