Hidden Treasures

Randy Leonard

Immediately after the results of last year’s disastrous November election, which saw most of my votes go to the losing side, I was inspired to write this piece.

Towards the end of my “Anna Mathilde” post I made the following comment;

“My wife and I this week agreed we want to see more of the back roads of Oregon. We are going to buy a small trailer to tow … within Oregon’s boundaries, we have great people and great earth to ground ourselves in.”

I thought some Blue Oregon readers might be interested in an update of our progress in acquiring and using a travel trailer to rediscover Oregon.

One word of caution. If you are looking for a Gerry Frank type of vacation guide for out of town travelers, you may be disappointed. We are talking trailer parks and parking lots here folks.

With that one note of caution, I am going to make some recommendations based on our Aljo excursions to those whose travel budget is as skinny as our family’s.

Within weeks of last years post, we did indeed purchase a small 16 foot, 1995 “Aljo” travel trailer.

Although I didn’t know it when I bought it, our Aljo turned out to be a “fixer upper”. In fact, it had so much dry rot in the floors and walls, I briefly considered changing it's name from "Aljo" to "Phoenix". However, the silver lining in all of the work I had to do to repair and restore our little Aljo was that I got to reconstruct the interior and exterior in a way that made much better use of its limited space, in addition to using quality materials such as real wood paneling.

Suffice it to say, our cheap little Aljo with a fold down bed is now a comfortable haven comprised of a Queen bed, 72” couch that also folds down into a double bed, a stove, oven, double sink, microwave, am/fm/cd player (including outside speakers to enjoy my favorite 60’s and 70’s Rock and Roll), a built in 15 inch plasma TV with a built in DVD player, reading lamps, air conditioning, an ac/propane hot water heater, a full bathroom with toilet, sink and shower and more storage space than we have stuff to store. I also added a solar panel on the roof so that we could sit in a remote location without electricity and exist solely off the two 12 volt batteries for days on end.

Although I can no longer claim it was cheap (a not insignificant life crisis for a Virgo), our Aljo was transformed into a comfortable retreat that has been rebuilt with convenience and quality in mind, albeit within a fairly tight space (and budget). Wanting to store our increasingly valuable little home away from home out of the elements, I had one of our garage doors made larger (and before you ask, yes, duly permitted and inspected by the City of Portland) so I could back the Aljo into the garage and keep it safe, sound and, most importantly, dry.

So, all total, I have about $13,000 invested in the trailer and garage modifications. Not as cheap as I had hoped, but “bargains” have a way of rarely turning out to be a “bargain” (no tram jokes, Jack, please).

Now for the fun part. First, although I wrote in my piece last year that Julie and I would travel the back roads of Oregon, I have to make a confession. I have always found confined boundaries overly restrictive. Thus, our resurrected Aljo is, I am proud to say, truly an international traveler. Just last month I pulled the Aljo to visit my son and daughter-in-law in Calgary, Canada (790 miles).

Along the way, I am proud to say, I slept in a parking lot just outside of Sandpoint, Idaho. I had at first pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot, but, imagining Sam Adam’s look of disappointment, I quickly beat feet across the street to the much more respectable Home Depot parking lot. The Aljo and I slept like babies knowing the employees that toiled within were paid family wages. In my first ever trailer camping endorsement, I heartily recommend Home Depot’s parking lots over Wal-Mart’s... without reservation.

The next day I made it to Fairmont Hot Springs located in the British Columbia Canadian Rockies. Fairmont has a great lodge, cabins, motel, restaurant and first class RV park. I got the Aljo settled into her spot and headed for the pool that is filled with the healing hot springs that gives Fairmont its name. The night sky was crystal clear, cold and beautiful. At barely more than 10 hours driving time from Portland, I recommend Fairmont as a destination spot to vacation without breaking the bank. Let it be noted that at Fairmont one can bring an RV or rent a nice, clean and reasonably priced motel room or cabin.

On one of our first Aljo trips last spring, Julie and I headed up to the Olympic Peninsula. In Brinnon, Washington we found this great spot. Pleasant Harbor RV Park is huge and boasts its own oyster bed. We stayed virtually alone in the entire 220 acre park and I gathered oysters that I shucked and we ate for two nights in a row. We sat high atop a hill overlooking the water below safe and sound in the Aljo.

Another cool find, and this time in Oregon, is this hidden gem . Sea Perch RV Park is not fancy…it doesn’t have to be. It is literally right on the beach. If you are looking for ocean front camping and you do not fear sneaker Tsunami's, go no further. This is the place.

A little further south on 101 is Florence, Oregon. Florence is a fairly large size coastal town that has a little something for everyone. Its “old town” consists of many of the same buildings my Great-Great Grandmother saw when she immigrated there from the Kingdom Of Saxony in the 19th century. Up and down the streets of Old Town Florence, there are waterfront restaurants with fabulous food (yes...there is even a Mo's). With a contented appetite you can meander through the many shops that make up Old Town Florence. As much as I like Newport, Florence is not as hectic and is more suited for what the overly stimulated/urbanized brain requires to regain its balance.

If you want to be able to take a short one block walk to old town, stay at the Port of Siuslaw’s RV Park. It is located right on the Siuslaw River and is quiet and clean. We prefer walking to driving and the Port of Siuslaw RV Park is our haven of choice when in Florence.

However, we did drive through a great Lane County RV park located right on the ocean. Although you will need to drive to old town Florence from here, Harbor Vista County Park is located right on the Pacific Ocean. If you plan to stay there, reserve sites 11, 12 or 13. They are the closest to the beach.

About 3 miles south and 15 miles east of Florence is Ada Fishing Resort . My grandson Cole and I headed there last fall for his first ever fishing trip. We stayed right on the lake and were able to rent a boat to get out into the place we needed to be for Cole to catch his first fish. It is run by a young husband and wife team who are first rate hosts. We opened the door of the Aljo every morning to a beautiful lake that was teeming with more kinds of fish than I have room to name here. They also have cabins and motel rooms for the RV-less.

If you’re looking for a place to camp and fish with the kids, Ada’s the place.

If you have stuck with me this long into this post, you too are a”traveling on the cheap” junkie. I have a quite a few spots, including this intriguing looking hot springs, we will be heading to soon. If you are interested in this kind of post, I am happy to update you with our latest “back roads” finds.

And remember that a number of these locations we visit have cabins and/or motel rooms that are generally very affordable (read cheap).

Good Traveling!

By Randy Leonard Nov. 27, 2005