Moving Day to South Beach State Park

Location: South Beach State Park (el 15 ft); South Beach, Oregon

(click pictures to enlarge)
(all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia 929 Cell Phone)

I moved campgrounds day before yesterday (Monday) so I'm a little behind on posting. Bullards Campground emptied out pretty quickly on Sunday. Spring break was over and all the kids were due back in school. By mid afternoon the park went from being full to only about a dozen of us travelers. As I walked around the nearly empty park, I looked inside a Yurt. A Yurt is like an Indian teepee but has a domed roof. The state parks in Oregon have several yurts they rent out to people without RV's or tents. They seem to be very popular.  

A Yurt. The covering is a heavy canvass/plastic with a plastic domed skylight at the top. Each site comes with the porch, picnic table and fire ring.

Looking inside the Yurt has a bunkbed (larger bed on bottom), a couch and to the left out of the picture is a table and chairs. In the back is a window and heater.

I hitched up Monday with only a short tow of about 100 miles to the next campground. Before leaving, I decided to try something I bought last year. It has been traveling around in my storage compartment and I wasn't even sure if it would work. I put it in storage and somewhat forgot about it. It is called a Trailer Aid and is used to change tires on a twin axle trailer without using a jack. I had a tire changed last year when I was camped outside of Washington D.C. and used my roadside assistance plan. The guys showed up and used a hydraulic jack to get the tire off. I didn't like that and dreaded the thought of having to do that on the side of the road in whatever dirt the shoulder of the road may have in place. I had heard about the Trailer Aid but never was able to find one in the stores so I ordered it from Walmart and picked it up before Thanksgiving. It worked like a charm and did exactly what it was suppose to do. The other tire is lifted about 1 1/2 inches off the ground just by driving up the ramp. It is a comforting feeling knowing I have that with me and I'll use it even if the roadside people change the tire.  

The Trailer Aid worked very good. It raised the back tire by about 1 1/2 inches off the ground. The stacks of leveling blocks in front of the ramp is not part of the Trailer Aid. I put my blocks there in case I drove off the ramp. Since I travel solo, I don't have a whoa'er (person hollering "whoa"), so I needed some insurance about overrunning the ramp.

This was a surprise. I've stayed in dozens of state parks around the country but have never seen a "Dump Station Donations" box at the dump station. I assume it is for people that dump their tanks but are not staying in the park. 

There are several bridges like this on Highway 101. I got lucky and was stopped by a road crew so I could take this picture. "Top Arch" bridges constructed of concrete are not very common. I also like the decorative columns.

This is one of those spots where you pop out of the woods and see the ocean. Each and every one is always a "wow" moment for me, and yes, I say "wow" out loud. 

My plan was to stay at Beachside State Park for 5 days. When I got there and drove to my campsite, it was painfully obvious that Liberty was too tall to fit. There were several tree limbs about 10 feet off the ground and right over the campsite. Looking around at the other campsite, most were in the same condition. Liberty tops out at 12 1/2 feet high so I just turned around an went back to the office. They refunded my money and I pulled out and headed north to another state park that I had looked at but rejected in favor of Beachside. It was only about 15 miles north so I headed that way to see what they had to offer. Serendipity struck again and this park, South Beach State Park, is more open, closer to a city, better cell signal, prettier, cleaner, etc, etc. Everything happens for a reason. I guess I'll find out why I'm here eventually. 

Campsite in South Beach State Park. Notice this park is almost empty as well. I would guess it is about 20% filled. 

The ocean is about 1/2 mile away from the campground with a couple paths leading to the beach. After getting set up, I took a walk to see the beach. 

The path starts out as a hard surface through the woods

The trees are mostly covered in moss. I'm not sure if this is what is called, "old man's beard". I'm still checking on that.

The path comes out of the woods and into a sand dunes area covered in grass.

Along the way, I found a "thinking bench". It overlooks the grassland and trees. In the distant background is the bridge leading to Newport. Notice the bumblebee in the upper left corner. I didn't notice him until I downloaded the picture.

The hard surface path ends and the sand path begins as you get closer to the sand dunes.

The view as you top out on the dunes. 

Looking north. Those jetties are protecting and outlining the Yaquina River.

Looking south. Cloudy day with patchy rain

Looking back in the direction of the campground

I'll be here for 5 days before moving farther north. The weather has taken a turn for the worse with daytime highs predicted to be in the low to mid 50's and nighttime lows in the lower 40's. Rain is coming in waves about every 2 hours but so far none have been strong thunderstorms. If the wind picks up, we are well protected by the sand dunes and trees between us and the ocean. My ceramic heaters are keeping it about 65 degrees inside Liberty. It is a little nippy but a really good sleeping temperature. I'm having to be careful about keeping the two heaters on low so I don't trip a breaker since I am on 30 amp service.

I'll be doing some exploring in between the rains.  

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.