A Travelers Log: 9-3-2013 to 9-10-2013 one week - one tank Oregon Coast RV Trip

We set out to do a one tank RV trip on the Oregon Coast for one week. On Tuesday we picked up the RV from RVsToGo in Portland Oregon. We ended up with the perfect unit and it had a backup camera and a compact design. It drove like a car and had tons of power. We tracked the mileage but did not really know how to factor in the generator. We used the generator for about 5-10 hours on the trip, we travelled 334 miles and got about 7 miles to the gallon if you assume that the generator used no fuel at all. If it used 1 gallon per hour then we got closer to 9 MPG.

This is the RV that we stayed in for a week

Our goal was to do a one week and one tank trip of the Oregon Coast. Grant from RVs To Go helped us with some suggestions and we took his advice.

We started off by heading to Newport Oregon. This is a port city and an old city and it has a lighthouse. The city has a big harbor and a long seawall that protects the harbor. This creates two huge beaches as sand gets deposited next to the harbor entrance.

They have an interesting area along the harbor where the sights, sounds, and smells of active fish processors mingles with restaurants, dive bars, and touristy shops.

click to enlarge and read

A newport attraction, but not the main aquarium

The harbor attracts lots of loud sea lions that bark and fuss at each other non stop.

there are a lot of sea lions in Newport

The port is bustling with fishing vessels of all sizes

There is a HUGE sandy patch
(the picture does a poor job of scale)

While in Newport, we visited the Yaquina Bay lighthouse, walked on the beach and checked out the town. In all we spent 2 nights in the area and we just stayed in the RV on the city street and nobody cared.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (see it peaking up from the back)

The next day we picked up and headed north to the Yaquina Head lighthouse. This proved to be very interesting.

it rained that day, but the lighthouse looked cool in the mist

The Lighthouse would have burnt oil. They said
it could burn kerosene, whale oil, or rendered pig fat

this is the outside of the Fresnel lens

The spiral staircase was made from cast iron and was very cool

After the lighthouse we stopped at Depoe Bay and walked around and checked things out. This is billed as the worlds smallest harbor. There is supposed to be a waterspout when it is rough seas. The water is forced into lava tubes then shoots up.

click and you can read the sign

the Main drag

We stopped in Lincoln City for a while and then headed north to the Chinook Winds Casino. We never win at casinos unless we go and get free slot play and then immediately cash out once you have spun out your free spins. Cara won 6 bucks and Eric won 26 bucks. Then we got a 9 dollar "surf and turf" dinner. You never know what you are gonna get, but in this case it was pretty much a dud.

Overall the Casino treated us right. We got a free night's stay, a great beach to enjoy, a 2 dollar breakfast buffet and 35 bucks won with their free slot play.

by the Chinook Winds Casino there is a very nice beach

the beach near Chinook Winds Casino

a very beautiful sunset near Lincoln Oregon

On Friday, Sept 6 we ate a big buffet at Chinook Winds Casino then we worked for a while and went to Cascade Head and went on the three capes scenic loop which is a driving trail. We made it up to Pacific City and stayed the night on the street by the Pelican Brewery. This was a very interesting area and according to the eccentric lady, this is the only place in the world that they launch dory boats from a sandy beach.

The three pics below are from 3 capes loop....there were many nice vistas

3 capes loop

tide pool at Pacific City

Pacific City Beach

launching a dory boat at Pacific City

panoramic picture of Pacific City Beach (click for a big pic)

The next morning we got up and headed to Cape Lookout, the Cape Meares Lighthouse, and then to Tillimook.

cape lookout had a couple of trails and a large beach

We noticed a hang glider and caught the sequence below

Next we progressed up the coast for a few miles to visit the Cape Meares Lighthouse. This is a very short lighthouse with an interesting story.

This is the RV that we stayed in for a week

Cape Meares is the shortest lighthouse in Oregon

The views were magnificent at the lighthouse

The whole light structure rotated on these bearings and was powered by gravity pulling weights down

look through the center and you will see that things are upside down

A couple of years ago 2 guys got drunk and came down and shot up the lighthouse. They were caught and are no doubt still paying. They patched the lens, but did not fix the lighthouse. Instead it is a now a monument to their stupidity.

Next we walked around the tiny town of Nehalem before going to nearby Manzanita.

this is a picture of Nehalem Bay

Nehalem Bay State Park

Manzanita is a cool town with a big beach. It is adjacent to Nehalem bay and Nehalem Bay State Park.
The beach was very windy that day.

If you look in the distance you will see tons of kite surfers

It looks fun to kite surf

lots of people were catching big air

That night we stayed in Manzanita by a bank and left early the next morning. The next stop was Oswald West State Park and Beach. There was a nice 1/2 mile trail to a secluded beach. Under low tide you could have passed to other beaches. The beach was bordered on both sides by cliffs that jutted into the ocean.

cool bridge on the trail to the beach

nice tide pools

Then we headed north to Hug Point state recreation area and went to that beach.

Next we headed north to Ecola State park. There was a tricky narrow road with some low hanging branches near the edge of the road. I had to pause a few times to let cars by, but nothing ever brushed the RV roof. The trip was worth it and we got a good view of the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse.

Next we headed off to Seaside. Seaside is a decent sized town and looks like a town that has been a big tourist town since the 30's or something. It was a lot of fun to explore this touristy town.