Cody KOA Holiday

We stayed at Cody KOA Holiday in Cody, Wyoming. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A busy KOA, especially with lots of motorcycles from people heading to or from the big Sturgis rally.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-08-05
Check out: 2023-08-13
8 nights

Weather:

One day with hail, a couple of days with thunderstorms, mostly clear after that
High temps ranging between 70-85°F, lows around 51-59°F
Some wind, up to 20 MPH gusts

Noise:

Some road noise
No train noise
Lots of neighbor noise (kids and motorcycles)

Site:

#59, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
Unlevel, side-to-side slope, but jacks coped
Gravel driveway about 102 feet long by about 12 feet wide
Grass between sites about 12 feet wide
No trees
Concrete patio with table and chairs
Fire pit

Utilities:

50 amp power, inconveniently located
45 PSI water, inconveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 29 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 250 ms ping
Verizon: 25 Mbps down, 18-21 Mbps up, 60-120 ms ping
AT&T: 33-38 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 130 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: 3-7 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 110 ms ping
Starlink: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Swimming pool
Free pancakes for breakfast
Package delivery to office

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient to Pancakes

The campground was convenient for exploring Cody and the area. Our site was right next to the office and pancake area, which was nice. The angle to get our big rig out when we left was a little hairy, however. The trailers and smaller rigs in the site next to us usually backed out of their site to avoid the hard left turn around the dump station and propane fill area. Some of the turns in the park were also a bit difficult in a big rig, especially when folks at the ends parked their big trucks into the road. The site itself was level, and all the hookups worked. We camped at Cody KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a must-do. Head over to the Bighorn Canyon and Chief Joseph Scenic Highway for some amazing scenery. The Buffalo Bill Dam is also pretty cool.

The campground map:

Map

Our site:

Our site

We went out for a scenic drive one day (see forthcoming post), but as we arrived back in town it started to rain heavily, with lightning in the area. When we arrived back at our site, we waited in our truck for several minutes while it rained and hailed heavily, before making a run for it when it eased up briefly:

Hail

The campground experienced some ground flooding:

Flooding

Video of heavy rain, campground flooding, and lightning:

A screenshot of several nearby lightning strikes via the handy LightningMaps.org website:

Lightning

Flooding:

Flooding

All that water washed away the landscaping gravel:

Washed away landscaping gravel

Hail residue:

Hail residue

The campground entrance:

Entrance

Gazebo by the entrance:

Gazebo by entrance

Office:

Office

Office store

Pools:

Pools

Playground:

Playground

Jump pad:

Jump pad

Family room:

Family room

A nice feature of this KOA is free pancakes for breakfast every day, with sausages and other food available for purchase:

Pancakes etc

Pancakes and sausages

Speaking of food, some samples of other places we patronized in Cody; first up, More Burgers and Shakes:

More Burgers and Shakes

A close-up of that bear decoration:

Bear

There are bears on the back of the bear:

Bears on bear

More Burgers and Shakes

Not overly impressive:

More Burgers and Shakes

We had a lot of BBQ in Texas, so it was interesting to try Wyoming’s edition at Bubba’s Bar-B-Que; a bit different, but not bad:

Bubba's Bar-B-Que

Finally, some pizza at Tossers Pizza and Beer; decent pan-style pizza, but not the best:

Tossers Pizza and Beer

We were planning to attend the famous Cody Nite Rodeo, but after reading the reviews on Yelp and elsewhere, we decided it wasn’t for us — overly religious, political jokes, sexist jokes, etc. It would have been painful. And apparently not good rodeo anyway.

But they kept trying to drum up customers, driving though the campground every day offering discount coupons:

Cody Nite Rodeo

And a bus to pick up people:

Cody Nite Rodeo

One of several occupants of our driver-side neighboring site, a small toy hauler trailer:

Toy hauler trailer

One section of the park has tight buddy sites:

Tight buddy sites

Other sites:

Other sites

A newer section, where it looked like a couple was shoveling the gravel to make it somewhat level for parking after the flooding:

Other sites

Tent sites:

Tent sites

Teepees:

Teepees

Cabins:

Cabins

Our site again, preparing to leave:

Our site

Yellowstone old west cookout and wagon ride

We did an old west cookout and wagon ride while in Yellowstone.

Horse riders, and wagon riders waiting:

Horses and wagon riders waiting

Wagon ride:

Wagon ride

Horse riders:

Horses

Horses and wagons:

Horses and wagons

A wagon used for bathroom handwashing:

Water wagon

Cowboy coffee:

Cowboy coffee

Buffet:

Buffet

Dinner

More cowboy coffee:

Cowboy coffee

Horses and wagons:

Horses and wagons

Chuckwagon:

Food wagon

Music:

Music

Wagon ride back:

Wagon ride

Taking the horses back:

Horses

A fun experience.

Yellowstone Old Faithful area

We continue our tour of Yellowstone National Park with the popular Old Faithful area:

Old Faithful Visitor Education Center:

Old Faithful Visitor Education Center

Old Faithful General Store:

Old Faithful General Store

Old Faithful Inn:

Old Faithful Inn

We had dinner at the Old Faithful Inn dining room, another reservation-only restaurant:

Old Faithful Inn dining room

Beverage menu:

Beverage menu

Dinner menu:

Dinner menu

Appetizers:

Appetizers

Mains:

Mains

Dessert menu:

Dessert menu

Dessert:

Dessert

Old Faithful Post Office, where we mailed a Grand Prismatic Spring postcard to Mom:

Old Faithful post office with Grand Prismatic Spring postcard

Old Faithful geyser:

Old Faithful geyser

On another day:

Old Faithful geyser

A bison wandering through near the geyser:

Bison

Looking back at the inn from Old Faithful geyser basin:

Old Faithful geyser basin, looking back at the inn

Hiking around the geyser basin; there’s more to the Old Faithful area than that popular geyser:

Old Faithful geyser basin

Geyser

River

Geyser

The Black Sand Basin is also nearby:

Black Sand Basin

Geyser

Yellowstone Grant area

I mentioned yesterday that we spent two weeks in Yellowstone National Park. Starting from the Lake area, we next turn to the Grant Village and West Thumb area:

Grant Visitor Center:

Grant Visitor Center

West Thumb Park Store:

West Thumb Park Store

We had dinner at the Grant Village Restaurant, one of the restaurants that require reservations:

Grant Village Restaurant

The menu:

Beverages:

Beverages

Appetizers:

Appetizers

Mains:

Mains

We saved room for dessert:

Desserts

After the restaurant, we walked around the West Thumb Geyser Basin:

West Thumb Geyser Basin sign

West Thumb Geyser Basin

Next, a video from clips captured with my 360 camera of this area. Tomorrow, the famous Old Faithful area.

Y Knot Winery RV Park

We stayed at Y Knot Winery RV Park in Glenns Ferry, Idaho. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A brand-new RV park, still installing landscaping, plus a winery and restaurant.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-07-11
Check out: 2023-07-13
2 nights

Weather:

Sunny
High temps ranging between 94-99°F, lows around 58-63°F
Some evening wind, 23 MPH gusts

Noise:

No road noise
Train horn noise (didn’t hear it overnight, fortunately)
No neighbor noise (no neighbors!)
A little construction noise

Site:

#24, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad; left it connected
Fairly level
Gravel about 60 feet long by about 12 feet wide
Grass between sites about 15 feet wide
Young trees
No picnic table etc yet

Utilities:

50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
80 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located
Good sewer connection, very inconveniently located (4 10-foot pipes needed; could have managed with 2 if parked the truck in front of the coach)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 17-22 Mbps down, 26-32 Mbps up, 52-115 ms ping
Verizon: 11-27 Mbps down, 16 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
AT&T: 120 Mbps down, 8-20 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Winery and restaurant

Our review on Campground Reviews:

So new, still under construction

We stayed here for two nights on our way through Idaho on I-84. We were in the new section, which was being landscaped as we arrived. We were originally in site 31, but they hadn’t finished landscaping it yet, and I could tell from a distance that it was going to be far too short and sloped for us. Since we had the place to ourselves, we pulled into site 24 and called the lovely ladies at the winery to explain the situation. They were more than happy to swap our site and also noticed that I had (like another reviewer) accidentally selected 3 nights, instead of 2, through the online booking site, so she gave me a refund for the extra night. This place is going to be really nice when they finish the landscaping, and I look forward to coming through in the future. The restaurant at the winery was also very nice and worth a visit. We camped at Y Knot Winery RV Park in a Motorhome.

The campground map; we had booked site #31, but ended up in site #24 (read on for why):

Map

This was site 31, occupied by sod pallets:

Site 31

I asked them to move them, but we then realized that the site was very unlevel (several inches front to back, and some side-to-side), plus they were still working on it. So we decided to take one of the sites that already had sod, and was much more level:

Our site

Our site:

Our site

The sewer hookup was super inconvenient; good thing I have 40 feet of hoses:

Our site

Sometimes I think we could offer an RV park design consulting service, to help people avoid mistakes like this.

Sod cleanup:

Sod cleanup

Other sites; there were only two other RVs in the park:

Other sites

A truck with a load of trees:

Truck with trees

They took a corner a bit too sharp, and broke the sewer cap (another reason that’s a stupid place for it, though to be fair RVs wouldn’t normally be going that way around the corner):

Broken sewer cap

Unloading the trees:

Truck of trees

Distributing trees

This RV park is across the road (and part of) the Y Knot Winery; we went there for dinner:

Y Knot Winery

The finest wines of Idaho (video clip):

Wine

Bread:

Bread

Charcuterie board:

Charcuterie board

My steak and baked spud:

Steak and baked spud

Jenn’s dessert:

Dessert

Vines:

Vines

The old campground; we wouldn’t fit in most of those sites:

Old campground

The new campground:

New campground

Mt Hood Village RV & Camping Resort, again

We stayed at Mt Hood RV & Camping Resort in Welches, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second visit to this nice Thousand Trails Encore park; we stayed here last year in late July.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-06-30
Check out: 2023-07-09
9 nights

Weather:

Sunny
High temps ranging between 74-90°F, lows around 50-61°F
No significant wind

Noise:

No road noise
No train noise
Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

Hemlock Meadows #97, back in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach (on gravel)
Unlevel; used blocks on the front jacks
Fairly large site: gravel about 50 feet long by about 22 feet wide, plus about 20 feet wide weedy bark area
Picnic table and fire pit on gravel

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
55 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, a little inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 22-83 Mbps down, 5-11 Mbps up, 35-110 ms ping
T-Mobile: 11 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
Verizon: 10-13 Mbps down, 5-8 Mbps up, 150 ms ping
AT&T: 6-8 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Closed indoor pool
Onsite restaurant

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Excellent campground near Mt Hood

This was our second stay here, and still really love it. We were originally assigned a site in the Vine Maple Loop that would have been too small for us, so we asked if there were any open sites in the Hemlock Meadows section, which is a more open area with bigger sites. The helpful staff member at the front gate gave us a couple of choices and told us to let her know which one we picked. Seeing as it was the weekend of the 4th of July, we were so relieved that there was availability. We picked site 97, which was on a corner and gave us a large living area backing onto trees, with a good view of the sky for the Starlink. On a side note: We had dinner at the Dragonfly Cafe, which has really good food, but they seemed to be having some massive staffing issues. It took nearly 2 hours from ordering to checkout, and I’m pretty sure the one and only waitress walked off the job while we were eating as the one and only cook had to act as cashier. We never went back, fearing a repeat, which is a shame because I’d been dreaming of their eggs benedict for the past year. We camped at Mt Hood Village RV Resort in a Motorhome.

The campground map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site was nice and spacious, and we made use of our new flagpole for the Starlink dish (and you may notice something different about our truck; more on that on Monday):

Our site

Steak and potato salad, watching a Mariners baseball game on the outside TV from the tent:

Steam, potato salad, watching TV

Our site

Unlike normal Thousand Trails parks, Encore ones assign sites. We had originally been assigned a different site, but asked when checking in if they had other options, since we thought this wouldn’t fit us; they agreed it wouldn’t be a good fit.

Looking at it later (the left one in the following picture), we were definitely right to change; it was narrow and very sloped:

Original site

The main plaza area, with the (closed) indoor pool, rec center, offices, and cafe:

Plaza

We enjoy when there’s an onsite restaurant; this campground has the Dragonfly Cafe:

Dragonfly Cafe

Dragonfly Cafe menu

We went there for dinner on our first evening (always nice not having to cook on a travel day). Which was a rather drama-filled experience; we waited over an hour for our food, then the server walked out partway through, and the cook had to come out and accept payment from us and others. It was tasty, though; burger for me:

Dragonfly Cafe food

Prime rib for Jenn:

Dragonfly Cafe food

Laundry:

Laundry

Other sites in the Hemlock Meadows loop:

Other sites

See our previous visit for lots more pictures of other loops.

We enjoyed our stay here, and would definitely stay again in the future.

Baseball: Seattle Mariners vs Chicago White Sox

We took Mom to a Seattle Mariners baseball game.

The Mariners lost 4-3 in 11. They had the lead most of the game until Sewald blew the save and went into extra innings. Saucedo really blew it then. J.P. Crawford led with a home run on the first pitch. It was “Salute to the Negro Leagues” day so they wore Steelheads uniforms and everything had a retro vibe, which was cool. The roof was closed, so it was not the best day for baseball, but it’s still a beautiful ballpark. Sat in the Club level, but couldn’t park in the connecting lot—$60 to park two blocks away.

T-Mobile Park:

T-Mobile Park

Jenn with a picture of her hero, Cal Raleigh:

Jenn with a picture of her hero, Cal Raleigh

View from the club level:

View from the club level

Media booths:

Media booths

Pizza:

Pizza

Mariner Moose:

Moose

Play ball!

Salute to the Negro Leagues Day:

Salute to the Negro Leagues Day

Closed roof:

Closed roof

Home run!

Home run trident:

Home run trident

Baseball

Line for food (fairly fast moving):

Line for food

Stands

Fish and chips:

Fish and chips

Baseball

Retro sailboat race:

Sailboat race

Baseball

Selfie:

Selfie

Panorama:

Panorama

Baseball

Moose

Baseball

Pacific coast food

For most of my life, I’ve disliked and avoided seafood. But as part of our traveling lifestyle, we’ve been stretching our comfort zones. For myself, one of those efforts is to try new foods, and especially to eat more seafood.

While we traveled up the Pacific coast this year, I took the opportunity to sample several seafood options, and especially a lot of clam chowder.

Due West Tavern in Olema, California:

Due West in Olema, California

Menu:

The first time I ordered clam chowder; fortunately, it was a very good one:

Clam chowder

Jenn’s fish and chips:

Jenn's fish and chips

My burger and fries (sticking with a more safe option at this stage):

My burger and fries

Chart Room, Crescent City, California:

Chart Room, Crescent City, California

Crab pots snowmen:

Crab pots snowmen

Chart Room

Sea lions:

Sea lions

Menu:

Jenn:

Jenn

Jenn’s clam chowder:

Jenn's clam chowder

My salad:

My salad

Jenn’s clam strips, coleslaw, fries:

Jenn's clam strips, coleslaw, fries

My clam chowder bread bowl; based on the previous success, I decided to dive in:

My clam chowder bread bowl

The Boat House, Coos Bay, Oregon, a travel day stop:

The Boat House, Coos Bay, Oregon

Menu:

Clam chowder appetizers:

Clam chowder

My burger and fries (playing safe on a travel day):

My burger and fries

Jenn’s fish and shrimp:

Jenn's fish and shrimp

Mo’s in Florence, Oregon:

Mo's in Florence, Oregon

Menu:

Mo's in Florence, Oregon

Jenn’s shrimp noodles:

Jenn's shrimp noodles

My clam chowder bread bowl:

My clam chowder bread bowl

Pressed penny:

Pressed penny

Griff’s on the Bay, Reedsport, Oregon:

Griff's on the Bay, Reedsport, Oregon

Menu:

My clam chowder bread bowl (I liked the toasted edge):

My clam chowder bread bowl

Clearwater, Newport, Oregon; we went there for my birthday:

Clearwater, Newport, Oregon

Menu:

Bridge view:

Bridge view

David and beverage:

David and beverage

Clam chowder:

Clam chowder

Fancy deviled eggs:

Fancy deviled eggs

Beverages:

Beverages

Jenn’s thing:

Jenn's thing

My steak:

My steak

Seagulls and sea lion:

Seagulls and sea lion

Seagulls

Dessert menu:

Dessert menu

Waffles:

Waffles

Brownie:

Brownie

Mo’s in Newport, Oregon:

Mo's in Newport, Oregon

Menu:

Clam chowder:

Clam chowder

My clam strips and mashed spuds:

My clam strips and mashed spuds

Jenn’s clam chowder bread bowl:

Jenn's clam chowder bread bowl

Mo’s in Otter Rock, Oregon:

Mo's in Otter Rock, Oregon

Menu:

Mo's in Otter Rock, Oregon

Different kinds of fish and chips:

Different kinds of fish and chips

Lakeside Hideaway in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, another travel day stop:

Lakeside Hideaway in Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Menu:

Clam chowder:

Clam chowder

Club sandwiches and tots:

Club sandwiches and tots

Mo’s in Seaside, Oregon:

Mo's in Seaside, Oregon

Menu:

Clam chowder:

Clam chowder

Fish, clam strips, shrimp:

Fish, clam strips, shrimp

Platter with a view

Pig’n Pancake in Seaside, Oregon:

Pig'n Pancake in Seaside, Oregon

Menu:

Clam chowder:

Clam chowder

Jenn’s breakfast:

Breakfast

My baked spud and razor clams:

My baked spud, razor clams

Grizzly Tuna in Seaside, Oregon:

Grizzly Tuna in Seaside, Oregon

Tuna and chips:

Tuna and chips

That’s it for the coast, but I’ve had seafood several times since then too. So, it’s probably fair to say that it’s now a regular part of my diet. Mission accomplished!

Travel from South Beach to Seaside, Oregon

We drove our coach 125 miles, about three hours of driving, from South Beach, Oregon to Seaside, Oregon.

Here’s the map route, heading north:

Route

Interactive map, with potential stops marked:

Our bedroom with the slide-outs in; Paladin just sat in his bed while the slides were coming in. We store the steering wheel table, the bedroom air cleaner, and other stuff on the bed for travel:

Bedroom with slides in, and Paladin

Jenn bringing in the front passenger-side slide-out, via the switch on the side of the chair (Tiffin puts it there to help ensure the chair is moved forward before bringing in the slide, to avoid hitting it):

Bringing in the front passenger-side slide-out

And the front driver-side slide-out:

Bringing in the front driver-side slide-out

Leaving the campground:

Leaving the campground

Entering tsunami hazard zone; there are signs like this all the way up the coast:

Entering tsunami hazard zone

Newport:

Newport

Newport bridge:

Newport bridge

We enjoy seeing an instance of our favorite coffee stand, Dutch Bros Coffee:

Dutch Bros Coffee

Parts of the coast highway can be prone to slips; here’s the remnants of a previous slip:

Repaired road

The coast:

Coast

Lincoln City:

Lincoln City

Espresso in a fun building:

Espresso

Tiger:

Tiger

It’s marshmallow harvesting season!

Hay bales

Bridge near Tillamook:

Bridge near Tillamook

Tillamook Creamery; we would have liked to visit the world-famous Tillamook Cheese Factory again (we haven’t been since they built their new visitor center), but it didn’t work out this time:

Tillamook Creamery

An old smokestack:

Old smokestack

A nice house:

Nice house

Pronto Pup giant hot dog:

Hot dog

Mural:

Mural

We stopped for lunch at Lakeside Hideaway in Rockaway Beach:

Lunch stop

Menu:

I had a clam chowder:

Clam chowder

And we both had huge club sandwiches (with one of each of ours saved for leftovers) and tots:

Club sandwiches and tots

Back to our coach:

Back to our coach

Paladin waiting for us:

Paladin

Rock:

Rock

Tunnel:

Tunnel

Paladin keeping an eye on the Bluefire dash on my iPad:

Paladin and iPad

Seaside:

Seaside

Rope course:

Rope course

Our destination, Thousand Trails Seaside:

Thousand Trails Seaside

Checking in:

Checking in

North side drive:

North side drive

As usual for Thousand Trails, we parked our coach and drove our truck around to look for a site:

Our coach

Travel from Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon

We drove our coach 174 miles, about three hours of driving, from Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon.

Here’s the map route, heading north:

Route

An interactive map, with possible stops marked:

Leaving the KOA campground; the road was a little tight:

Leaving campground

We passed Last Chance Liquors just before the border to Oregon (on the other side of the sign, it is called First Chance Liquors!):

Last Chance Liquors

A strange place to park a boat:

Boat on land

California entry inspection station:

California entry inspection station

Chetco River:

Chetco River

A rest area stop:

Rest area

Jenn driving:

Jenn driving

Misty coast:

Misty coast

Rocky coast:

Rocky coast

Bridge:

Bridge

Another stop, at a large gravel area:

Roadside stop

Rocky coast:

Rocky coast

Sunken grade:

Sunken grade

Coast

Welcome to Bandon:

Welcome to Bandon

Another bridge:

Bridge

Somewhat low overpass:

Somewhat low overpass

A parking area:

Parking area

We parked our coach there, and walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch:

Our coach

The Boat Fish and Chips:

The Boat Fish and Chips

Menu:

We both had clam chowder as an appetizer — notable as the first time I’ve had clam chowder (other than a taste), and the start of my seafood experiments; a separate post about that in due course:

Clam chowder