Winchester Bay and the Dunes

Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.

Map of Dunes

After watching Hotel Impossible we had become a little leery of hotel rooms.  This show has unveiled as much wrong with hotels as Gordon Ramsey or Robert Irvine has with restaurants.  When you’re in small little beach towns your options are limited.  The first place we pulled into we noticed the drapes on the windows were really thin kitchen curtains.  We thought that was a bad sign so we moved on.

We saw these little maps at many of the stops.  It was interesting to see where we were and just how big the Dunes really are.

ATV speed limit on special ATV lane.

Lots of folks were fishing from the end of the dock.

The next hotel we pulled into was older but appeared clean. It needed a good paint job but other than that was fine.  The room was definitely inspected before the good old American Express card came out.  Once we checked out the room and paid for the night we pulled off the bedspread.    Anthony (of Hotel Impossible) thinks all of these extra little spreads and blankets should be eliminated.  We agree because they are rarely washed.  Aargh!  Off they came.  Are we paranoid?  Maybe a little.   Maybe a lot.  We only discovered the following day that we had missed a nice, new Best Western down the road.  Oh well … our little room worked for us that night.

Lots of ATVs at campground.	One trail to the dunes.
Another trail to the dunes.	And, another trail to the dunes.

After checking in we were ready for dinner.  There was a Main Street Diner just down the street with a very full parking lot.  We thought that might be a good sign.  What a great choice this place was!  The clam chowder was fantastic.  It was loaded with potatoes and clams. I also ordered chicken fried chicken. The menu indicated it had a very light batter.  It was one of the best I have ever had!  Fantastic!

Umpqua Lighthouse

Foggy view of dunes with ocean in the distant.

Winchester Bay was just down the road. The following morning this is where we were off to.  I know we had been through the area before but we had never checked out the Dunes and ATV riding.  This time we did just that.  The morning was very, very foggy but as the day moved on the fog moved on also.  Pictures speak best.

Winchester Bay RV Park -- Gorgeous

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After we checked out some of the dunes and some of the parks, we turned around and headed back towards Florence.  We stopped there at the Little Brown Hen Restaurant before heading inland. I ordered the melted crab sandwich ... delicious!!  However, the cup of clam chowder certainly wasn't the best as there were very few chunky potatoes and not much in the way of clams.  The sandwich and service would certainly make it worth going back to though.

Our route back to I-5 was via Hwy 126.  It was a good road but I still prefer Hwy 38 from Reedsport.  It was smooth sailing all the way back … well, almost.  

Big enough for a large group to view the dunes.

I want to ride a sandrail.  $28 for 30 minutes with a pro driver.

We did make one little stop at the Monaco factory north of Eugene at Coburg.  The factory is at exit 199 and just off the freeway.  We’ve spent a few nights in their RV area.  Our motorhome slide is a little crooked so we felt it might need to be checked and fixed.  An appointment was made to have that taken care of on our way out of the Northwest.

Historic bridge in Florence.  Sun was shining and the fog had disappeared.

I did say it was smooth sailing all the way once we hit I-5.  Actually, that was an exaggeration.  Once we hit Portland we again got stop and go traffic due to an accident.  It was miles and miles of traffic.  Once through it we were on our way to pick up Duchess.  She was sure a happy dog when we arrived.

Monaco has a great little RV park for customers.

We heard a forecast about fuel prices last night on TV.  The forecast is that fuel prices will break a record later in the year.  We're wondering what that's going to do to folks heading south for the winter.  At one time there were so many cancellations at snowbird RV parks that you could almost get in anyplace.  It'll be interesting to see what happens but not so interesting as to want to hand over more cash to fill up that fuel tank.  Only time will tell.
 

‘Tis life on the road.