USA Archives - Our View From The Road

Recap and Statistics (revised)

*** Revision: Turns out that I got the math wrong when converting USG to Litres which understated the amount of fuel purchased while in the U.S. I have attached a revised image below and left the original so that you can see the difference. ***

It’s been a few weeks since arriving home after our Cross-continent tour and it’s about time I shared some statistics from the trip.

The first question is always about where we stayed each night. Did we find suitable camping locations? So, here are the stats for that.

21 nights free camping. This includes family, Harvest Hosts locations, BLM camping and parking lots.
5 nights at private campgrounds.
18 nights at a National, State or Provincial parks. These were all serviced sites.

That’s a total of 44 nights of camping in our van. Which leads us to, where did we go? Here’s a map that shows you our route.

Lastly, how much fuel did we use and what did it cost. Here is a table for you to review.

Original (wrong) # of liters purchased in the U.S.

So there you have it, a few statistics about the trip. Hoping you find them interesting.

Day 31: Nothing to declare

Oooof…. 5:30am. We’re up & heading for a shower (which gets 4/10 because of very small size & clingy shower curtain). Why so early you ask? We have an early reservation for the Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC ferry. Yep, we are leaving the U.S. after almost a month of travel, it’s time to head back into Canada.

Showered we get the van ready for the day and are driving off site by 6:45am. Traffic is fairly light and this makes our drive back into town to the wharf easy and quick. Black Ball Ferries require us to check-in a minimum of one hour before the ferry “Coho” departs at 8:20am, we make it with a few minutes to spare.

A cup of coffee and a banana are enjoyed while we wait to board which begins shortly before 8:00am. We make our way up to the top deck in order to have the best views back across town to the Olympic mountains.

The ferry is relatively full with most passengers having walked-on. The Salish Sea is mill pond calm and we see a few seabirds fishing for breakfast but no whales or seals today while crossing. Arriving in the Victoria inner harbour, our departure and clearance through Canada Customs takes about 30min. We head towards Langford, BC where we enjoy breakfast at a White Spot restaurant before getting groceries for the week.

The weather for today is predicted to go from sunny this morning to rain later in the afternoon. As such we have changed our plans to try to avoid the heaviest rains and are now heading to my parents home a day ahead of schedule for a few days of rest and relaxation.

We’ll catch-up with you again when we resume our journey next week. All the best and thanks for following our adventures.

Day 30: To the state of Washington

Oregon was wet, it rained a lot. Of course if you’ve been reading along you will have already observed this, but it does feel like I need to say it again, Oregon was wet.

Fort Stevens State Park has the best showers of the Oregon state parks we stayed at. 8/10. They only lose points for being push-button (timed) showers and bare concrete floors. All other requirements of a shower were easily met, especially privacy & cleanliness.

Today is a driving day, we leave Oregon and head across Washington to Port Angeles. Astoria, OR is the last town that we pass through on our way to Washington. Today there is a cruise ship docked in port, visitors are likely on a ‘Goonies’ sightseeing tour.

Washington state has a lot of trees, it’s about all you see as drive through it. We took pictures as you will see below, but didn’t stop at any touristy places. The drive was about the destination as it was 4 hours plus a break for lunch.

Arriving in Port Angeles we went down to the wharf and ate an early dinner at the Downriggers on the Water restaurant and enjoyed a clam chowder and a sandwich.

On our way to our campsite we topped off with fuel and then arrived at the KOA campground just East of town. Tonight we get everything in order to re-enter Canada.

Tomorrow will be an early morning as we are booked into the 8:20am ferry heading for Victoria, BC.

Day 29: Fort Stevens State Park

Our last day in the U.S. without driving anywhere. We slept in and enjoyed a relaxing morning while we waited for things to dry out from last nights rain. The sun was supposed to appear today and the afternoon was going to be glorious.

Barb prepared a delicious brunch fry-up after which I finished reading a second book on this trip and then we retrieved the bikes from the bike rack and prepared to go for a ride about the park.

From our last visit here in 2022 we know that the park is laced with paved bike paths making cycling a great way to get about this rather large park. We started by heading towards the dunes and then cycling down to the beach access allowing us to ride on the beach. The tide was out and the sand wonderfully flat. The cool weather was keeping most people hunkered in their trailers, this meant that the cycling trails and the beach were very quiet.

Oddly I was able to utilize 3 bars of 5G connectivity on the beach but only 1 bar of LTE while on our campsite. I took the opportunity to complete and post yesterday’s blog post from the beach while sitting on a driftwood log. The wind was biting (no sunshine) and so shortly after I had posted the entry we headed back inland toward the campground.

After securing the bikes back onto the bike rack we relaxed in the van for the afternoon as yet another brief shower passed over the area. For dinner, chicken fajitas were followed by an evening of TV. Tomorrow we head to Port Angeles, WA where we will spend our last night in the U.S.

Day 28: To Fort Stevens State Park

One last leg along the Oregon coast awaits us today. Surprise! It rained overnight and continues to drizzle as we get ready for the day. Showers are the stock same as the other Oregon state parks but these seem to have been renovated slightly with new fittings and lights making them feel brighter and cleaner. Hot water (good) so they get a 7/10.

We depart our site at 10:00am and join the line-up to dump our tanks. We leave the park at 10:30am. Our first stop of the day is at “The Devils Punchbowl”. It’s a natural rock arch through which the waves break into what was a large cave before the roof collapsed. Now in certain conditions the waves break and shoot skyward. Not when we arrived however as the tide was not yet at its highest, although the weather and sea conditions made it look like it might have been quite a spectacle later in the day.

The road along this section of US-101 has at times subsided and as such it was quite bumpy and we had to pay attention to the warning signs regarding speed or suffer the consequences of our belongings being flung about the van.

Arriving in Tillamook, OR we stopped first at “The Blue Heron French Cheese Company” where we sampled some lovely cheeses and picked a few pieces up for eating later. We then, of course, made our way to the “Tillamook Creamery” where we visited their museum and viewed the creamery workers making and packaging cheese. The visit concluded with a trip through the gift shop and finally lunch at their cafe where cheese was prominent in all menu choices. Yummy!

The coast ‘softened’ as we headed further North with more of the coast now being wide open sandy beaches dotted with Summer getaway towns such as Rockaway Beach (not the one made famous by The Ramones). We made a stop at a viewpoint high on a cliff top and captured some beautiful shots of this portion of the coast.

We make a quick detour into Warrenton, OR to get a few groceries & fill up with fuel at Fred Meyers. Maybe, just maybe better than H.E.B. in Texas. Barb is smitten.

A short drive from Warrenton we arrive at Fort Stevens State Park where we will camp for the next two nights. This is our second time here as we camped here two years ago and had a great time.

Settling in the for the night under the trees. Good night everyone!