Actual camping...

I decided to search out more photos of trailers actually being used for camping - not just pretty little show pieces.  While looking for "working" trailers, I came across this little gem, a 1964 Aloha, traveling along the California coast.

Here's a spot I think I'd really like to visit myself!  Westport-Union State Park in California.  But where exactly is it?

{researching}

Aha!  It's in Northern California, between Garberville and Fort Bragg, on Highway 1.  Sure is a beautiful campsite!

Before hitting the open coast our Aloha friend made a stop in the redwoods, spending a night at Humbolt Redwoods State Park.  It looks like such a cozy little trailer!  And another great campsite.  I'd like nothing more than to sit back and relax at either one of these sites and watch the world go by.

We've been talking about a trip down the coast to visit friends and family.  Now that we have our own trailer, there's no real excuse not to go!  We'll have to follow in the wheel ruts of this trailer and many others and plot a course for our travels.

2014?  Very likely.  Once I decide to do something, it tends to happen.

Not Closed!

I am happy to report that despite the federal government shutdown, there are still plenty of places that one can go camping here in the states.  Each state has a network of state parks, and Washington has some of the best.  I will admit I'm very biased, as I have very little experience with parks outside of Washington.  I'm hoping to remedy that now that we've got the trailer, but for the time being I'll stick with the parks I know.

Here on Whidbey Island, we have four state parks with camping - South Whidbey, Fort Casey, Fort Ebey, and Deception Pass.  One park, Joseph Whidbey, doesn't have camping but has a few nice trails.  That's quite a collection of parks on our island!

Washington State Parks require a Discover Pass for access.  For just $30 a year, you can access any park as a day visitor without further charge.  If you don't have the pass, it's $10 per day.  I am more than happy to pay that $30 fee to support our parks.  I also pay the extra $5 on my vehicle license when I renew.  $35 is a very small price to pay for unlimited access to our parks.  Overnight camping is an additional fee, and the cost varies from park to park.  Not free like some federal lands, but still much cheaper than an hotel!

Let's take a look at Fort Casey today, shall we?  Fort Casey is a WWII fort, built to protect Seattle and the rest of Puget Sound from Japanese invasion.  The extensive bunker system still stands, as does an historic lighthouse.

The old fort is quite spectacular, and ripe for exploration.  Be sure to bring a flashlight!

The campground is rather small, and one of the few first come, first serve campgrounds in the state park system.  If you're looking to visit in the off season, then this is the place for you!  There are beaches and trails to explore, and this are is also very bicycle friendly.  Note the resident deer in the background!

And the dear young man in the foreground.  That's my kid, several years ago.

Should you wish to visit Fort Casey in the off season, you'll experience a low key, relaxing visit.  This is the opposite of summer.

You'll have the park to yourself, and the town of Coupeville is just a hop, skip, and jump away.  Good coffee, good food, and cute shops.

It's a great destination.  We're just lucky we live a few minutes away!  If you want to visit and would like more local recommendations, let me know.

Closed

I suppose it's best this happened in the off season, but damn.  All national parks, monuments, and other federal lands are CLOSED.

Will there be any security to ensure poachers don't come in and decimate the wildlife?  Signs are swell, but people who don't care won't stop when they know nobody is looking.  Especially if they're hungry.

It makes me sad.  And angry.  There is no valid argument for this.  None.  A small group of pissy bastards are holding this country hostage because they don't want people to have access to health care.  The irony - their tantrum does nothing to stop the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  People I know will have health care for pretty much the first time ever, and it will make a huge difference to their lives.  Who was the "brilliant" fellow that tied health care to employment in the first place?  Maybe it worked all right a long time ago, but no more.

One of the library regulars was in tonight, and he had just come from the Navy Commissary.  He told me it was closing, and it was "like the L.A. riots in there!"  They stayed open today so they could get rid of as much perishable food as possible.  I imagine the Navy Exchange will be closed too.  This means all of the military families will have to shop in the "civilian" stores like Safeway and Wal-mart and Radio Shack.  Ironically, the city could see a boost in tax revenues if the shutdown goes on for more than a few days.

If you're inclined to travel this time of year, get out and support your state parks.  And if you're out and about, be sure to document the effects of the shutdown.  It could get interesting.  We're hunkering down for a while due to yucky weather and working on the trailer.  Our next planned trip is in February, to celebrate Darwin Day.  Most likely we will stay at the Sou'wester Lodge and Campground.  It's going to be a long time waiting to go!

Sigh...

Oyster Run, not so fun...

Well, it wasn't ALL bad.  Despite the rather crappy weather we still managed to enjoy ourselves, eat a good lunch, and do a bit of people watching.

In case you don't know, the Oyster Run is the largest motorcycle run held in the Pacific Northwest, and it's always held the 4th Sunday of September in Anacortes, Washington.  Usually the weather is great, and they get well over 30,000 bikers in town!  Such a spectacle.  Unfortunately this year a big weather front moved through - high winds and plenty of rain on the motorcycle parade.  By the time we got there, the rain was falling full bore and lots of the bikers were heading out.  Can't say that I blame them!

We saw all kinds of fun things, and do not fear - before the day was over we spotted an old trailer or two, on our way home.

We kicked off our fun at the Brown Lantern, with a drink and a bit of biker watching.  This fellow posed when he saw I was taking a photo, and then proceeded to show us that he had not broken his leg, but had lost two toes in a motorcycle accident.  Look closely!

Ouch!

These two were out advertising a nearby bar.  They might look silly, but at least they had something to keep their heads dry!

A typical dog altercation at a public event - leave them at home, people!  We never bring Syd out to something like this.  It just seems like it would be torture for most dogs.  Too much going on, food everywhere, and other dogs to drive them nuts!  Not to mention I'd like to enjoy the event, not spend the time dog wrangling!

Down on his knees to pray?  No - just down on his knees in a puddle.  Bummer.

Normally I take a lot of close up shots like this one, but there just weren't that many bikes to look at this year!  And they were all wet.

Did I mention the bikes were lacking in numbers this year?  Badly?  Looks like a ghost town down there!

That's really kind of sad.  A lot of bikers probably stayed home to watch football instead.

We saw this great kitty on our way back to the car.  I'm sure it was happy there were less noisy bikes this year.

But where are the trailers?  Where are the trailers you ask!  Never fear, I'm getting to that - we didn't see them until we were on the way home.  If you take one of the lesser traveled roads, you pass a little trailer park that in all honesty is a bit depressing.  It looks like people are living there permanently, and the condition of everything really isn't very good.  There's quite a variety of trailer types, sizes, and shapes.

That appears to be a Kit Companion, year unknown (1960's?) in the lower photo.  Close to the lakefront, and conveniently located next to the dumpster and porta-loo!

You can see the rest of my photos from the day here:  Oyster Run, not so fun...

If you are so compelled.  Cheers!

Winding down...

The seasons are changing and we're starting to bundle up our trailer for winter.  Another big rain storm is headed our way, so we got the trailer covered - the trailer doesn't leak now, but it definitely has a water catchment spot we don't want to turn into a leak!

We thought we might take it out again, but it's not looking like we will now.  Michael has started the stain and varnish project (which means lots of fumes that need to air out), and the weather is taking a turn.  It could still happen, but my work schedule needs to hit a weekend of nice weather... yeah, right.

It's going to be a long winter of not doing much with our trailer.  I'll have to work hard to find interesting things to post about!

Tonight I somehow got on the track of looking up Slab City in California - it looks fascinating, yet horrible.  At least they have a library!  I like the landscaping.

I'm not so sure I want to go there.  I thought I did, but...

I think maybe not.  [I watched a short documentary about Slab City that deteriorated into a guy going out to find some meth.  Not terribly appealing, despite the interesting things to see down there.]

So many sights!  So may weirdos!  Not so high on my list, after all.


G'night!

Destinations...

Once one has a trailer, one must find a destination!  Today we go to state parks, national parks, and RV parks - depending on what's available at our intended location and how much we want to pay.

But back in the day, "back in the day" (as they say), people hitched up their trailers and headed for trailer parks.  Or trailer courts.  Either way, a term we associate now with permanent living used to mean the same thing as RV park.  A temporary tourist destination.  At some point meaning and intention shifted, but the signs for these early parks are still out there - the shining beacon meant to lure the weary traveler in.

I bet these were quite the places in their heyday...

Our First Trip - BOOKED!

The point of getting a trailer is for the camping, isn't it?  ISN'T IT?

Yes, yes it is.

We originally thought our first trip would be all the way to Yellowstone, to pick up Nolan after his summer of what turned out to be hell.  But the hell was just a bit too much, and he's put in his notice and will be heading home on his own by way of adventure.  Somebody laughed at me earlier because I said "I don't have to go to Yellowstone now."  WHO says that?!!  In ordinary times, I'd be horribly disappointed that we're not going.  But we have been before, and Michael's bum leg means there wouldn't be much walking around of great distances - thus, it's no skin off our backs.

Kind of a relief actually.  It was a bit nutty to think we'd go so far on our first trip with the trailer!  But hey - we're still going on a trip.  Just not so far.  The trip to Yellowstone was going to be long days of driving and very little time to relax.  The replacement trip will be shorter drives and more fun time!

Our first stop will be two nights at the Yakima Sportsman State Park.  My parents live in Yakima, and we want to spend a bit of time with them.  Michael wants to pick every bit of knowledge about trailers from my dad's brain - which hose goes where, etc. etc.

Looks like a pleasant place.  One of the things I'm looking forward to is writing about the places we visit on our travels.  It won't be too long before I can start with that!

Next stop will be Lake Chelan State Park, though it won't be this autumnal...

Our final stop east of the mountains will be Pearrygin Lake State Park.  I sure hope we see an owl like this!

Finally we will venture back over the mountains and spend one night close to home, at Bayview State Park.

Those sure are some pretty sights!  Soon I'll have my own pictures and commentary about these camping spots.  We are really looking forward to getting out on the road.  Now that we have the means, we want to make the most of the state park system here.  Whether it's just a few miles down the road or five hours away, we plan to camp there.

Today's distraction

We're still waiting to hear back from the 1970 Shasta guy, and in the meantime have found a nearly identical 1969 Shasta (no inside photos though).  While we wait, I thought I'd write about something completely different - good places to camp!

Tonight's entry is Fort Ebey State Park.  We've not actually ever camped there, since we live so close.  We do visit the park from time to time, and stopped in today to see an old college friend who is camping there for a couple of days.  It's beautiful!  Tall trees, and the campsites are well separated by the lush native plants that can't help but grow in profusion.  I have a few photos taken on our visits to hike around...

There was a distinct lack of vintage trailers there tonight.  I figured this park might be a good place for us to take short one night trips for fun.  

FUN!  The point of getting a trailer in the first place.