Olympic Peninsula Trip - Day Two

Monday, September 18, 2017
Hammond, Oregon to Amanda Park, Washington
Distance: 139 miles
Campsite: Quinault River Inn - Space 4
Cost per Night: $44.72
Duration: 3 nights
Weather: 53 and raining

I had hoped to take a quick walk and see the Wreck of the Peter Iredale before we headed out in the morning, but it was pouring. I knew we'd be spending another night on our return trip, so I wasn't too disappointed. Check-out time wasn't until 1:00, but we wanted to get on the road and get to Quinault before dinner, so we headed out at 11:00. 

As you can see, it's not always glamorous, especially on a travel morning!

Heavy rain and a huge bridge (4 miles long) over a huge expanse of water (the Columbia River).

It doesn't look quite so bad with the window down. Lots of cargo ships on the river.

The Astoria–Megler Bridge is a steel cantilever through truss bridge in the northwest United States that spans the lower Columbia River, between Astoria, Oregon, and Point Ellice near Megler, Washington. Opened 51 years ago in 1966, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.

Located fourteen miles (23 km) from the mouth of the river at the Pacific Ocean, the bridge is 4.067 miles (6.55 km) in length, and was the final segment of U.S. Route 101 to be completed between Olympia, Washington, and Los Angeles, California. (Wikipedia)

Once we were across the river, we decided to stop for a few minutes at Dismal Nitch and take in the view. "...waves, strong winds, and torrential rains of a Pacific Northwest storm." Pretty much the same 212 years later. 

Onward.

The weather started to improve the further north we drove and we decided to stop for lunch at Willapa Bay, near South Bend. The view was beautiful from our vantage point in a large, empty parking area. It's actually a field, but there was another RV parked there when we pulled up, so we figured why not?

We stopped in Aberdeen for gas and then took a random detour when I decided to pull off the road to let some cars pass. A large dump truck just happened to pull up right behind us, so I couldn't maneuver my turn back onto the highway and decided to just continue on down the road and turn around when I found a wide enough spot. Well, that wound up taking us several miles and twenty minutes out of our way! I'm just thankful we found an area large enough to make a wide turn without getting stuck in the mud. We were out in the middle of nowhere. And, of course, without any cell service on either phone. (And, yes. We have now purchased a CB radio.)

More rain, but very beautiful.

After that little adventure, it wasn't too much further before we pulled into the beautiful Quinault River Inn. It felt so good to have arrived and to know that we wouldn't have to leave for another three days.

The Quinault River Inn borders the Olympic Peninsula and is within just a few miles from Lake Quinault and the Quinault River Valley. In addition to the Inn, there are 5 RV spaces, each with electricity and water, but no sewer hook-ups. There aren't any shower facilities, either. Not quite dry camping, but somewhat limited. Each RV space backs up against a large grassy field and includes a picnic table and a gravel parking pad. The sites are fairly close to each other, but easy enough to back into. There were only two other RVs during our stay, so it was nice and peaceful. My dad and stepmom (who were traveling with us on this trip) were on one side and a couple from Texas were on the other side. The inn is right off of 101, but the traffic wasn't too terrible later in the evening. The only real noise was a little bit of road traffic from the logging trucks driving past during the night.

After we checked in and got set up, we wandered down to the Quinault River, which is just a few yards away from the campsites. There were several chairs set up around a large fire ring, as well as a gazebo and a couple of adirondacks scattered off on a large, grassy slope. The view of the mountains and the river was breathtaking! Unfortunately, it was a little too damp for a fire.

Click on the photos for a larger view of the image.