campgrounds – Riveted

Our Airstream in Nature

Laura Domela — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:54:45 +0000

Here’s where we keep our collection of travel photos of our Airstream looking pretty in the environment.

Athabasca Glacier, Canada

Icefields Parkway, Canada

Bodega Bay, CA

Calistoga, CA

Porto Bodega Marina, Bodega Bay, CA

Skamokawa Vista Park (WA) dry camping

Hobuck Beach, Makah Bay, Olympic Peninsula

South Beach Campground, Olympic Peninsula, WA

Stub Stewart State Park, Oregon

Skamokawa Vista Park, near Cathlamet, WA

Champoeg State Park, OR

Price Canyon Recreation Area, Utah

On the road somewhere, no clue

Southwest corner of Kansas

Biloxi, Mississippi

Grayton Beach State Park, Florida panhandle

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Port St. Joe, Florida

Long Key State Park, Florida Keys

Curry Hammock State Park, Florida Keys

Somewhere in the Florida Keys

Passing Pigeon Key, Florida Keys

Curry Hammock State Park, Florida Keys

Bluewater Key Resort, Florida

Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

On the Kentucky River, Frankfort, Kentucky

Churchill Downs parking lot, Louisville, Kentucky

Hwy 101, Oregon Coast

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Rapid City, South Dakota

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Missoula, Montana

Lookout Pass area, between Missoula, MT and Spokane, WA

Lake Pleasant RV Park, Bothell, WA

Armitage Park, Eugene, OR

Champoeg State Park, OR

Stub Stewart State Park, OR

Sea Perch RV/Campground, Yachats, OR

Bob Creek parking lot off of Hwy 101, Yachats, OR (shooting for Coastal Living Magazine)

Highway 101, Southern Oregon Coast

Nehalem Bay State Park, Manzanita, OR

Skamokawa Vista Park, near Cathlamet, WA

Stub Stewart State Park, OR

Billings, Montana

Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

Champoeg State Park, Oregon

Village of Trees RV Resort

Laura Domela — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:44:48 +0000

Here's a photo of our campsite in the Village of Trees:

CampsitePhotos.com

Laura Domela — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 15:21:00 +0000

Okay so maybe I'm late to the party, but whatever, I'm here now! This is a fantastic site, and sounds like it's going to be growing more fantastic-er in the very near future. They've got 600 campgrounds (with all sites photographed) and will add another 100+ this year (mostly in Northwest, but other states too).

You search for sites by state or region, and then once at the park's page, you can look at every single campsite (as well as get some general information about the campground.

This is Cultus Lake, in the Cascade Lake Highway area in Oregon:

(Photos: www.campsitephotos.com)

Check it out (unless you already know about it and are rolling your eyes thinking "What kind of Airstream travel bloggers are you guys that you've never heard of this site before? Slackers.")

Don’t be breaking The Rules, yo

Laura Domela — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:13:29 +0000

As I said, we're at Columbia Riverfront RV Park for a few days this week. We've stayed here once before and it's a pretty park with nice views of the river from the waterfront spots, lots of nice amenties, clean, well taken care of, but it's got a weird vibe. The first time we were here it felt the same amount of "off", but sometimes you just chalk it up to mood or whatever was going on that day when you checked in. But nope. It's the same the second time around. We were trying to figure it out yesterday after we realized we both had the same "kinda yucky" feeling about this place, even though in every other way it's super nice.

This park is definitely one of the "amenity-rich" parks. Full hookups, laundry, nice little store, good DVD loaner library, propane, cable tv, Wi-Fi, manicured and landscaped grounds, and I haven't been to them but I'm sure the showers are sparkly and clean. You exit the freeway and drive several miles toward the Columbia River through some pretty farmland to get here. It's about 20 miles to Portland, and there's a brand new big WalMart at the same exit from I-5 (if that's of interest to you).

But the thing is that when you arrive and check in, the main focus is The Rules. Don't extend any part of your RV over the grass. You don't have dogs, do you? We have a very strict leash law. No fires. No noise, and you'd better have a threaded locking sewer fitting. Any visitors? We have more rules for them. We have Wi-Fi but don't exceed the download limit or we'll shut you down. Trash has to be tied securely in plastic bags… etc. etc.

Of course there are always rules, but it seems that when you show up at a "vacation destination" the focus might better be on "Look how great our park is! You're gonna love it here! We have a life-sized chess set out there on the lawn, and a pool, and you can watch the ships go by from your picnic table. Oh and here's the list of rules. Please don't break 'em." Luckily, we're pretty low maintenance and mainly we follow The Rules by default. There's nothing else really negative…it's just that the overall feeling you start with here could be better.

**(Also, when you come to a AAA- or GoodSam-endorsed park, usually the staff asks you if you are a member — for the slight discount you get. Here, the AAA and GoodSam logos are all over the place, and as the woman at the front desk was ringing me up I asked if they offered a AAA discount, and she said all deadpan and a little grumpily, "We do if you ask us." Doesn't that seem a little odd and sneaky-like? I dunno, it made it feel adversarial in some strange way. I'm checking into an RV Park, not haggling for a deal on a car!)

The staff is friendly enough (if a little cold), but I have to say it does feel like you're interrupting something they'd rather be doing when you call to make a reservation (and when you arrive at the park, for that matter). Overall, it's a bit like if you were visiting your step-father's aunt who doesn't like kids in her formal living room where everything is white and the shelves are full of figurines made of glass threads and eggshells that she spent her entire life collecting and she's certain that any minute you are gonna fuck up and ruin something she loves so for heaven's sake just sit still and don't touch anything.

But it's beautiful here and we have a great view, and hey, cool, another big ship!