Headed Further South

The sunset at South Beach Campground was consistent. Even on the beautiful last day, the sun was obscured by low clouds before it actually sank below the horizon. None the less, it was a beautiful place and one that has been highlighted on our "places to return" list. It was very nearly full on Saturday night, but less than half on the other nights we were there.

We drove south on Highway 101 to Aberdeen where we stopped at the first place we could find that had LP. I’d figured we would be getting close, but we ran the tank low enough that morning that the heater wouldn’t fire off. Aberdeen has an historic shipyard, but it was closed as we drove by. I’m pretty sure, but not positive, that this is the upper wheel for a very large bandsaw.

The town of Raymond had a wonderful collection of welded steel sculptures along the street welcoming people to town. They still had active forestry businesses as well as fishery related businesses.

Of course, there were lots of signs of not so active forestry businesses as well. Looked like apartments were being built on what would have been the log sorting yard for this mill.

There weren’t many agricultural operations along the way, but we did see a couple former dairy operations that were now raising beef. No surprise that they seemed to be challenged with a high water table.

We took a slow drive around the docks in Ilwaco. Looks like lots of salmon charters going on right now and a few places along the waterfront that might make for good eating. We’re not that far from Astoria, Oregon which is also known for some good eating.

A walk back from a windy beach was part of the program. Unfortunately, the campsites here don’t have the easy access to the beach like we did at South Beach. We did wear the dog out – he slept all evening!

Home for a few days is Cape Disappointment State Park, one of very few options in this area. NO Verizon signal in the campground but it is available at the end of a half mile hike to the Cape Disappointment lighthouse or by driving into town.