Ramblings from the Road: The Cheese Stands Alone

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

The Cheese Stands Alone

I read those words recently. They conjure up interesting images. Is it a big block of cheddar standing guard over a herd of small swiss wheels against the attacking cracker hordes?

Or just a lonely lump of limburger pondering his future while gazing at a sunset?

I don’t know. The possibilities are endless and profound.

This post has nothing to do with cheese.

But it does have some sunsets.

Wrapping up my respite in Oregon, I rambled down to the beach to watch my last pacific sunset for some time.

It was well worth it. I couldn’t pick a favorite picture so here are seven.

OK, enough of that.

After crossing the Columbia River at Astoria I headed northeast to Rainbow Falls near Chehalis.

I try to give the campsite prices at the parks I visit but Washington is all over the map.

There are three seasons with different prices. Summer, shoulder, and winter.

And there are three types of sites. Economy, standard, and premium.

Add in the option of hookups at most parks and lets just say the prices range from $12 to $45.

Got it? Good.

Rainbow has 47 sites plus two horse camps.

19, 32, and 41 are good examples.

The falls do not fall far.

A ranger told me that a flood several years ago leveled the river a tad.

Back at camp it was time to whip up another batch of tacos.

Fred, my new puppy, loves tacos and was very excited.

Not sure about the cheese dip sticker.

He also enjoys playing hide and seek in the cilantro.

Finally dinner was ready and Fred dug in.

I decided to mess with him and added a bunch more hot sauce.

He let out a yip and leapt off the table and disappeared. I found him later in the cooler. Along with several empty cans featuring tiny tooth marks.

“Bad dog” I said.

He just burped and wagged his tail. Then took a nap.

The next eight state parks I visited were all in the southern Puget Sound region.

First up was Potlatch.

It’s 72 sites are near the west shore of the Hood Canal.

I liked 18 and 20 in the lower loop and 74 in the upper one.

The day use area is right on the water and if you wake up early enough, it offers a nice sunrise view.

Twanoh was right around the corner.

There are 46 sites with a nifty creek running alongside.

That much green requires a lot of water and mother nature has been most obliging, dumping buckets full almost daily. I looked forward to crossing the Cascade Mountains where the eastern side had been in the 70’s with abundant sunshine. Surely that would last until I got there, right? Hah!

Back to Twanoh.

4, 14, and 30 were nice sites and the shore at low tide was festooned with oysters for the picking.

Belfair is the Big Kahuna in these parts.

It’s 167 spots included several full hookup sites right next to the beach, such as 30, 31, and 32.

There are also waterfront sites for the tent crowd. 149 and 150 being good examples.

Umbrellas are very popular in the PNW.

At least when I visit.

Next stop was Scenic Beach.

Of it’s 50 campsites I liked 15 and 34 among others.

The beach lived up to it’s name.

Offering spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains.

I spent the next night at Kitsap State Park.

The 38 sites are in two distinct loops.

1-18 have full hookups and look like this:

The rest, such as 19, 31, and 37 offer more privacy.

You will also find four cabins, a play area, (it was fun, Fred loved the slides) and a view of the Olympics.

I made a brief stop at little Illahee.

It’s 25 sites contained gems like 6 and 8.

Manchester was the site of several structures from the Spanish-American war.

The torpedo warehouse was the largest, and currently serves as an indoor day use area.

I used it to take a break from the rain. It’s located next to the beach, which was pretty good planning by the government.

There are 49 sites with about one third offering power and water. I splurged and bought the electricity so I could plug in a small heater. 14, 17, and 18 were my favorites of those sites.