Wednesday, August 5, 2015

It'll do

After a couple of nights again at the Salmon Harbor Marina in Winchester Bay, I headed twenty-something miles south to Coos Bay. Groceries, some frozen yogurt, a little wandering around town, then off to the dry camping area at The Mill Casino.

It's just a big patch of gravel between the highway and the bay. It used to be free, but now they're charging $15 a night. I should go have dinner at the all-you-can-stuff-in-your-gut buffet to make up for it. See how that affects their profit margin.

From what I understand, back in the free days this lot would be packed. Not so much today. Maybe the fee has thinned out the crowd. It's better than being squeezed between big Class A rigs and fifth-wheelers. If I wanted to do that, I could pay more to stay in the casino's actual RV park on the other side of the bushes. As I was registering, there was a woman who was very unhappy about the selection of sites in the campground. There wasn't one available large enough for their RV and cargo trailer. I thought, "Hey, you need room? Come join us out in the gravel patch. You could set up your own village out there."


9 comments:

  1. Far out! I have been trying to comment for ages. It finally worked. Mostly I have trouble remembering passwords.

    Anyhow, I am a regular reader. Found you from Bob' s blog a few months ago. I am also on the Oregon coast, escaping the wildfire smoke over in Ashland. I wanted to tell you that I have no trouble sleeping in my truck on the streets of Florence and Yachats. Now I am in Port Orford. The only place I have noticed anyone getting attention from police is near a marina.

    I have found a couple of $10 state park campgrounds. I will not stay at the crowded ones at any price. Very few have any privacy, like bushes growing in between. Or showers. I think I will explore some back roads next.

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    1. I was just reading some recommendations on other sites for the bluff overlooking the marina in Port Orford. It was on my list. But you say there are some snoopy cops there? Maybe I'll rethink it.

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  2. It's a little after 11:00 and I just noticed the traffic noise is almost nonexistent. An occasional big rig, but nothing like the constant flow of vehicles a few hours ago. So it's not a noisy as I feared it would be. It's a lot quieter than a Walmart parking lot.

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  3. I am in the parking lot next to Redfish a little bit south of Zport Orford and folks stopped here late into the night to use the rest room at the visitors center. That is a little gem of info for truck campers. Actually, the only cop I have seen all week was at

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  4. Winchester Bay yesterday around mid afternoon really hasseling some poor fellow who did not have his old car properly tagged and insured.

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  5. I am interested in those other sites you mentioned. I am going to go check out that bluff.

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    1. I learned about the spot in Port Orford from the comments on this blog post about cheap places to stay on the Oregon Coast:
      http://wheelingit.us/2013/10/02/5-ways-to-rv-the-oregon-coast-for-free-or-almost-free/

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