Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

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T.Low
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Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

Post by T.Low »

One of the Northwest Overland Society guys that I trip with (huh?) wanted to go from Winlock to Longbeach (the south west tip of Washington state) via logging roads and truck tracks the weekend of June 27, and Jen & I were game for that. He figured it was going to be about 90 miles and we'd explore every side spur and off shoot that we found along the way, and there looked to be a lot of them. His Isuzu Trooper was down so he ended up in his 2500, and Mark in his Land Rover came along also.

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Well, we hit locked gate after locked gate. We found one or two dirt roads that went a ways but not really the type of roads we were hoping for. Found a bit of a backwoods gun range to play on.

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We ended up taking beautiful, albeit paved, back roads most all the way to Lonbeach. Longbeach claims to be the longest driveable beach in the world. Whatever. But it was 28 miles of driving, so we drove it. Pulled out a Honda minivan along the way, with the entire family in it. Even found their cordless home phone under the hood (where it meets the windshield) for them.
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Mark and Benny took off and Jen and I camped at The Eagle's Nest campground. Nice semi private spot. Haven't actually paid for camping in a while.
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Awoke Sunday to great sunny weather with a bit of a crisp northerly blowing off the sea. Wew explored the area until early afternoon. Longbeach is a peninsula on the coast so you have Washington's best sandy beaches and some back water tidelands split by about a mile of land. Then the southern end juts up into a rocky area borderred by the Columbia River that divides Washington and Oregon.
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One may find large piles of oyster shells around various parts of Oysterville.
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Looking south to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, Columbia River flowing into the sea behind it.

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Jen napping in the sun after brunch on the perfectly comfy driftwood.

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North Head Lighthouse
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All in all it was a great overnighter. First time to Longbeach for both of us. Lots of varied terrain and scenery in a days drive. The van performed flawlessly.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.
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Re: Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

Post by astrozam »

Always enjoy the tales and trails of the T.Low gang :cheers:
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Re: Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

Post by mdmead »

Great pics Tom!

Hey, we might be in that area next week! Right now I have our trip planned from northern CA up to central Oregon, but we will continue up to at least the mouth of the Columbia before heading home. We talked about getting to Cape Dissapointment this year so who knows?

And what, no pics of the stuck van?!
Matt
Selah, WA
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Re: Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

Post by T.Low »

Thanks guys.

Matt, I was too busy expediting the recovery of the Honda by the Land Rover. Mark's V8 Land Rover sounded better than any I've ever heard before (and I seem to be hanging out with a few of them these days) and he sure liked to hear that V8 roar. The Honda could really only be pulled from the rear, and Mark wanted to pull her backwards a mile down the beach to an access point. :rolleyes: The 96 yr old grandma got out of the Honda with her trusty digital camera cuz she wanted to "document" as she put it. i know there are pictures somewhere (Honda Odysse forum maybe :D ) :D

Also, Crescent City in Northern Ca has a really unique shoreline for a town. Really beautiful. I've never seen one quite like it. Is that anywhere near where you may go?
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Re: Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

Post by mdmead »

T.Low wrote:Also, Crescent City in Northern Ca has a really unique shoreline for a town. Really beautiful. I've never seen one quite like it. Is that anywhere near where you may go?
We'll be starting about an hour south of there at McKinleyville where we'll spend two nights at my sister-in-law's. We've driven through Crescent City before, but I don't recall seeing the shoreline. We'll be sure to check it out this time.
Matt
Selah, WA
-96 GMC Safari AWD Hi-Top Conversion -->Stalled 5.3L swap & 5" lift
-74 Ford Bronco -->Far from perfect but mine!
-99 V-10 Ford Super Duty Super Cab 4x4 -->Stock with 285 Cooper ATs
-00 Ford Focus Wagon -->The Red Turd
-95 Ford 24' Class C Motorhome -->My big block sleeper
-07 Can-Am Outlander XT -->My yellow 4x4 quad for work & play
-04 Ski Doo REV Summit -->Still several chassis behind!


No new projects until the current ones are done!
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Re: Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

Post by Smiliesafari »

Great pics, Tom. Thanks. Cherie and I like the lighthouse pics. We're big time lighthouse supporters. We've been to around 70 or 80 (I've lost count) all over the country. The lighthouse at Crescent City is at Battery Point. When the tide is out you can walk out to it. If you like local history, maritime history is very interesting. \:D/
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Re: Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

Post by mdmead »

Yeah, my wife has a thing for lighthouses too. (I think they are cool too.) We'll be snapping pic of ones we find on our upcoming trip.
Matt
Selah, WA
-96 GMC Safari AWD Hi-Top Conversion -->Stalled 5.3L swap & 5" lift
-74 Ford Bronco -->Far from perfect but mine!
-99 V-10 Ford Super Duty Super Cab 4x4 -->Stock with 285 Cooper ATs
-00 Ford Focus Wagon -->The Red Turd
-95 Ford 24' Class C Motorhome -->My big block sleeper
-07 Can-Am Outlander XT -->My yellow 4x4 quad for work & play
-04 Ski Doo REV Summit -->Still several chassis behind!


No new projects until the current ones are done!
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Re: Winlock, Wa. to Longbeach, Wa. camping

Post by T.Low »

OMG, as a sea kayaker I also really like getting out to lighthouses. Now that I think about it, I've got at least three blown up pics around the house of paddling by different lighthouses. They really are cool on so many different levels; architecually, physically, symbolically, and pragmatically. Then they always need to be placed in the most scenic and amazing settings.

Edit: The tide was in when we were at the Crescent City lighthouse so we could not go check it out. I'll have to hook up my external hard drive and upload a couple of those pics.
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