Our tent was an Army pup tent. The back of it was enclosed and was held up by a stake pounded into the ground. The front was open. We tied it to the Porsche. There was no stake. This was okay because it was a security thing. If someone was messing with our car, we got a warning.
Some of our camping places have been lost from our memories over the years. A few of them were special for one reason or another. Those few we will share with you.
We can remember driving into Winnemucci, just about in the middle of nowhere Nevada. It was before the Interstate went through that part of the state. When we got there, after dark, we were directed to the City Campground. It was completely unsatisfactory for a little tent like ours, or any other size, for that matter. The campground was grown up in huge tumbleweeds. There was not a bare patch of ground in the entire area.
That night we slept in the Porsche. It was an experience we hoped we wouldn’t have to repeat very often!
We went to the coast of Oregon. At that time we thought it was one of the most beautiful places on earth...and we still do. It is a drive we make whenever we get the chance.
We stayed at Sunset Beach State Park, outside of Coos Bay. The ocean was especially beautiful at sunset. The campground was really nice, with vegetation on three sides of each camp site. Ours had lots of blackberry bushes, with lots of fruit. We ate our fill.
It was about 9:30 or so when we set our tent up and went to bed. At a little before 10:00, an Oriental family moved into the camping spot just across from us. There were a mom and dad, plus two small boys. Their tent was quite large, the kind with floor. Wow, that was really uptown, compared to ours. They first staked each corner in place, and then all crawled inside. The wire structure inside must have been difficult to assemble. Each time the tent would start to go up, the little boys would run across and hit the other side. And down would go the tent, on everyone inside. We laughed so hard, it is a wonder I didn’t wet my pants. This “circus act” went on for over half an hour...the parents putting it up and the kids knocking it down. It was so funny, and the parents not once raised their voices. The experience is one of our favorite to tell over the years. It still brings laughter into our lives.
We went further north on Hwy. 101 to Florence and stopped at Honeyman State Park. It is at the north end of the Oregon Dunes National Rec. Area. After getting our camping place we hiked up a dune at the edge of the lake. It was a tough climb in the sand, and we were surprised at the number of people that climbed up, and ran down as fast as they could onto the lake to see how far they could slide across the water before they stopped. Some of them were out in the water fairly far. I can’t remember the two of us taking part in the “lake insanity.”
As we drove on north the next day we went off Hwy. 101 to Pacific City. This area is home of the Dory Fleet. It is made up of flat bottomed boats with tall sides. A small motor pushes the boat out through the surf of the ocean. When it come back to shore, it comes as fast as the waves and motor can bring it. As it slides up onto the beach, someone on board raises the motor. They can come quite a ways up onto the beach, at which point a person at the front jumps off and secures the dory with a rope. It was very exciting to watch.
We took the road along the ocean to Tillamook, where we were able to tour the Tillamook Cheese Factory. After the tour where we saw the cheese making process “up close and personal.” (Remember this was 1962, when we were allowed to get close to the operation. It has changed over the years.), we sampled the different kinds of cheeses made in Tillamook.
And then it was on to Portland!
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