No Reservations Along The Oregon and Washington Coast

As with all travels, sometimes there are days where you just want to observe and soak in the moment.  I didn't take many photographs today but I did stop to snap this one of the piles and piles of trees in a lumber yard.  You will notice that the hills are a bit bare in Oregon.  Sometimes you will see a lone tree that was left to live on the bald hill.  These weren't so lucky.

After the excitement of meeting new friends at Horse Camp and witnessing a hit and run at the Tillamook factory, Max and I decided to just drive up the coast and enjoy the rest of the day.  This particular night we didn't know where we were going to sleep.  I usually plan it that way but sometimes when the weather is nice and school is out, there are others out there that want to camp too.  Imagine that!

Side Note: Some days are just not that interesting to blog about.  Those particular days will be a bit like this day.  I have been blogging every day for a while now but I don't know how long I will be able to keep it up.  I don't want to bore you with the small details of each travel day if there isn't anything to talk about. If I miss a day, usually it's because it went something like this...

As it was getting late, I stopped at several campsites along the way that I was familiar with but on this day, each one was full. Even some in which I thought would be remote enough to have availability, didn't.  So, we were in a sense...lost with nowhere to go.

However, I didn't give up hope.  I drove to more state parks and places where I thought we would be able to find a place but each time we pulled up, we had the same outcome.

It was a bit frustrating but I kept driving until we were out of cell phone range and without a town in sight.  I pulled into a small campsite (I will link a site once I remember the name) along the coast in Washington and even though there was a sign saying it was full, I saw about 15 sites that were empty.  I thought to myself, "it's late, It's been over two days without a shower and I've been in the car driving all day" so I decided to take a chance.  I set up camp in the smallest spot, took a shower and went to sleep hoping that the owners of the site wouldn't show up in the middle of the night.

I don't recommend this type of traveling for most.  It's a bit stressful at times but in the end I found a great campsite.  Before it got too late, I snapped a photograph from my phone of our view of the lake.  I thought I would be restless with the "knowing" feeling that someone could come in at any moment to tell me to move but I have to tell you that the best sleeping pill is taking a hot shower after days of camping in the dirt without one.  It's like a miracle spa treatment even though you have to scramble for quarters when the water runs out and shampoo is still in your hair.

The next morning I woke up early and headed out on the road again without a plan.