Fall Views Campground

Yesterday was my first travel day and I've already violated a rule.  The 230 rule says I shouldn't travel more than 230 miles or stop by 2:30 PM, whichever comes first.  I left Barton County Park near fabulous Boring, OR around 10:30 AM.  I didn't make it to the Fall Views Campground, near Quilcene, WA until 4:00 PM.

I drove up I-5 to equally fabulous Tumwater, WA, former home of Olympia Brewing, a defunct old brewery from my youth.  (A beer I've never tasted, by the way.)

Tumwater is also where Highway 101 begins.  I'm not sure why it starts so far from the coast but my guess is that since it wraps around the Olympic peninsula, it made sense to someone to continue using the designation.  Highway 101 (in Washington and Oregon) and Highway 1 (in California) is my basic travel route for the next 3+ months.

When I left yesterday morning I wasn't quite sure where I was gonna camp.  After taking a look at a bunch of options, I finally called the local NFS ranger station.  I asked about the Big Creek Campground, which looked like a good spot but found it was closed for renovations (for the last two years, btw).  They recommended Fall Views, which was a bit further up the highway and "usually the last to fill up."

Fall Views Campground is your basic National Forest Service (NFS) campground.  Pretty basic with no hookups for RVers but a picnic table and fire ring in each site.  There are something like 30 spots and less than a third are occupied today.

Rudy and I hiked a short trail along the Quilcene River this morning. Except for climbing back up a couple of hundred feet at the end, it was an easy and very pleasant hike.  I did some experimenting with my new GoPro and hope to upload something later this week.

Tomorrow Rudy and I are headed to Port Townsend for a bit of urban camping and, well, a cider festival on Saturday. (Big surprise, right?)