A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 79 miles from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon, with a detour to Todd’s Auto & RV in Portland.
Travel from Buxton to Welches, Oregon
We drove our coach 79 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon, with a detour to Todd’s Auto & RV Service in Portland.
The map route for the first leg, heading east:
And the route for the second leg, also heading east:
Leaving Buxton:
Paladin on the steps:
Sunset highway:
The freeway tunnel:
Downtown Portland:
Todd installed our tow system last year, but recently the light on the dash that confirmed the brake was being applied in our toad stopped working. Fortunately, we had to pass near Todd’s shop when heading through Portland, so we arranged to stop by there so he could investigate (supervised by Paladin):
The issue turned out (as we suspected) to be a bad indictator light; he was able to swap it out for a good one; this light comes on when the truck’s braking system is activated, due to the coach brake being applied. It’s a useful confirmation that the truck is actively braking with the coach:
We then continued on, passing through Gresham:
MAX light rail stop:
Paladin asleep in his safe space:
Through Sandy; here’s their “trolly” bus:
Downtown Sandy:
Sandy used to be our local town (well, Estacada was closer, but smaller; we preferred to shop in Sandy). Mt Hood Pet Resort is where we took our dog for daycare and boarding:
Speaking of Mount Hood, a view from the highway:
And our destination, Mt Hood Village RV Resort:
IKEA storage cabinets
One of several criteria when choosing an RV was that we needed to keep working as we travel, so we wanted a desk (or two). So soon after we bought our coach, we removed the couches, and replaced one with a desk:
From the start, I used a lap tray with my laptop, sitting in my living room chair, while Jenn used the desk. Over time, she decided that she didn’t need the second screen, and ultimately didn’t need the desk either.
So we removed the desk, while temporarily leaving its drawers:
We might get some custom furniture to go there in due course, but in the meantime we decided to replace the desk with IKEA KALLAX drawers and cupboards; a very flexible system that we’ve enjoyed in the past.
Here are the drawers being assembled:
To prevent the drawers from sliding open when the coach is in motion, I added roller catches:
The new drawers next to the old ones, while transferring the contents:
Next I assembled IKEA KALLAX cupboards; the bottom-right cubby is a cat bed for Paladin:
I got brackets to connect the two units, for extra stability:
The two brackets on the back are covered in self-adhesive felt, to avoid scratching the wall:
I also added a bracket to mount the units to the wall:
The drawers and cupboards:
Related, I added velcro to Jenn’s laptops and laptop stand, so they stay put while driving:
She uses the laptop stand on the dining table when she has meetings, or uses a lap tray in her living room chair like me.
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
After Astoria, we visited Fort Clatsop, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park:
The visitor center:
Jenn at the passport cancellation station:
Photo spot:
Info sign:
A replica of Fort Clatsop one can explore:
Trail:
A ranger talk on water:
216 years ago today:
Seaside and Astoria
We took a day trip to the Oregon coast.
We had planned to go to Mo’s in Seaside for lunch, but they were too busy, so we continued up the coast.
Some pics of Seaside:
Astoria:
We ended up going to Bridgewater Bistro, which we had fond memories of from staying in Astoria for our anniversary in 2008:
The restaurant is on the pier, and has a cute window in the floor showing the water below (and a skeleton on a rope ladder):
We had a tasty breakfast for a late lunch:
After that, we drove over the Astoria–Megler Bridge between Oregon and Washington; a 4 mile long bridge across the Columbia River:
And back again:
Cannery Pier Hotel:
Bike rides around Stub Stewart
Stub Stewart State Park was a great place to have a new bike, as it has a number of interesting places to ride, plus is in the middle of the 21-mile Banks-Vernonia State Trail.
One of the first places I rode was the Stub Hilltop area, which has a picnic shelter and tables, nice views, a disc golf course, and a mountain bike area:
I used Strava to track my ride, and Relive to convert the route into a 3D video:
The start of the disc golf course through the trees at the hilltop area:
I also rode along a very small portion of the Banks-Vernonia State Trail:
Ride video:
And another portion of the trail, with a nice bike repair station where the trail crosses the Stub entry road:
Ride video:
A short ride video around the campground:
Heading further towards Banks:
The trail crosses the Buxton Trestle, a 733-foot long, 80-foot high former rail bridge:
A rather green pond by the Buxton picnic area:
The picnic area below the Buxton Trestle:
Prison work crew doing landscaping:
Ride video:
A video of the first ride Jenn and I did together:
Another day, Jenn and I took a picnic lunch on our bikes to the Buxton Trestle:
Ride video:
Was this post interesting? I figure our exploring by bikes is not too different to exploring by hiking or driving, in terms of post topics, and may be of interest to some people.
Sinclair Trails merch!
Hey Sinclair Trails fans! (If any?) We now have merchandise available!
I set up a Cafe Press store, mainly so I could get some stuff with the Sinclair Trails logo for myself, but if anyone else is interested, it is open to our adoring public.
The Sinclair Trails mug:
Sinclair Trails hat:
Sinclair Trails badges:
CLAM screen tent
Another useful addition to our campsites: we purchased a 9×9 CLAM pop-up screen tent, to provide shade and/or protection from bugs.
It’s pretty compact folded up in its bag:
It pops up quickly by pulling tabs in the center of each wall:
Popped up, with wind and sun panels attached, and tie-down ropes attached, sitting on a new outdoor mat:
With our chairs and small table inside:
We also got a combo light and fan that can hang from the ceiling, or sit on the table:
On our site:
We brought Paladin outside in his harness and leash; only the second time he’s been outside, so he was a bit unsure about it:
Eating dinner in the tent:
Propane fire pit
Back in November last year we purchased a portable propane fire pit, which we carried around in the back of our truck for several months without using it, for various reasons — mostly because we tend to go inside in evenings (remember that we’re not on vacation, but living our life on the road), and when we do sit outside, it’s usually too warm to need a fire.
But having enjoyed the wood fire in Bend, we finally got around to using our fire pit at Stub Stewart:
Here it is, with the cover on, looking a bit dusty:
Connected to the propane cylinder:
Let there be light!
A GIF of it on high:
And a GIF of it on low, with me working on my laptop next to the fire:
Another GIF, while watching YouTube videos on another day:
LL Stub Stewart State Park, Dairy Creek West
We stayed in the Dairy Creek West campground of LL Stub Stewart State Park in Buxton, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A pleasant state park.
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-07-11
- Check out: 2022-07-25
- 14 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps ranging between 73-90°F, lows around 49-62°F
- No significant wind
Noise:
- No road noise or train noise
- Some neighbor noise (kids and dogs), mostly quiet
- Crows making a racket on the roof
Site:
- #46, back in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach (on asphalt)
- Fairly level, once we moved the coach away from the edge
- Large site: about 64 feet long by about 45 feet wide
- Full hookups:
- 50 amp power conveniently located
- 30 PSI water pressure (we boosted from our tank); conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10 foot hoses used)
- Picnic table, fire pit on gravel
- Several trees for privacy
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 4 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 38 ms ping
- AT&T: 8 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
- Verizon: 30 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 23 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage compactor and recycling outside campground entrance
- No pool
Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:
Huge sites in a beautiful park
We loved our stay at this campground. Our site was beautifully tucked into the trees, and it just felt like what a campground should be. The place has an awesome vibe. It feels like a rustic campground but has full hookups. It feels like you’re a long way from anywhere, but it’s pretty convenient to Hwy 26, so you can head to Portland or the Coast for an easy day trip. The camp hosts are really on top of things; they rake and tidy things up almost as soon as the previous occupant has left. And the sites are just massive. We had room for our 40′ motorhome, tow vehicle, screen tent with table and chairs, plus the campground-provided picnic table and firepit, with room left over. I can see why this park is popular with groups. We saw several campers with multiple sites booked, who all hung out at one site in the evenings.
We stayed in the West campground, which has a lot more trees around the loop than the East one and has a few that need to be trimmed along the road because they twanged the antenna on top of our rig, but it’s a minor thing because we will stay here again when we’re in the area. We camped at L.L. Stub Stewart Memorial State Park in a Motorhome.
The RV park map:
An embedded map, that you can zoom and scroll around:
Our site before parking:
Our coach in our site:
From the hill behind the site (and yes, the tent is new; I’ll do a separate post about that):
A peek of the roof:
Woods behind our site:
A murder of crows; they had an annoying habit of walking on our roof, making a racket:
The crows did enjoy the drip tray of our griddle:
Another recent addition was a milk crate to help carry and stabilize the propane cylinder:
Griddle breakfast for dinner:
More pics of our site:
Another dinner:
Oh deer:
Levitating squirrel:
Butterfly:
Another deer:
Aerial views of our site:
Let’s explore. The welcome center:
The campground didn’t have any garbage bins or dumpsters, but did have a trash compactor just outside:
And it being Oregon, of course there were lots of recycling bins, too:
Self registration station for late arrivals:
Bathrooms:
More bathrooms:
Tent sites:
Other RV sites:
We will probably come back here in the future, but might like to stay on the opposite side of the road, for better shade. Site 41 could be a good choice:
Or site 43:
Or site 45:
Behind site 45:
A seating area by a path to the adjacent campground:
We were in Dairy Creek Campground West; the East campground is nearby:
Both campgrounds have a couple of Park Hosts:
Dairy Creek Campground East is a bit more open:
This campground might be better for our coach; it brushed some of the foliage in the west campground. Sites 82, 84, 86, 88, 89, 90, and 92 would all be excellent choices for afternoon shade and a decent amount of privacy:
A very nice couple of campgrounds. We’ll likely stay here again when visiting Portland.