The West Edge Tour 2026

 

              

The West Edge Tour

2026

Highway 101 & 1

California & Oregon

San Diego to Astoria

Karen and Mike Garofalo

Old Cruisers in one Old SUV

Talking about What We See

Industry, Ag, Fish, Trees, Us

Leaving the City by the Bay

On the

Golden Gate Bridge

Where

Highway

101 & 1

Are One

 

Golden Gate Bridge 1937-

Where Highway 101 & 1 Meet
At the Golden Gate Bridge

Blog Posts about The West Edge Tour 2026

Target Date: April 1st to April 21st, 2026

 

Day 1:

Vancouver, Portland, Longview,
Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach,
Nehalem, Rockaway, Tillamook,
Lincoln City, Depot Bay, Newport,
Waldport, Yachats, Florence.

 

Day 2:

Florence, Reedsport, Coos Bay,
Bandon, Port Orford, Gold's Beach,
Brookings, Crescent City, Orick,
Patrick's Point, McKinleyville, Eureka.

 

At the Edges of the West

Yurt Camping at Devil's Lake State Park

 

Yurt Camping in Lincoln City, Oregon, from 9/22-9/25.

Devil's Lake State Recreation Area

Lincoln City

Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Chinook Winds Casino and Hotel

Depoe Bay OR

Yurt Camping Information

Mo's Restaurant in Siletz Bay

Robert's Bookstores

Prehistoric: Rocks and Fossils Store

My Photographs

Yurt 35C

Mo's Restaurant

Clams and Oyster Shooter

Photographs from the Internet

Nehalm Bay State Park, Oregon

A Repost from February, 2020:

I really enjoyed the expansive scenery at Neahkahnie (Manzanita) beach in Northwest Oregon.  I parked on the roadside near a pine covered slope on Ocean Road.  I was about 40' above the surf.  It was a clear day in the 40's F, with wind and sprinkles.  A few people were walking the wide flat sandy beach or roadway.  The sheer cliffs of the south-west face of Neahkahnie Mountain go straight down into the crashing surf.  I enjoyed watching a stunt kite flyer show his fine skills.

At the end of the day, I walked alone in the sand dunes on the west side of Nehalem Bay State Park (NBSP) .  The sand dunes are both high and wide and 5 miles long.  The wind and cold were daunting if you were not dressed properly.  It was getting dark.  The endless Pacific Ocean waves came pounding in to the sandy shore - thundering and roaring day and night.  Tide after tide, for eons, now, seemingly "forever."  The billions of bunch grasses bent away from the gusting wind. 

I was comfortable and dry in my clean yurt.  It has lights and electricity.  NBSP is well maintained.  This beautiful park was 95% empty.  A one night camping fee of $31, and a reserved yurt fee of $55.00.  I'd choose yurt #A11 for a family camp-out.  It got down to a chilly 35F at night, so nobody was tent camping, and only about 10 RVs in the whole campground.  Empty, Cold, Drizzling, Windy, Raining, Damp - Winter Camping in Coastal Oregon.  Come prepared! 

The town of Manzanita has everything Karen and I would need for a two-night motel getaway.  If you want shopping, drive 21 miles north to Cannon Beach.  We have stayed together here twice at NBSP in a yurt in the summer.

Today, I drove home: Cannon Beach, 101, Seaside, Astoria, 30, Ranier, Longview, I5, Kalama, Vancouver.  Highway 30, an excellent major highway, is relatively flat and straight and very fast for my tastes.  I pulled over and let cars pass many times.  I could return the way I came (Portland, route 26, and route 53 to Nehalem).  Or, drive 70 miles south on 101 to Lincoln City and back to Salem.  Or, take 101 north to Astoria.  All are beautiful drives if you take your time.  Pull over, stop a lot, stretch your legs, sip a favorite beverage, step outside your car, walk, enjoy the views.

Beautiful scenery: pine covered mountains, logged and planted tracts, port and tourist towns, fishing, coastal weathered homes, enchanting rivers and bays, farmsteads, isolation, lovely country roads, spectacular homes and estates, Highway 101 history and lore, cliffs, wind and rain, the thundering of the surf.  Coastal Oregon - my favorite.

Today, I was home, unpacked, and resting at 2 pm.  Art class at 6 pm. 

Ford Escape, SUV, Titanium Model, AWD, 2018

In February, 2021, we purchased a used 2018 Ford Escape, Titanium Model, SUV, AWD, 4 cylinder, 2.0 L engine, 22-27 mpg.  This SUV had 35,100 miles on its bones and engine.  The 2.0 L Turbocharged engine can put out 245 horsepower.  Reviews?  

The Ford Escape SUV has many safety features and road handling AWD capabilities, and meets all the Washington State emission control and road safety standards of 2018. This model uses a Sony electronic, audio, and communication system.  There is plenty of room in our "new" Ford Escape for loading groceries from the Kroeger Fred Meyer's in the Orchards area.  Or, room for moving gardening supplies and plants, boxes, travel gear, clothing, lunches and coffee, and recreational gear.  This SUV model has new tires, good handling and AWD stability and adaptability, good lights, and is silver in color.  

Nearly all the time there are either one or two persons in this car.  We will not be towing anything, or carrying any gear on the hard top of this Ford Escape vehicle. We two together stay motels, cabins, or hotels.  Besides suitcases, we have a variety of recreational gear (boots, camera, backpack, maps, emergency supplies, raingear, tools, folding chairs, blankets, fishing gear,

backup food and water, backup clothing, toiletries, auto stuff, etc.) to carry on some day trips or overnight trips.  Plenty of room for two travelers!!  

I camp alone using this nifty SUV.  The Ford Escape compact SUV easily holds all tent camping, cooking, supplies, clothing, and recreational gear that one person would need for an outdoor adventure to the coast or Cascades.  

This kind of newer used card should provide good service for our uses for many years in Southwestern Washington, Clark County, Washington.  We have traveled many U. S Interstate  highways and roads, Washington and Oregon State roads, U.S. Forest Service Roads, local Clark County roads and backroads into and through and over the Cascades to the east of Vancouver, WA. This Ford Escape should have plenty of power and safety features for two auto travelers in our typical 200 miles or far less radius of travel from Portland Metro to Olympia and Beyond, from Desert to Mountains to River Valleys to the Pacific Coast at Grayland Beach.  

Packwood, Washington

Packwood was getting ready for the huge Labor Day Flea Market event.  Hundreds of arts and crafts vendors were setting up their tent stores. 

Thankfully, I was in Packwood well before the Labor Day crowds and event.  It was relatively quiet.  I would not attend the event because of COVID concerns.  

Today, Friday, 9/1, I leave La Wis Wis Campground, and stop for gasoline and coffee in Packwood.  I will to drive up to Windy Ridge at Mt. Saint Helens. 

I stopped at the Iron Horse Campground.  It is 7 miles south from Randle on FR25.  Impressive old growth forest in the campground by the Crispus River. 

  

Grayland Beach State Park, Washington

Gray's Harbor, Washington

Hypertext Notebook
By Michael P. Garofalo

https://www.egreenway.com/walking/graysharbor.htm

Camping at Grayland Beach State Park, Washington.  Images.  

Ocean City State Park, Washington

Today. I travel from Vancouver up Interstate 5 to Centralia, then west on Road 12 to Aberdeen, then on Road 109 to Ocean Shores, Washington.  It is an easy 160 mile drive, about a 3.5 hour drive for me.  The traffic in Aberdeen and Hoquiam is slow after the long freeway drive.   

If I drive to Olympia, then to Ocean Shores, all freeway or divided highway, it is around 175 miles.  Traffic is very heavy on Interstate 5 from Olympia to Seattle.  

I enjoy visiting the Gray's Harbor Area for seashore and beach activities, marshes, tidal changes, forests, rivers, and coastal retail and restaurant conveniences.  Ocean Shores has many retail stores, restaurants, hotels, services, and seashore activities.    

I will be camping for two nights at Ocean City State Park.  Here are some images of the campground.  I expect a low of 54F, a high of 64F, and cloudy skies.    

My "junior recreational vehicle" is a 2018 Ford Escape, AWD.  

Palouse Region, Southeastern Washington

We spent some time last month in the rolling hills and wheat fields of the Palouse Region of Southeastern Washington. We drove from Walla Walla on State Road 12 through Dayton, Pomeroy, to Lewiston. Then, north, up a steep grade overlooking Lewiston, on State Road 195 to Pullman, then Colfax.

She prefers and likes being the pilot driver, I am a very content passenger and occasional navigator.  She safely pilots our 2018 Ford Escape, Titanium, on a 2.5 liter engine, at 30 mpg.  We quietly rolled across the Palouse in beautiful summer warm weather and clear skies.  Brown wheat fields in four directions.  No irrigation systems visible in most cases.  

Since I was not driving that fine day, I slowly smoked a gram of potent sativa cannabis during the many hours of quiet staring out the car window and occasional map reading.  Mind tripping potent pot for road tripping trips.  I am sure that cannabis is grown in the heavily irrigated Yakima Valley, and indoors anywhere in Washington where cannabis for recreational use has been legal since 2012, and 25% of every purchase of pot is taxed.  The Palouse appears to be primarily wheat and beans, and largely not irrigated.  A primary rule is "where is the water, and how much can you use." Therefore, you could grow marihuana in the Palouse with drip irrigation methods.  

We stopped at a rest stop in the Palouse.  Stretched our legs and bodies.  Used the vault pit toilet.  We enjoyed looking at the immense fields of wheat.  I held and closely studied some wheat plants.  

Wheat food products have kept me alive for 75 years.  

"The Palouse is the most serene and pastoral of the seven wonders of Washington State. It is a region in south eastern Washington characterized by gentle rolling hills covered with wheat fields. The hills were formed over tens of thousands of years from wind blown dust and silt, called "loess", from dry regions to the south west. Seen from the summit of 3,612 foot high Steptoe Butte, they look like giant sand dunes because they were formed in much the same way. In the spring they are lush shades of green when the wheat and barley are young, and in the summer they are dry shades of brown when the crops are ready for harvest. The Palouse hills are not only a landscape unique in the world, but they are beautiful to behold, making them my favorite of the seven wonders of Washington State."

The Palouse

The Dalles in Winter's Drab Days

 Karen and I have driven through, eaten in, or shopped in The Dalles, Oregon, many times. It is 87 miles from our home in Vancouver, WA, via Interstate 84.  From the Biggs Junction, just east of The Dalles, you can drive north to Yakima or south to Bend on U.S. Route 97, and all are good paved roads on the east side of the Cascade Mountains.   

The Dalles was the terminus of the Oregon Trail in 1850.  Boats used the Columbia River at The Dalles, west of Celilo Falls, with clear but dangerous river travel west to the Pacific.  

Native Americans have lived here, and had a major trading center here for over 10,000 years.  They called it "Win-quatt," signifying a place encircled by rock cliffs.  

We drove this morning from Vancouver to Biggs Junction on Interstate 84.  This 107 mile drive through the Columbia Gorge is always beautiful, and mostly a safe driving adventure.   We stopped at Deschutes River Recreation Area, Maryhill State Park on the Columbia, the concrete Stonehenge memorial near Maryhill, Horsethief Lake Columbia Hills State Park, History, the Dalles Dam Museum, and into the City of The Dalles.  

Lunch.  

Afternoon driving trip up and back Road 197 to Dufur and hills of the Eastern Cascades.  

Check into motel.  Dinner: Cousins.  

Wednesday: Cherry hills drive, Breakfast, Drive I84 to Portland, Hood River Hotel stop, Rooster Rock stop, Home.  

We drove in our 2018 Ford Escape: nice quiet ride, smooth, safe, plenty of power. 

The Dalles Dam, City of The Dalles,
Foothills of the Eastern Cascades, Mt. Hood

Downtown, The Dalles, 1940s?

Cheery Orchards in Eastern Cascades

Downtown, The Dalles, 1920's?

 

Repeat of Post from 2/28/2021:

We purchased and are now (2/27/2021), driving a 2018 Ford Escape, Titanium Model, SUV, AWD, 4 cylinder, 2.0 L engine, 22-27 mpg.  This SUV has 35,100 miles on its bones and engine.  The 2.0 L Turbocharged engine can put out 245 horsepower.  Reviews?  

The Ford Escape SUV has many passenger safety features and road handling AWD capabilities, and meets all the Washington State emission control and road safety standards of 2018. This model uses a Sony electronic, audio, and communication system.  There is plenty of room in our "new" Ford Escape for loading groceries from the Kroeger Fred Meyer's in our Orchards area.  Or, room for moving gardening supplies and plants, boxes, travel gear, clothing, lunches and coffee, and recreational gear.  This SUV model has new tires, good handling and AWD stability and adaptability, good lights, and versatile rain and cold controls for comfort and safety.  Our SUV is silver in color.  

99.9% of the time there are either one or two persons in the car.  We will not be towing anything, or carrying any gear on the hard top of this Ford Escape vehicle.  We rarely camp anymore; and stay in motels, cabins, or hotels.  Besides suitcases, we have a variety of recreational gear (boots, camera, backpack, maps, emergency supplies, raingear, tools, folding chairs, blankets, backup food and water, backup clothing, toiletries, auto stuff, etc.) to carry on some day trips or overnight trips.  Plenty of room for two travelers and their gear and stuff!!  

This kind of newer used card should provide good service for our uses for many years in Southwestern Washington, Clark County, Washington.  We have traveled many U. S Interstate  highways and roads, Washington and Oregon State roads, U.S. Forest Service Roads, local Clark County roads and backroads into and through and over the Cascades to the east of Vancouver, WA. This Ford Escape should have plenty of power and safety features for two auto travelers in our typical 150 mile and less radius of travel ... Portland Metro and Beyond from Desert to Mountains to River Valleys to the Pacific. 

Buying a Used Car

We purchased a 2003 Ford Explorer for $3,000 in 2016.  We have put in probably under $2,500 in maintenance since then.  Thus, over five years for $5,500, not, of course, including gasoline.  

We have traveled in this 2003 Explorer between Red Bluff, California up to Portland and then north to Bellingham, Washington.  From  Okanagon, WA, Hanford, Yakima, all parts of The Columbia Gorge, the high deserts of the Columbia Plateau, and everywhere in Oregon.  The fabulous Pacific Coast from Bodega Bay, CA, to Port Orford, OR, to Cape Flattery, Makah Indian Reservation, Neah Bay, WA.  

We have many fond memories of our travels together, Karen and I.  Also, many trips with family and friends.  That old reliable 2003 Ford Explorer tackled all the hills and valleys of the Cascades, and provide all the suburban ease (e.g., good heat in the SUV, space for outdoor recreation gear, etc.).  

However, it is now time for me to give this old 2003 Ford Explorer to my son to sell and keep the proceeds.  This old Explorer SUV runs fine, has OK tires, 4WD, 120,000 miles, a few rusted areas in roof, ... yet still may have some practical uses for on the cheap (mas o menos $1,300??) for somebody else.      

So, what other used car to choose?  1.  A SUV that my wife is very comfortable driving.  She does most of our driving, because she likes to drive the most and is a very safe driver.  2.  Under the amount we have saved for cash purchasing.  3. Under 40,000 miles.   4. A newer Ford product.  

So, we purchased and are now (2/27/2021), driving a 2018 Ford Escape, Titanium Model, SUV, AWD, 4 cylinder, 2.0 L engine, 22-27 mpg.  This SUV has 35,100 miles on its bones and engine.  The 2.0 L Turbocharged engine can put out 245 horsepower.  Reviews?  

The Ford Escape SUV has many safety features and road handling AWD capabilities, and meets all the Washington State emission control and road safety standards of 2018. This model uses a Sony electronic, audio, and communication system.  There is plenty of room in our "new" Ford Escape for loading groceries from the Kroeger Fred Meyer's in the Orchards area.  Or, room for moving gardening supplies and plants, boxes, travel gear, clothing, lunches and coffee, and recreational gear.  This SUV model has new tires, good handling and AWD stability and adaptability, good lights, and is silver in color.  

99.9% of the time there are either one or two persons in the car.  We will not be towing anything, or carrying any gear on the hard top of this Ford Escape vehicle.  We rarely camp anymore; and stay in motels, cabins, or hotels.  Besides suitcases, we have a variety of recreational gear (boots, camera, backpack, maps, emergency supplies, raingear, tools, folding chairs, blankets, backup food and water, backup clothing, toiletries, auto stuff, etc.) to carry on some day trips or overnight trips.  Plenty of room for two travelers!!  

This kind of newer used card should provide good service for our uses for many years in Southwestern Washington, Clark County, Washington.  We have traveled many U. S Interstate  highways and roads, Washington and Oregon State roads, U.S. Forest Service Roads, local Clark County roads and backroads into and through and over the Cascades to the east of Vancouver, WA. This Ford Escape should have plenty of power and safety features for two auto travelers in our typical 150 mile and less radius of travel ... Portland Metro and Beyond from Desert to Mountains to River Valleys to the Pacific. 

Post from 2019

Travel and Camping in 2019

Traveling in an SUV (2003 Ford Explorer)
2019-2020
Northwest United States and British Columbia
Camping Notes, Equipment, Plans, Experiences
By Mike Garofalo
January 2019

Travel in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, and B.C.
Books, Maps, Travel Guides, Natural History Manuals, Maps
Bibliography, Links, References, Notes
By Mike Garofalo
From 2006-2019

My Travel Plans for 2019-2020

I write about these short travel adventures in my Cloud Hands Blog. Follow the adventures by the Category Labels: Oregon, Southwestern Washington, Washington, Travel, Camping.

Travel and Camping in 2019

Traveling in an SUV (2003 Ford Explorer)
2019-2020
Northwest United States and British Columbia
Camping Notes, Equipment, Plans, Experiences
By Mike Garofalo
January 2019

Travel in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, and B.C.
Books, Maps, Travel Guides, Natural History Manuals, Maps
Bibliography, Links, References, Notes
By Mike Garofalo
From 2006-2019

My Travel Plans for 2019-2020

I write about these short travel adventures in my Cloud Hands Blog. Follow the adventures by the Category Labels: Oregon, Southwestern Washington, Washington, Travel, Camping.