Adventures of "The Dog House"

Decided to just one discussion to blog about my trips. "The Dog House" now has a name.

Made a quick trip to Nehalem Bay State Park. Weather in Oregon is so unpredictable this time of the year. We thought it was not going to rain. Surprise. It started to pour once we pulled into camp. Fortunately, I got a REI Alcove. Also tried the side tent for the first time. Saturday and Sunday were partly cloudy but ~60'.

Went to go whale watching on Saturday at Cape Meares, west of Tillamook. Surprise again. The road was closed right before you head up. Only way was to go down to Netarts and then up. No thanks. Ended up doing the short hike to Munson Creek Falls.

The campground was very quiet with maybe half the sites taken. Only D,E,F loops open. Nice trails around the park and a short bike ride into Manzanita for ice cream.

 

Awesome pics, sounds like you still had a great time in spite of the weather.

Question, what is that leaving the tracks in the sand? Hard to tell from the picture.

 

Forgot to mention the caterpillar. He had traveled a long distance from the grass, around a couple circles, and then further out in the sand. Since it had rained, the sand was fairly firm. It was cool to see his journey.

 

Dang, that looks like one big caterpillar. Looks like the size of a beer bottle.

 

It is only about an inch long. Had the camera nearly on the ground and a few inches away from it.

 

Woolly Bear caterpillar! Had the same kind in Wisconsin where I grew up.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella

Nice pictures. Sad you didn't get to go whale watching, but that falls looks pretty spectacular. I gotta get up to Oregon someday.

 

Wow! Cool shot of the woolly bear!

 

I've been on a couple trips since I last posted. In May, we camped 3 nights at Lost Creek Campground which is on the west side of Mt. Hood. Very well kept small campground but is very busy in the summer. The campground was not crowded at all (3 of the 12 sites used). We were in site #7 (first-come, first-serve site). Very private. We were able to angle the teardrop 90' off the paved driveway and were shielded from the road with trees. From this campground, there are several moderate hikes. Ramona Falls is the most popular. There is also a paved nature trail around the campground. In the fall, you can see salmon spawning and you can find lots of mushrooms.






Look closely... there is a salmon swimming there.

 

Just back from a great weekend at Takhlakh Lake campground. For those of you who are not familiar with this area, it is just west of Mt. Adams in the Gifford Pinchot national forest. I managed to get our teardrop down the tent pad in site #30 overlooking the lake. I don' think you can do this at any other site there. Great spot for hiking, fishing, paddling, and enjoying the fantastic views. However, after the 4th of July, it is very crowded.

 

What stunning pictures! Sounds like great times!