...it was Memorial Day weekend 2009.
We made reservations over the phone at Tower Rock campground near Mt. St. Helens. Take Exit 68 - the Mossyrock Exit - and go east toward Helens for 50 miles.
Except we didn't know it was 50 miles and there was no service after about 15.
Then the journey through Confederate Flags, Gun & Burl Stands, Garage Sale Signs began.
We followed the signs to Tower Rock
down Road 28, then Road 76 - past a school zone & RVs.
Until we hit a rundown Texaco that has gas for $9.54.
We had arrived at
...apparently.
Here is what we saw:
Awesome, right?
Now please add dozens of kids running around to pair with the dozens of RVs lined up.
We find a guy/boy loading firewood into a tractor lawn mower, drinking a tallboy of Coor's Light. We told him we were there to check in.
He calls over Hank, let's call him, and he only looks at us confused when we tell him our reservation name.
Then he calls over Shirley, let's call her, and she also looks confused. "Did you make reservations online?" she asks.
"Yes," Travis says, "we called the number."
Pause.
"Oohhh! You're looking for the OTHER Tower Rock campground!" she says.
THANK GOD!!
They give us directions to this lovely government-made sign for Tower Rock Campground.
And then, aside from a van that whirred each time it unlocked, and the same baseline from our neighbors' music, we had a fantastic time
playing Scrabble,
drinking delicious beer,
building fires,
looking for a river that didn't exist,
reenacting Lord of the Rings,
meeting fuzzy friends,
& patiently melting bottles.
Oh, and this bathroom almost made me wretch!
Here is how we left the site. Nice and clean with walking sticks, a fire stick, & rope for hanging a lantern.
Here's to Tower Rock! May we never return but never fear a new campground.
Hahaha I love the LOTR pic. "YOU SHALL NOT PAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS!!!!"
ReplyDeleteyay for camping! and hilarious pictures.
ReplyDeletewhen we went camping out that way we went to mountain loop highway. its up north and pretty easy to find if you google it. its only about an hour and a half outside of the city too...we never called to make reservations and instead just drove around until we found a campsite that had a free spot... it never took long. so thats a suggestion. or you could call the number and make a reservation. haha. but its beautiful up there and theres a river somewhere along there too so it'd be fun to go during the summer and take a little swim.