By a tavern, with a garden~~

At Milepost 75, along Highway 101 between Raymond and Aberdeen, in the Evergreen State known as Washington, sits the Artic RV Park & Tavern. Make that major emphasis on the park factor. We found this little gem last year after another quick stop in Lincoln City, followed by an expensive stop at Costco in Astoria for 6 new house batteries for our motorhome, which Howard proceeded to install in the parking lot. But I digress.

We enjoy an early evening fire

Roy and Annie bought this property 34 years ago, and with the exception of the tavern, have built this beautiful park, their home, out-buildings such as bath house, enclosed picnic facilities, and a rental unit, with luscious landscaping and gardens, literally from the ground up! Logging and selling a forest of firs and spruce gave them the dollars to purchase adjacent land, construct a mile & a half path, down to and along the Little North River where the Giant Sitka Spruce lives.  This beauty is 10 ft. in diameter!

Immediately upon entering the trail you encounter the river and a Pacific Northwest temperate rain forest, walking through a world of lush mosses, ferns and lichens that cover and drip from logs, trees and undergrowth.  

The large garden is shared with guests and produces enough berries, seasonal vegetables, herbs and flowers for all to savor.  We enjoyed just picked carrots, beets, sweet onions, lettuces, raspberries and blueberries...and Dahlias! Tomatoes were ripening on the vine, apple trees laden for fall harvest, corn, squash, kale and so much more.

Our two nights' stay turned into 5, never once missing television due to the trees having grown just enough to block our satellite dome.  We decided wisely not to tackle the Olympic NP during weekend rush, plus receiving the good news that friends Earl and Gail were stopping by on their way home from Port Townsend and we would all enjoy the steak dinner special at the tavern Friday night

Loved this pic of the front porch with dahlias from the garden

Extending our stay allowed us a great day on the coast at Westport, located about 20 miles west of Aberdeen at the entrance to Gray's Harbor. Westport is a colorful seaport town with a large commercial fishing fleet and several recreational charter boats.  We visited on a mild, overcast day and enjoyed a walk along the waterfront.  Returning home we made a most delicious stop at Brady's Oysters for smoked salmon to go and a couple of oyster shooters for the road.