The cupboards in our coach can get fairly warm when sitting in the sun. A common solution for that is to add extra protection via silvered bubble insulation like Reflectix. I recently added some to the back of most of the cupboards:
Trillium Lake
While staying near Mount Hood, we of course had to visit Trillium Lake for its great view of the mountain.
A view of the mountain on the way:
Trillium Lake and Mount Hood from the dam area:
We had a picnic dinner:
Then enjoyed views of the mountain over the lake:
This may look a little familiar: it’s the view on the Magne Shade on our coach windscreen (except during daytime):
More pics:
Ducklings:
Lots of people enjoying the lake:
Rides around Mt Hood Village
A quick post with a couple of videos from short rides around Mt Hood Village. No photos, other than embedded in the first video, since those I took appeared in my review of the campground.
As mentioned previously, I use Strava to track my rides, and Relive to convert the routes into 3D videos.
Here’s the first ride, by myself:
And the second ride, with Jenn:
Not overly exciting, but a handy way to explore large campgrounds.
Mt Hood Village RV & Camping Resort
We stayed at Mt Hood RV & Camping Resort in Welches, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice Thousand Trails Encore park.
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-07-25
- Check out: 2022-08-07
- 13 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps ranging between 77-98°F, lows around 54-67°F
- No significant wind
Noise:
- No road noise or train noise
- Not much neighbor noise (kids and dogs)
Site:
- Vine Maple Hollow #78, back in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach (on gravel)
- Fairly level, sloped up a little at the back
- Medium site: about 60 feet long by about 30 feet wide
- Full hookups:
- 50 amp power conveniently located
- 50 PSI water pressure (we boosted from our tank); fairly conveniently located
- Reasonable sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10 foot hoses used)
- Picnic table, fire pit on gravel
- Several trees for privacy
Internet (in usage priority order):
- Starlink: 53 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 72 ms ping
- AT&T: 6 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 27 ms ping
- Verizon: 8 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
- T-Mobile: no service
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Indoor pool
- Onsite restaurant
Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:
Nice campground close to Mt Hood
This park has a nice mix of sites close to all sorts of outdoor activities in the area. We were grateful to be under the tall trees during the worst of the heat even if it meant the Starlink was pretty useless. There are newer sites that have no trees, but they were baking in the sun. You really need to weigh your priorities when making your site reservation. The roads are a bit narrow in spots, and they have a few trees that need to be trimmed, but overall we had no trouble getting our 40′ motorhome around to our site. We really enjoyed the on-site restaurant. Their breakfasts are awesome. We camped at Mt Hood Village RV Resort in a Motorhome.
The RV park map; it a large park, with multiple campgrounds within it, separated into short-term and long-term RVs, plus cabins:
An embedded map (that you can zoom and pan around):
Weather:
Our site:
Our bikes:
The screen tent:
We moved the picnic table out of the way, since we have our own in the tent:
A big rock on the neighboring site:
Utilities:
I got out my ladder to access the roof; I attached knee pads to it to protect the edge of the roof:
The main reason for the ladder was to remove a branch that I’d noticed was wedged up there:
I also took some pics of the roof, since this was the first time I’ve used the ladder to access it (and I’ve still never been on the roof):
We took Paladin out into the screen tent:
Some aerial photos from my drone:
The village has a restaurant and store:
Village store:
Dragonfly Cafe and Bakery:
Breakfast:
Dinner:
Plus a game room:
And indoor pool:
We were in the Vine Maple Hollow campground (a bit harsh to call the children slow):
Our neighbor had a catio:
Another catio:
Some campgrounds were a bit more exposed:
Monthly sites available:
More campsites:
Tiny homes and cabins:
A nice park. We’ll likely be back here again in the future.
Video: Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon motorhome travel timelapse
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.