Saturday August 31, Rivers End Campground, Chinook

Woke this morning at 6.30, looked out the window and saw a dawn that promised a stunning day and the sea fog had gone. I just had to grab the camera and head down to the beach for a few shots before the colour disappeared. By the time we were packed up at 9.30, the sun was shining with a blue sky, felt so good. Popped along to say good bye to Liz and took some photos of her, will send them to on so she can share them with her family. Liz is an amazing lady and certainly doesn’t look her 77 years, she really enjoys life and the simple pleasures of making the most of every moment.

It was back on the road, retracing our steps as we head south. The roads were quite busy as it was the first day of the long weekend. Stopped in Aberdeen for some fresh fruit and vegetables, it is a mill town but with the closure of many of the mills, it has a rather sad look. The drive south to Raymond was through forested areas, and it is very similar to Aberdeen with a town that is trying hard to survive with little employment. Stopped beside the Willapa Harbour just out of town for a late lunch, really warm with temperatures in the high 20’s, time to get the sleeveless tops on.

Near the end of our travels in 2011 we had spent 5 days over the Labour Weekend at a really great camp near the mouth of the Columbia River where we gave Ruakiwi a good spruce up ready for storage. Most of the campers are regulars and have formed great friendships. It was kept so immaculately, everyone was so friendly and when we left we said we would be back. So this was our destination and hoped that there would be a space for us. Well what a welcome back we got, there were big hugs from the people we had met last time, they had been wondering if they would see us again. We caught up with everyone over drinks at 5 o’clock happy hour…felt we had never been away.

Also mentioned to the camp owner our troubles with the loo, he not only serviced these for years, but also had a new one in his shed that could replace ours if required. Said we need not worry about it, can fix it here….whew what a relief.

By the end of the evening Ian had been asked to go salmon fishing with Doug and Mitch, and their wives Mary and Jane had asked if I would like to go to the Astoria market…..as you can imagine we never hesitated, just wonderful. And Karen arrived with fresh corn for dinner and Jane brought us a homegrown tomato…just spoilt, a real welcome.