Trinidad, CA

One of our favorite areas on the north coast of California is the Trinidad area.

We spend two nights in Trinidad at the RV parking at the Cher-Ae Heights Casino. It's $20 for up to three nights, and we have a view of the Trinidad harbor from the RV. Not bad for $20! 

While we are in Trinidad, we also have a nice dinner at the casino restaurant (which also has views of the harbor). 

On Thursday, we spend some time nosing around Trinidad harbor... 

then we climbed up Trinidad head. We get some nice views, which were partially obscured by cloud cover. 

From Trinidad Head, looking back at the harbor

The ocean side of the head was completely hidden in fog. 

We head back into town, pick up some supplies at the local grocery store and grab a freshly cooked tri-tip that was being barbecued outside the store, a good way to end a great day. 

One of the most pleasant surprises during our stay was to find out that some good friends, Roxie and Roland, were in Trinidad at the same time! We hadn't seen them in several years, so it was great to be able to spend time together and catch up! 

Pacific Shores MotorCoach Resort - Newport OR

Well, the wildfires are still roaring in California. Do we take the quick way back to Sacramento and brave the smoke by heading down either I-5 or Hwy 395? Or do we skirt along the coast and hope the coastal breezes keep the smoke out? What will we do?

Yup, the coast it is. First stop is the Pacific Shore MotorCoach Resort in Newport, OR. It's a beautiful, upscale resort with beach access.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

One night is dinner at Tidal Raves Seafood Grill in Depoe Bay. We have some wine then head on over. We get there a little early, so we have a couple of cocktails before being seated next to the window, so I can watch whales.

Bloody Mary with horseradish infused vodka

Seahawks Bread (cream cheese, shrimp, havarti, smoked salmon on a baguette), yum!

Fish Tacos

This was the herb crusted pacific rock fish. I guess it was good!

There's a whale out there; he's just shy about having his picture taken.

On the way back, we stop at downtown Depoe Bay, so I can do more whale watching.

Columbia River Gorge

Heading south from Blanchard, ID, we decide to bypass Cour d'Alene. That will have to be another trip. We stop for the night at Royal City Golf Course & RV Park outside Royal City, WA. It's an interesting transition. We are driving in an arid area (kind of like driving through Bakersfield), then over a hill the orchards start.

It's a small 9-hole golf course and small rv spots. The park is a dirt lot that is dry and dusty, and our space has no shade. We debate on whether or not to find another place, but we're tired, and we figure it's only one night. The next morning, Tank and I meet the kids at the park. They are wide-eyed and excited to meet Tank. It's pretty cool to see their excitement.

Tom manages to find time in the morning to play a round. The course is very well kept and is a very nice little course.

That really is Tom and his golf cart

Then we're on our way again. This time to Peach Beach RV Park in the Columbia River Gorge. There's still the requisite stops along the way. Not the best tourism signs, but necessary, I guess...

Rest Stop around Yakima WA 

We will be staying at Peach Beach, which is on the Washington side of the Columbia River. We're happy to find availability at such a nice, shady place. Temps are expected to be in the 100s while we are here, so shade and electricity is a must!. Our site also has great access to the river, and even I'm planning on going in, so make room Tank!

Our first morning, I make Tom take me to La Petite Provence in The Dalles for breakfast. I've been waiting for my mocha and berry french toast fix! Then on to Rosaurs for the iced shortbread cookies!

There's some interesting things to do not far from the campground. Just a little ways down the road is Gunkel Orchards fruit stand. The produce is absolutely gorgeous, and we go crazy buying peaches and tomatoes. 

Our friend Kirsten asked if we had seen Stonehenge. When we looked it up, we found it was just up the hill from the fruit stand. Stonehenge sits alone on a plateau and has beautiful vistas of the river and an the orchards. It is a replica of the one in England and was built by Sam Hill, a business man who wanted to build a Quaker community in the area. This Stonehenge is a memorial to Maryhill soldiers who were killed in WWI. 

Goldendale/Maryhill is a growing wine region of Washington, so we do have to stop in at a winery. Maryhill Winery is also just a couple of miles up the hill from the RV park.

We did both the premium and classic flights to get the most tasting in! 

The woman at the winery was very nice and let us taste a couple of wines that are normally not in the flights. In case you were wondering, the zinfandel, which was not in the flights, won our tasting competition. 

Stoneridge Resort - Blanchard ID

We've turned off Hwy 93 on to Hwy 200, which will take us northwest towards the Idaho panhandle. However, for the time being, we're still in Montana. We spend a couple of nights at the Trout Creek Motel & RV Park. It was getting pretty hot, but Trout Creek had some very private, shaded spots that were very nice.

The rv park neighbors have turkeys. You'll need to look pretty closely to see them, but Tank saw them and was pretty fascinated!

There really are turkeys in this picture!

There was also a lake across the street. We had dinner at the lodge across the road to get this view.



We move on to the Sandpoint/Coeur d'Alene is a pretty popular tourist area during the summer. We've found Stoneridge Resort, a golf & rv resort, to use as our home base for the area. Stoneridge has golf course homes, condos, timeshares, and a motor coach village. They will only allow you to stay if you have a 30' or larger class 'A' motorhome, so we're the little kids on the block. Most of the rvs around us are 40' - 45'!

Most of the lots here are privately owned, and people have built storage "sheds" and covered pergolas over their outdoor kitchens and bar areas. We check out some of the lots that are for sale but don't love the area enough to be tempted.

The thing that sold Tom on this place is that they have pickleball courts...I don't know if I'll even see Tom while we're here let alone explore anywhere!

Yay! No pickleball on Sundays, so we spend the day exploring the area. First we head to Sandpoint, which is located on the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Ponderay).  Our first objective is to get a car wash, then to the beach!

The beach at Sandpoint is a nice little park, public beach and marina. The park is full of camping tents. Apparently, there is a bike ride across Idaho going on, and this is their stop for the night. Nice. No wonder we've seen soooo many bicyclists on the road today.






The beach/park also has a snack bar. From what I could tell, they only sold ice cream; I guess we will just have to settle for party animal (circus animal crackers in cotton candy ice cream) and death by chocolate!

Driving through the town, downtown has a lot of restaurants and shops. Nice touristy spot, but we don't stop. Instead, we head out along the Priest River and up to Priest Lake to see the golf course. The course is nice, but a bit remote; we get zero phone service there.

We also drive through Priest River. It's a logging town; it sits on top of a hill, so it has a nice view. By the time we get back to Stoneridge, it's too late for Tom to get in a round of golf. Since we are leaving tomorrow, I guess we will just have to come back another time, so he can play.