Weekly seems about as often as I can accumulate enough to post.  I left Garibaldi last Tuesday and moved farther north to Warrenton, OR.  The drive was mostly along more beautiful Oregon coastline.  Y'All may be getting tired of it, but here are a couple more shots:

You may notice that there are few people on the beaches:  It's too darned cold!  I don't think I've seen a bathing suit in Oregon.  About 60*F in these photos -- in mid-July!!!

In seeking a place to stay in N. Oregon, I came across a unique little military post, Camp Rilea (Rye-Lee'-Uh), just south of Warrenton.  It's an Oregon National Guard training facility; VERY neat and clean, and barely populated -- I only saw two soldiers during 4 days there. They're there somewhere though:  Firing on a range close over the hill behind the campsite was almost continuous until well after dark most days.  I did see a lot of high school football players -- maybe 10 teams at a time on several football fields.  Apparently they hold summer camps there when no military exercises are in progress.  The RV park is small: 10 full hookup sites and 6 dry sites (30A only).  I got the last of the dry sites -- for $5 per night!  The inconvenience of dumping as I left was worth the $15 per day I saved vs full hookups. :-)  Here's a view of the campsite from across the base; the buildings are typical of the 50 or so that constitute the entire facility:

During my stay at Rilea, I hit the local sights:  Fort Calstop, Lewis & Clark's winter quarters in 1805 at the western end of their journey.  This link will tell you far more than I can:  http://www.nps.gov/lewi/planyourvisit/fortclatsop.htm but here's a photo of the replica of the fort, which should be pretty accurate, considering the quality of the records they kept:

Fort Stevens State Park was my next stop:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Stevens_(Oregon)  Very slightly established during the War Between the States, Fort Stevens was greatly enlarged during WW I, and further reinforced during WW II.  From Wikipedia:  "On the nights of June 21 and 22, 1942, the Japanese submarine I-25 fired 17 shells at Fort Stevens, making it the only military installation in the continental United States to receive hostile fire during World War II (the oil fields in Santa Barbara, California that were also shelled by the Japanese military, was not considered a military installation)"  

There was no damage from the shelling and no return fire was initiated.  Things are pretty decrepit now, but I was impressed with the WW I construction.  They invested a lot of funds and effort for what I'd considered a minor threat.

On to Astoria, which turned out to be one of my favorite places in Oregon.  The view from the hilltop above Astoria, where Astoria Column is located, is beautiful:

Columbia River to the NW.  Every other direction yields views as pretty.

The Flavel House Museum, was the home of Astoria's first millionaire.  It's typical of the late 1890's, earlly 1900's artifacts which so impressed me.  The downdown area is largely abandoned, as are most across the country.  But this one seems less seedy than most.  There are the usual "artsey" shops, but they seem to be of a higher quality than most, yet not "put-offishly" so.  It's hard to explain, but it was a more comfortable place to be than most I've visited.  On Sunday, as I departed, I stopped back downtown.  Several streets were blocked off and covered with individual vendor's stalls; apparently they do that every Sunday.  Lots of crafts, vegetables, fruits, and pastries for sale.  Yet, somehow, a "hometown" feel to it all.  I wouldn't mind returning there.

This morning, I left Astoria behind, taking Rt. 30 over to I-5 North to the Tacoma area.  USAF and the Army have a "joint" base here:  http://www.oldoregon.com/visitor-info/entry/audio-tours-of-astoria-warrenton/

Residual from their days as separate operations, there is a USAF FamCamp and an Army Campground.  The Army facility is more modern and well maintained and I'd hoped to get a site there to occupy until after HER arrival in Seattle on the 27th.  But, they take reservations 90+ days in advance and had only one site open for only tonight.  So I moved on to the USAF FamCamp, where we stayed when we passed through here on the way to Alaska in 2000.  I arrived after the office closed and found a notice that all hookup sites were filled but that dry or overflow sites were available.  I chose a dry site and was about to register for it when I found a vacant full hookup site.  The only neighbor I could find thought the previous occupant had left this morning, for good.  So, I moved onto that site and registered for it; no one has come to accuse me of stealing their site, so I'm hopeful I can stay here through next weekend.  At $18 per night, it's a real bargain in an area of $30+ per night campgrounds.

I've got some chores to do while waiting here for HER arrival:  My exhaust system is all assembled with bsnd clamps.  Those are nice for assembly and avoiding damage to mufflers and pipes, and they provide some much-needed compliance or flexibility in the system.  But, that flexibility also means that the system is not real dependable:  The joints loosen up under the kind of severe service they've endured in the past 5600 miles:  I've got noisy leaks and the mufflers are sagging uncomfortably close to the ground.  I've got to find a shop that will correct those problems; I'll probably have some of the joints welded.

With that taken care of, I've got another problem to address:  Yesterday morning I found a wet area in the "middle of the floor".  It's a peculiar shape and location, but I've figured out that it's coming, I think, from the fresh water tank.  A plug at the bottom front of the tank appears to be rubbing on a wooden stringer and to be leaking slightly.  I'm going to have to remove the tank from beneath the right side bed and try to correct that situation, otherwise, we'll have to give up carrying water with us -- a serious problem for some of the places I expect us to visit.

It's bedtime.

Ken