Along the way to our reservation in Fort Stevens State Park we needed three nights to vamp. Using Campendium.com I located a “city” park in Skamokawa WA that had just had a cancellation for one of their prime spots for the nights we needed. That was for July 5,6,7! 

This very nice park is both a large day use park and an the Columbia River with the main shipping channel just offshore. We explored to Longview WA to the east which has most of the big block stores and very little else to attract us. Getting there we took a bridge and a ferry across the river then proceeded east on the Oregon side crossing back on a bridge to Longview.

Eventually we returned  west on the Washington side of the river. We spotted a tiny museum and pulled in to find one of the volunteers just leaving. We only spent 30 minutes or so learning the history of this tiny niche along the road. Then continued on to the coach.  Back in the park we noted a sign for The Road Kill Saloon across the street so of course we had to walk over and take a look.

We pulled up the jacks on the 8th to take the very long 49 mile drive to Fort Stevens for the site we had been so lucky to get last minute. We stopped at “Dismal Nitch” so named by Lewis and Clarke because here less than a mile upriver from their goal of reaching the Pacific they were held captive by the weather for 6 days. 

Once set up we immediately headed over to the military site to meet up with Diana and George Ruelens who are spending  their summer volunteering giving tours on this 5 Ton Deuce 

I’m not quite sure where they found this driver. 

We have moved on since this post was written and will work on a “catch up” post in the next day or two. 

As I post we are in Evergreen Coho SKP park in Chimacum WA.