We planned on wintering again in Carrollton, TX starting on November 1st. This gave us about seven weeks to get there, so we needed a plan for where and when we’d be stopping. I still didn’t like making campground reservations too far in advance, because it reduced our flexibility. Instead, I planned our tentative route using RV Trip Wizard and reserved our sites usually for the next three sites. This has worked very well for us, so I saw no need to switch horses…
Our first stop was for 5 days at JBLM (Joint Base Lewis-McChord) North Travel Camp, Fort Lewis Army Post, WA (population 295,000). The drive was only 132 miles from the AMHS Terminal in Bellingham and took us along beautiful Puget Sound on coastal Chuckanut Drive. When I worked for ERM CVS (Environmental Resources Management, Certification Verification Services) with two other auditors, we were known as the “Three Amigos.” We audited the Shell Oil Refinery in Anacortes, WA and often dined at The Oyster Bar 12 miles north on Chuckanut. It was one of our favorite places to eat, and the location where we discovered the tasty wines of Australian vintner Mollydooker. There we learned to love their shiraz called The Boxer, and were educated on the “Dooker Shake,” a unique process for removing the nitrogen used in bottling before drinking, even though it violated the rule of never shaking a wine bottle before drinking.
The JBLM campground was full-service, tucked in a forest, and modestly priced. We did have to change sites during our stay, but this only required moving about 100 feet. Worth the minor inconvenience. There was never a doubt we were on an Army base, what with the frequent whirring of the CH-47 Chinooks and statues of combat soldiers. We capitalized on using the Army’s post exchange and commissary facilities but had to wander a bit until we found our coffee spot in Stellacoom, WA on Cormorant Passage.
We departed JBLM and still felt weird about being back in the continental U.S. It was as if we’d left reality for the summer and now needed time to get reaclimated. Our second stop was in Eugene, OR (population 177,899) at the Deerwood RV Park south of the city. Eugene plays host to the University of Oregon, GO DUCKS, and it impressed us as a cute and comfortable college town. We had hoped for diverse coffee options; however, found the Starbuck’s near campus to be the best alternative. The RV park was extremely nice. It was paved throughout, and we could tell the owners invested in keeping it clean and well maintained. I took two hikes near the RV park and enjoyed the weather and rural scenery.
Next, we drove 258 miles to Dunsmuir, CA (population 1,642). The weather was cloudy and rainy until we neared Dunsmuir, where I captured these photos of Mount Shasta (elev. 14,180′) and Black Butte (elev. 6,359′). I planned on summiting Black Butte until learning the trail was dangerously damaged.
We camped for 3 days at a unique facility called Railroad Park RV Resort. In addition to the 45 RV campsites, accommodations included 6 cabins and 22 railcars, plus a pool, and The Dining Car Restaurant. With the Castle Crags Wilderness area as a backdrop, the setting of our campsite couldn’t have been more picturesque. We enjoyed a fantastic prime rib dinner with wine in the restaurant.
I hiked twice during our short stay. The first was along Little Castle Creek, while the second took me on fire roads up toward the crags. We made a morning trip to nearby McCloud, CA (population 945), a popular all-seasons vacation area for those interested in camping, hiking, fishing, swimming, and winter sports. The McCloud River Mercantile Store and Hotel was an historic gem on Main Street. The store was built in 1897, and the hotel portion included 12 rooms, each historically themed. We found a great coffee shop in McCloud.
We were enjoying ourselves but still hadn’t shaken that weird feeling I mentioned earlier. We planned on spending a week in the Los Angeles area seeing family and friends, so it was time to head to our next stop.
