Week 889-890 - Back to the Elks - 09-03-2023

Back to the Elks

Returning from Maui, we settled back into the MotherShip. Janice, Ellen's sister, and Frank, have a lovely RV site for our home visits. Thank you to both.

We made our plans to head to Washington to visit friends Dennis and Jean. Temperatures in Paso Robles were in the 90's. The California interior route Interstate 5 would bring us temps in the 100's. So our trip would be up Hwy 101 closer to the Pacific Coast.

It can be very difficult to find RV parks in the summar near the coast. Enter stage left: The Elks!

Before our departure, we had a chance to visit a few more friends. We spent a few hours with Leslie, while staying with Melissa and Mario in Bradley. A dinner with Nick/Hayley and family was terrific. As was a Sunday lunch hosted by Dennis and Lynda. Pete got to have lunch with Wally and squeeze in a final breakfast with Jon.

We often forget to get new photos of our closest friends. These are from the BigRigBible archive. Don't we all look so young?
Off we go. Our first stop was to be the South San Francisco Elks. We have driven the MotherShip through San Francisco many times. However, it didn't seem to be all that appealing this year. So we elected to visit an RV park new to us: Coyote Valley RV Resort in San Jose, CA. It is nice park but with a California price of $76/night. The staff took one look at us and must have determined we needed the handicap space.

Now the Elks kicked in. Petaluma CA Elks has lot of spaces for big rigs at $40/night.

We had a chance to have lunch with Gordon and Karen. They are RV friends we have known since 2011 and have traveled with them many times.

The Eureka Elks is a bargain at $30. All sites are flat concrete pads with full hookups. It was our plan to visit our dear friend Rosemary. However, we both had colds and couldn't take a chance of infecting her.

Hwy 101 up the coast can be challenging. It varies from freeway, to four lane highway, to two lane highway to skinny, twisty roads. Add in a wreck just for variety.

We got off the highway to drive the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway.

People talk a lot about climate change. Yes, climate is constantly changing. This is just 25 minutes after the redwoods photo.

Brookings Oregon Elks is another great RV park with solid surface sites at only $24.

Hwy 101 veers from, on the coast, to a few miles inland.

Bandon Oregon is a lovely seaport to stop for a visit.

We have spent time in Coos Bay; this time we just stopped for groceries.

The Mill Casino has a nice RV park with hookups or dry camping.

The Florence Elks has two RV areas. This one by the lodge and a second site in the forest just 5 miles north. We like the lodge with walking distance to all the stores you might need. $25/night.

From Florence we headed inland to Eugene/Coburg for RV service. RV Glass Solutions does all of our motorhome glass work. They have free parking sites with 30 amps and a enormous grass area for Mandy.

We spent two nights at RV Glass and moved to Carrier RV for repair of our washer/dryer. Free 30 amp RV parking and great service.

Back to the Elks and onward to Vancouver Washington. $25/night.

We landed at the Kelso-Longview Washington Elks in time for the Friday steak night. $20/night, steak is extra.

Prior to our trip we learned that Washington State has fuel prices that keep pace with California. So we filled up when we crossed into Oregon and once again just before the Washington border. We hope to make it to Idaho before our next fuel stop.

A new Elks lodge for us is the Bremerton Washington lodge. A bargain at $25 and our site was the best. We were too large for this site but made it fit by parking on an angle. The site was shaded (it was hot), had room for our car and chairs.

And lined with bushes, our view was spectacular. We did not see any other RV from our site. It is one of the best of the 127 lodges we have visited.

We have often presented a one-hour seminar on Full Time Motorhome Travel. The first thing we tell people is Join the Elks. It saves you money and they give so much of it to the community. The Elks members share all their local information. The sites are very unique and can be fantastic like this one. Join the Elks!

With love, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from 09-03-2023