Category Archives: On The Road

Traveling in our Coach

~Glacier National Park, Day One~

August 13, 2014 Sheila 6 Comments

We are staying in a RV park two miles from the entrance of Glacier National park. Today, after we arrived and got situated in our site, we decided to take a drive. We stopped at Five Lake and then drove into Glacier National Park. It was a pretty day and we enjoyed our short foray into Glacier and can’t wait to truly begin exploring this beautiful park tomorrow.

Alberta Visitor Center at West Glacier, Montana

This is a beautiful Visitor Center built and hosted by Alberta, Canada. We stopped here to pick-up some information about traveling into Canada. Perhaps in the fall of 2015!

Lake McDonald in Glacier. Beautiful, crystal clear, water.

Traveling along Going-to-the-Sun Road

Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park. Lake McDonald is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long, and over a mile (1.6 km) wide and 472 feet (130 m) deep, filling a valley formed by a combination of erosion and glacial activity. Lake McDonald lies at an elevation of 3,153 feet (960 m) and is on the west side of the Continental Divide. The Going-to-the-Sun Roadparallels the lake along its southern shoreline. The surface area of the lake is 6,823 acres (27.6 km²). [Information taken from the web]

I found this little guy or gal hanging out at McDonald Lake!

~Flathead Lake, Montana~

August 12, 2014 Sheila 6 Comments

The gorgeous state of Montana!

A lot has happened since I posted last; hopefully I will catch up and post a few photos of the places we have been since leaving Nehalem Bay State Park.

When we left Nehalem Bay State Park we drove to Astoria, Oregon. We stayed at Fort Stevens State Park for four nights. While there we enjoyed the historical aspects of this city, the beautiful, hiking trails in Fort Stevens and a few brews!

Leaving Astoria, we left the cool breezes of the Oregon Coast behind. We stayed a few nights in Coeur d”Alene, Idaho and fell in love with this beautiful city. While there we celebrated our 39 wedding anniversary!

We have spent the past three nights in Polson, Montana and have enjoyed the towns of Polson and Lake Side, Flathead Lake, the Mission Mountain Range and the numerous wildlife refuges in the area. It has been hazy here, because of forest fires in the surrounding states.

Retreating (I believe this is a Northern Harrier)

In the morning we head to Glacier National Park!

On The Road

~Nehalem Bay State Park~

August 1, 2014 Sheila 6 Comments

Nehalem Bay State Park

We arrived at Nehalem Bay State Park on Wednesday. Upon arriving we experienced something that has never happened to us during the seven years we have had our coach. We could not maneuver into our reserved site. We tired several times, even going around the RV loop trying to position the coach just right. NO GO!

The roads are narrow within most of Oregon’s State Parks and the campground roads in Nehalem Bay are no exception. These beautiful state parks are old and designed for much smaller rigs.

There were three trees that prohibited us from backing into our site. Two were on either side of site F05 and one was on the opposite side of the road. Prior to booking our sites, we always look at photos of them on the web and this one seemed fine.

Oregon’s Coastal Highway 101 is a curvy, hilly, narrow road and as you travel along you go through many small towns. These towns have speed limits of 25 miles an hour. During the summer months there are lots of people and lots of traffic.

All of the state parks we have stayed in on this trip, have been FULL, including Nehalem Bay, with the Campground Full sign being posted very day!

The milage from South Beach to Nehalem was about 100 miles, not much, but given these conditions my driver was tired. We didn’t want to leave Nehalem Bay and try to find somewhere to spend the night. Needless to say this would have changed our plans. We were upset!

Nehalem Bay has SOME very nice sites that will accommodate 40 foot rigs, but you must make sure, prior to booking, that you will fit into a site. F05 was long enough, but we could not swing wide enough to get in!

We drove back to the Ranger Station and explained our situation. They assigned us a site that they hold open for emergency purposes. We thank them very much and we are very happy with the site we were given!

Staying at Nehalem Bay State Park gave us the opportunity to walk on the beach, hike to the Bay, and visit Tillamook to the south and Canon Beach to the north, all of which we enjoyed.

Today, we drove to Cape Meares and walked around in the clouds! We then stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and ate cheese (I did, Howard doesn’t like cheese, can you believe that?) and ice cream. A fun day!

In the morning we head to Fort Steven’s State Park.

I add this photo of a Red Crossbill that I spotted while parked at a pull-out, on our way to Canon Beach. It isn’t a good photo, because I was too far away. He was perched atop a huge pine tree with the ocean in the background. However, I was so excited to have spotted the Crossbill, because it has been many, many years since I have seen one.

Enjoy the Journey!

On The Road

~South Beach State Park, Newport, Oregon~

July 29, 2014 Sheila 2 Comments

From our coach to the beach is only a short .25 mile walk. Every morning and evening we had our pick of trails to hike. Some would take us to the beach, some to South Jetty, and some through the heavily wooded forest.

A short sandy trail to the ocean once you leave the paved trail.

South Beach (entry from South Jetty). Lots of horseback riders use this trail to ride on the beach.

The forest is filled with Sitka Pines, Huckleberry and Twin Berry bushes and numerous other species of plants. We enjoyed hiking all the many trails, but the heavily forested ones, following the ridge line high above the ocean and the campground, were our favorite. We didn’t bring our bikes on this trip and have been wishing we would have, because the park offers miles of paved biking trails.

The ocean never seems to tire of sending its cool breeze inland and with it cool temperatures. It has rarely been above 70 during the day, dipping down into the 50’s at night. With gorgeous sunny days, except for occasional clouds that seem to float in and out, we have enjoyed our visit in Newport, Oregon.

South Beach State Park is probably the largest state park we have ever stayed in with 225 electrical and water sites, 60 tent sites and 27 Yurts. For us it is a tad too big. If you plan a visit to South Beach State Park book your reservations early, because it is a very popular park and full most of the time.

Sharing a trail. At least it was colorful!

A different view of the Yaquinta Bay Bridge

South Beach is a beautiful state park, extremely well taken care of, as are all Oregon state parks, with lots to do in the surrounding area.

A visit to Hatfield Marine Science Center with my science guy!

In the morning we say goodbye to South Beach State Park and head north on Hwy 101.

On The Road

~Yaquina Bay – Newport, Oregon~

July 28, 2014 Sheila 7 Comments

Yaquina Bay and Bayfront

Newport, Oregon

Yaquinta Bay Bridge (famous arch bridge just south of Newport, OR)

Fishing Vessel followed by Coast Guard boat — Fishing vessel followed by Coast Guard boat coming into the Bay from the ocean

Bayfront, Newport, Oregon — Colorful boats docked at the Bayfront

Howard and Sheila with Yaquina Bay Bridge in the background

Fish (Cod) Tacos, Howard had fried Shrimp (he asked if they would fry them! — I had Fish (Halibut) Tacos, Howard had fried Shrimp (he asked if they would fry them! ) Thank goodness these fishing boats go out everyday!

Wolf Song Blog

Category Archives: On The Road

~Glacier National Park, Day One~

~Flathead Lake, Montana~

The gorgeous state of Montana!

In the morning we head to Glacier National Park!

~Nehalem Bay State Park~

Nehalem Bay State Park

The roads are narrow within most of Oregon’s State Parks and the campground roads in Nehalem Bay are no exception. These beautiful state parks are old and designed for much smaller rigs.

There were three trees that prohibited us from backing into our site. Two were on either side of site F05 and one was on the opposite side of the road. Prior to booking our sites, we always look at photos of them on the web and this one seemed fine.

Oregon’s Coastal Highway 101 is a curvy, hilly, narrow road and as you travel along you go through many small towns. These towns have speed limits of 25 miles an hour. During the summer months there are lots of people and lots of traffic.

All of the state parks we have stayed in on this trip, have been FULL, including Nehalem Bay, with the Campground Full sign being posted very day!

The milage from South Beach to Nehalem was about 100 miles, not much, but given these conditions my driver was tired. We didn’t want to leave Nehalem Bay and try to find somewhere to spend the night. Needless to say this would have changed our plans. We were upset!

Nehalem Bay has SOME very nice sites that will accommodate 40 foot rigs, but you must make sure, prior to booking, that you will fit into a site. F05 was long enough, but we could not swing wide enough to get in!

We drove back to the Ranger Station and explained our situation. They assigned us a site that they hold open for emergency purposes. We thank them very much and we are very happy with the site we were given!

Staying at Nehalem Bay State Park gave us the opportunity to walk on the beach, hike to the Bay, and visit Tillamook to the south and Canon Beach to the north, all of which we enjoyed.

Today, we drove to Cape Meares and walked around in the clouds! We then stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and ate cheese (I did, Howard doesn’t like cheese, can you believe that?) and ice cream. A fun day!

In the morning we head to Fort Steven’s State Park.

Enjoy the Journey!

~South Beach State Park, Newport, Oregon~

From our coach to the beach is only a short .25 mile walk. Every morning and evening we had our pick of trails to hike. Some would take us to the beach, some to South Jetty, and some through the heavily wooded forest.

South Beach is a beautiful state park, extremely well taken care of, as are all Oregon state parks, with lots to do in the surrounding area.

In the morning we say goodbye to South Beach State Park and head north on Hwy 101.

~Yaquina Bay – Newport, Oregon~

Yaquina Bay and Bayfront

Newport, Oregon

Enjoying retirement: On The Road & At Home