Wolf Creek Oregon

As promised, albeit somewhat later than I had hoped, this blog entry is going to concentrate on Wolf Creek Oregon and the historic Wolf Creek inn. You get to Wolf Creek off of I-5 on exit 76. It's a small town, two or three gas station/mini – marts, a small campground and the historic Wolf Creek Inn.
First, the campground. When we stopped there in July, the campground had only recently been reopened. As such, we had the place mostly to ourselves. We picked a spot not far from the stream and set up camp. Our site had a pull through with with power and water hookups. The campground is a little rough around the edges but the caretakers have great plans for the place. Speaking of the caretakers, unfortunately my memory for names isn't what it used to be which is really sad since the caretakers were exceptionally nice people. Both are emergency medical technicians and probably one of the friendliest couples I never met-without being invasive.
One thing that impressed me about the town of Wolf Creek was how many wheelchair ramps I saw. Just about every business had a wheelchair ramp for easy access.
By the time we had checked in and set up camp all that remained open for the minimart's. So we decided to go to the Wolf Creek inn for breakfast the next morning.
The Wolf Creek Inn is the oldest continuous use hotel in the state of Oregon. They have nine guestrooms and-if breakfast is any indication-a really top-notch restaurant. The menu is limited, that means they concentrate on what they do well. I had the biscuits and gravy. Others in our party had the Wolf Creek breakfast which consists of eggs, meat and hashbrowns. Everything was served with fresh fruit and choice of beverage.
The food was quite good but what impressed me the most was the hospitality. Now remember, this is a functioning inn; they rent out the guestrooms, the caretakers were very informal about letting the grandkids runaround, look into the ballroom explore, so long as an adult was watching. Also those of you in wheelchairs might be familiar with the wheelchair stare - that long look some business owners give you when you first wheel into their establishment. I did not receive the wheelchair stare atthe Wolf Creek inn. What I did receive was a warm welcome and people going out of their way to make sure I had a clear path to the dining room.
As much as we would've love to spend more time there we had a very long road trip ahead of us so it was back to the campsite, hook up the trailer and get back on I-5.

as this blog post is fairly short I will follow-up soon with some of my observations a little closer to home. Thank you for your comments please keep them coming and thank you for clicking on the advertiser links on the site. And as ever, if you have someplace you'd like me to review submitted in the comment the worst that can happen is I can say no not in my general area or not something I'm interested in seeing but who knows I may go out of my way and take a look it can never hurt to try.

Along the Oregon Coast

As promised, this post is about our recent camping trip along the Oregon coast. We traveled with friends Wendy and her delightful daughters: Melissa, Maggie and Hope. We had a full van-load; my wife, Lori was driving, my daughter Melissa and her kids: Jesse, Anna, and Leah were with us as was another grandson Caidin .

We had hooked up our trusty T@B trailer and departed Bellevue only an hour or two behind schedule. Our destination for day one was Fort Stevens state park in Seaside Oregon.

Previously, the majority of our camping had been in Washington state campgrounds. Washington can be hit or miss especially in regards to accessibility – you never know, for example, if you're going to be able to get your wheelchair into a bathroom and once you do, will there be a stall wide enough or a shower with grab bars.

Oregon State campgrounds however, all seem to have separate bathrooms for handicap patrons with extrawide doors, free hot showers and ample grab bars. Fort Stevens was no exception.

What was also nice was the fact that we only were only charged for one campsite which kept our cost down. Paths were paved but needed a bit of work. More than once, I nearly tumbled from my chair going over uneven pavement

But overall Fort Stevens was a pleasant experience, not too noisy and the ocean air was nice.

Our next night we made it to Devils Lake campground near Lincoln City. Probably my least favorite spot of the entire trip. Our campsite was tiny and very difficult to maneuver in. Additionally, the rangers that we encountered there were rude. When asked about accessible sites, they said all sites were more or less accessible and if not, I could just stay in my trailer.

Since we didn't get much rest that night our next stop wasn't very far along the road., Newport, OR South Beach state park. This was a major change from the previous night's camp ground! The rangers were helpful going as far as to help push me to  the handicap bathroom and chasing out a non-handicap person who seemed to be using it at his own personal, sauna. There was a great path to a well constructed lookout to the beach. It was a bit steep but my dog, Gracie,(who must've been a sled-dog in a previous life) greatly enjoyed helping pull me up the trail. Had it not been so windy there we might stay an extra day.

We made good time the next day, getting all the way down to Brookings to what I think was Harris beach state park.. We arrived rather late but fortunately the handicap spot had not been taken. We set up camp and drove to Brookings to get our first meal of the trip that wasn't either fast food or prepared at the campsite. Wendy used her phone to Google restaurants in Brookings and we came up with the place by the name of the Hungry Clam. We were served Promptly and courteously despite the fact that we were a very large party and the place was pretty busy. We loaded up on fresh seafood – most of it deep fried – and sat outside to enjoy it. I had the combo platter which included cod, oysters,, calamari, clam strips shrimp, scallops and hush puppies. By far the star of the platter was the clam strips. These were not the tiny clam crumbs you get it someplace like Ivars. No, these were big tender chunks of clam. We left feeling satisfied albeit somewhat greasy.

The next morning an ocean view spot at the camp ground opened up so we decided to stay an extra day. This enabled us to play on the beach, rest and even get someone laundry done at the laundromat there in the park.

I was quite taken by the paved path down to the beach. There were several switchbacks and it was rather steep in places but I was able to actually get to the beach itself, something I haven't been able to do in a very long time.

The next day it was off to the Redwood forest. While this leg of the trip was lovely; due to a lack of cell phone reception we lost our traveling companion Wendy and her girls. By the time we finally had a signal they were already miles ahead of us and had decided to push on home. We made it to a little town called Wolf's Creek where we camped in a newly reopened camp ground but that and the restaurant we ate breakfast at will be the subject of my next entry.

And now a request, if you've been reading this blog and enjoyed it or even if you have not enjoyed it I would still like your comments. Please take a minute, find the comment link and leave me a note. I appreciate the feedback

Two very different restaurants

There's a lot I like about the 12'th Ave Cafe in Issaquah, Wa. It's the sort of place you would expect to find on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The food is good , portions are generous and I felt comfortable bringing my children and grandchildren there. If you go, order breakfast; it's served all day and it really is one of the best places for breakfast I've ever tried. I suggest the Trucker's Combo: biscuit and gravy, an egg, meat and their famous grilled spuds.

All this makes me sad because I cannot eat there. I was told TWICE that they don't serve people in wheelchairs.

Shortly after acquiring this delightful mode of transportation, i convinced my lovely wife, Lori, to split a breakfast with me at the 12th Ave. OK, being totally honest, I wanted to eat an entire breakfast (enough calories for a small town) but Lori STRONGLY suggested we split one.

When we arrived, I was encouraged by the 3 separate handicapped parking stalls. Upon wheeling inside, however, I remembered that it isn't the most spacious establishment, and it was busy. The waitress approached and pointed to a table "This one is open, but I don't think he can get to it," she said. "We can wait for a different table, closer to the door," I answered. "Then we would have to move a table so people can get around the wheelchair. We're really not set up here to serve people in wheelchairs. Sorry."

We left with me sputtering indignantly and ended up eating someplace forgettable.

Before posting this blog, I called the 12th Ave and asked if they would have any problem seating someone in a wheelchair. "Not if they don't mind sitting outside on the sidewalk."

On the flip side of the coin is Ricardo's A Mexican restaurant located in Factoria, Wa. I've been there 5 or 6 times and enjoyed myself each time. The food is good and fairly priced, margaritas are huge and not at all watered down.

But what set's this place apart is the wait staff. From the front door to my table, they never fail to make me feel welcome. They open the doors for me, make sure there is enough room down the aisle to get to my table and they somehow manage to do this without making me feel like a burden.

I'd recommend a menu item, but I honestly have enough trouble deciding for myself.

Next time: Camping and dining on the Oregon Coast