Do you ever have those days when you just can’t seem to get out of the house? The problem & beauty of a road trip with no set agenda is there wasn’t a huge pressure to get anywhere by a certain time. We hoped to leave for our camping trip by early afternoon, and at least make it to the coast by early evening (2 hour drive), but by the time we procured groceries and actually got on the highway, it was pretty late.
So we decided to camp for the night at our old standby, Jones Creek Campground. No sweat, and we refused to be stressed out by time constraints. It’s less than an hour a way from home, but at least we were out of the city, you know?
We found our favorite camp spot was unoccupied, so settled in for the night.
It’s a gorgeous place, nestled in a canyon on the Wilson River, and the scene of many summer weekends for Brian and I over the years. Seriously some of the best swimming holes ever are on that river. We actually camp on Cedar Creek Road just past the actual campground, where a dozen or so primitive campsites are designated. We like this because there is nobody else camping near us, and there’s no fee to camp, either.
We roasted Hebrew Nation hot dogs on the campfire, then settled in for epic s’mores. It felt so good to be out in the woods with a fire and family!
The next day, we trekked across the river to the Tillamook Forest Center for a pit stop, hand-washing with running water, a chance for the kids to explore the exhibits.
We thought to drive down the coast a ways, but the weather was so nice we decided to stay another night. This particular section of the Tillamook Forest gets almost as much rainfall (120″) than Portland (36″) and Tillamook (90″) combined, so such a lovely day in June wasn’t to be wasted. This is the beauty of having no set-in-stone itinerary. Stay another night? Sure!
I’m glad we did, because the weather all down the Oregon Coast was drizzly for the next couple days. It was nice to have a sunny, play-in-the-water day. Here are a few shots from the day:
The Wilson River, as seen from the suspension bridge at the new Tillamook Forest Center
Happy trails,
~Krista