Castle Rock, WA

Wednesday, October 9

Andi was up early for a work call this morning … and when one person wakes up in our tiny no-privacy 24’ RV, we’re all up. While he was gone, I blogged for a bit on my computer and texted back and forth with my mom. Aden was up shortly thereafter and laid in bed with me watching cartoons.

Our RV’s house batteries were low after running the heater all night, so when Andi returned we decided to start driving to charge the batteries back up and do school closer to our next destination. We said good-bye to the beautiful Hoh Rainforest and waved to a fellow Minnesotan in the parking lot as we pulled away. “You can tell she’s from the Midwest,” Andi said. “She waved to us from the elbow.” We had a good laugh about that because it’s so true! While we have thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Pacific Northwest, I wouldn’t say Washingtonians are overly friendly. They are friendly enough, of course; just not wave-until-their-arm-is-about-to-fall-off kind-of people. It felt nice to have a little taste of home.

Ruby Beach, one of the most famous beaches along the Pacific Northwest coast, was an hour’s drive southwest from Hoh Rainforest. We decided to stop there first on our way down Washington’s Highway 101. It was about 9:30am when we arrived and sunny but windy. Andi parked our RV in the already busy parking lot and together the four of us walked down the path leading to the beach.

This beach was interesting, for sure. Busy with people. Littered with weathered, beautiful pieces of driftwood. Loud with crashing waves hitting the rocky shore.

Right away, Tory and Aden got to work building “forts” with pieces of driftwood. Tory was in the zone collecting pieces of wood along the beach while instructing Aden where he should put his findings. As a parent, it’s fun to sit back and let them work/play/argue on a project together.

“Hey, Mom! I found this for you. It’s a heart.” - Aden

Geez, this kid knows how to butter me up.

The four of us walked along the shore and ended up spending about two hours at Ruby Beach. It was a really pretty spot.

As we walked back to our RV when it was time to go, Andi offered to take a picture for a couple doing the awkward selfie pose. Then, they offered to return the favor.

Back in the RV, we continued our drive south on Highway 101 toward Kalaloch Beach, about 15 minutes away. Andi and I thought we’d camp at Kalaloch Campground that night, though it’s been hard to predict where we’ll end up staying as campground availability varies in the Washington off-season. Some campgrounds are completely closed down for winter. Others are open and virtually empty without any campground services provided and surprisingly, others are packed full of RVers without a rhyme or a reason as to why they’re so busy. As it turned out, Kalaloch Campground was the later of the three. While it’s not directly located on the water, the campground is big with 168 sites, some overlooking the water, and most all of them were full when we arrived. Andi circled around the various campground loops several times looking for the “perfect spot” to park our RV for the night. Some were too overgrown with bushes. Some were too un-level. All of the “good spots” overlooking the water were taken. Cellular service was spotty at best and in the end, Andi ad I just weren’t feeling this place. On top of that, Andi thought he was coming down with a migraine. We decided to keep driving.

We pulled over at South Beach, just south of Kalaloch, to have lunch. It was such a nice, sunny day outside that I hated to sit inside the RV. So, I pulled out the picnic blanket we’d been carrying around for nearly 4,000 miles and whipped together a quick “snack lunch” for everyone — deli turkey, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, hummus, cheese and crackers. Really, this view couldn’t be beat! All the while, Andi was feeling worse and worse.

After lunch, we hopped back into the RV. I turned on a TV show for the kids and Andi laid down on the back bed to rest. I started driving south on Highway 101, not exactly sure where were heading for the night. Maybe we’d stop in Ocean City, WA as the fellow travelers we’d met yesterday recommended? Or, maybe we’d drive far enough to say good-bye to the Olympic Peninsula for good as we found our way back into mainland Washington? Our gas tank was full, the weather was sunny and clear, and I was in the mood to drive.

In the end, I ended up driving about 3 hours to Castle Rock, Washington — the western base of Mount Saint Helens. Andi felt better after resting for an hour or so during our drive, and we decided to keep on going as both Mount Saint Helens and Mount Rainier were on our wish-list of places to visit.

Andi called ahead and reserved an available campsite at the KOA Campground in Castle Rock. We were all in need of showers and needed to do laundry as well. We’d read mixed reviews about this campground, but decided to take a change on it and it turned out to be awesome. Super kid friendly with lots of Halloween decorations, a friendly campground host and bonus — we met another RV family from Texas with three little kids about Tory and Aden’s ages. The kids all hit it off immediately.

We grilled brats for dinner and then headed to the KOA clubhouse to meet up with the family from Texas. The kids played pool and made Halloween crafts together while Andi talked with the dad about traveling and I did some laundry. We closed down the KOA clubhouse at 8:00pm.

It was fun meeting another family who travels in their RV full-time, and reaffirmed that we’re not as crazy as we sometimes think we are. It feels like a gift to spend so much time together as a family exploring our country & teaching our kids along the way. I honestly thought we’d meet MORE families doing the same thing. Tomorrow, we’d say good-bye to our new friends and move along our separate paths. Luckily, there’s the internet so we can follow along each other’s journeys & just maybe our paths will cross again one day. Tomorrow — Mount Saint Helens.