Road Trip - June 2025 - Astoria and the Coast

After leaving Portland, we headed to the coast thinking we'd spend the next few days camping on the way back to Port Angeles. Unfortunately, it was the weekend and most of the campgrounds were completely booked and we didn't want to take a chance on either not finding a campsite or wandering for hours until we did. Therefore, we decided to stop for the night at a more remote forest campground east of Tillimook. 

As expected, it wasn't too busy. I got in another campsite workout while Andrew went for a run and we also went for a short hike. 

Back along the coast the next day, we went for a couple beach hikes. 

Not just a sand castle but a whole village! 

We treated ourselves to one more hotel stay in Astoria at the BowLine Hotel and had supper at the Bridgewater Bistro, both of which we always enjoy. It's about a 1km walk along the water between hotel and bistro and the main attraction is the 4-mile long Astoria-Megler Bridge which connects Oregon and Washington. It's the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. 

We spent one more night camping and then still had a little bit of time to spare before catching the afternoon ferry back to Victoria. We stopped at the Elwha Beach Trail just outside of Port Angeles for a short hike. A turkey vulture was quite cooperative for photos; the deer were momentarily cooperative before mama decided she had to protect her babies and they disappeared out of sight. 

All in all, a very good road trip! 

Fall Road Trip 2023 - Astoria to Victoria

It felt good to be getting closer to home! We splurged and spent a lovely evening at the waterfront Bowline Hotel in Astoria and had a great meal at our favourite Astoria restaurant, the Bridgewater Bistro. 

Evening light over the water. From the lounge/restaurant of the Bowline Hotel.

The Astoria-Megler Bridge is 4 miles long and connects Oregon and Washington.
It's the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.

Right beside the hotel, we could hear some sea lions. We went out a while later and found this cutie having a nap on a lower level. We assume he got up there when the tide was higher because it was a long way to the water. 

The next morning, a younger looking one was there. I just love the eyes and whiskers. 

Our view during breakfast at the Bowline Hotel.

We took our time driving to Port Angeles, stopping for coffee again at Elixer Coffee in South Bend, another of our favourite places along this stretch of the coast. 

Relaxing in the lobby of the Olympic Lodge in Port Angeles.

It was surprisingly not very busy on the Coho Ferry coming home. All the American Thanksgiving holidayers were probably going the other way. The water looked ready for a very smooth sailing! 

Home is in sight!

Last blog post of the trip is done! No one is more surprised than me that I actually kept up with posts this time and got to the end of all this. The strategy this time was to post as we went, rather than try to group things into categories (e.g. landscape, flowers, animals, etc.). The past few trips where I've tried to do it that way has meant that trip posts never get finished because, once we're home, I'm on to other things. So, moving forward, hopefully I continue to improve the way I do things. 

Despite being sick most of this trip and some of the things we had planned to do not getting done (e.g. overnight backpacking, Andrew paragliding) it was a great trip. We saw such a wide variety of landscape and I'm really happy with some of the photos I got. Things are improving there too!  :-) 

June 2022 Roadtrip (Astoria)

We always like visiting Astoria, Oregon, and the surrounding area so this was another short stop on our way home from Wyoming. The beaches are fun to stroll along and the Astoria-Megler bridge, which connects Oregon and Washington State, is spectacular. It's the longest continual truss bridge in North America. 

For the first time, we went to see the Astoria Column. The Column was built in 1925/26 and the intricate artwork on the outside depicts the chronological development of the area. 

We climbed the stairs to the observation deck at the top of the column and got fabulous views in all directions!

Mt. Rainier (I think)

Mt. St. Helens

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Southbound from Astoria

Astoria, Oregon, is a beautiful little coastal city. One of the things we love best about it is treating ourselves to a night or two at the Cannery Pier Hotel. It's located where the cannery used to be before it burned down. Remnants of the old pier are still visible. The long bridge on the other side of it that provides a link between Washington State and Oregon just adds to the view and the charm. One of the unique aspects of the service provided is the old cars used to provide transportation to guests who wish to eat out at one of the local restaurants.

Panorama of the Cannery Pier Hotel, the bridge and another building that houses offices and the Bridgewater Bistro.

Remnants of the old pier (and the seagulls and cormorants that call it home).

Colourful sunset.

We spent a couple days at Astoria and contacted two paragliding instructors from this area (Brad & Maren from Discover Paragliding) that we met in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, the winds were not cooperating (too strong, too gusty and wrong direction) so we didn't get to do any kiting or flying. We did however, watch them do a couple tandem tow flights on the beach before the wind picked up and they had to stop. 

Continuing to meander along the coast, we stopped often to walk on the beach, stick our feet in the extremely cold water and check out other possible kiting/soaring sites. 

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach

C-c-c-c-c-c-cold water!

Just going for stroll.

Checking out the kiting/soaring potential at Cape Kiwanda.

Love the Oregon coast! So beautiful.

We've now settled in at Jacksonville, Oregon, for a week of flying in this area. Excited!