Teamwork Makes the Dream Work @ Millersylvania State Park

After the previous day’s hike this was a day of rest and motorcycling but mostly motorcycling. We went through our usual routine of making breakfast and packing up camp in the morning. Then we mounted our bikes with one target in mind: the number one rated road in all of Washington. But first we needed a sticker:

Before this trip we purchased a set of Butler maps which are old school paper maps that guide motorcyclist through different regions. Butler’s top road for Washington was just northwest of us in Neah bay, the northwestern most tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

The road was every bit as beautiful as we hoped. It dipped and swerved, hugging the coast line for about 50 miles of progressively more beautiful riding. We reached the tip of the Olympic Peninsula and the finale was every bit as great as Butler said it would be! The road was perfectly paved with no scary gravel or tar snakes in sight, allowing us to lean our bikes with confidence for every twist and turn.

As all roads do, this road eventually came to an end. We turned around and were granted a second go on our favorite section of Washington’s best road, joyfully oohing and ahhing through the coms. We stopped for lunch at a little diner called Warmhouse. We were pleasantly surprised by the delicious clam chowder bread bowl and beautiful views of the Neah bay. We even saw another bald eagle!

We then made our way South; electing to drive along the coast down highway 101.  The road maintained a thick but familiar fog. Ever so often we passed a gap in the trees and were rewarded with a scenic view of the moody Pacific Ocean; looking like it could hide the secret entrance to an angsty billionaire’s cave. 

As the sunlight waned it dawned on us that we would soon need dinner and a place to sleep. Being accustomed to $20 a night campsite, we really didn’t want to spend more than $100 for a place to sleep. The only thing in our budget was a Motel 6 off of I5, so we cut inland and made our way to it. 

When we reached the motel the fear of bed bugs and unidentified smells really set in. We surveyed the peeling paint and overflowing trash heap outside the rooms and just couldn’t do it. So we again pulled out our cellular devices and started looking. This was when Adam found Millersylvania State Park, a campground for the reasonable price of $24 a night. Best of all it had showers!

We decided we could “grunge it up” in Adam’s words and eat our last rehydrated meal supplemented with PB&Js for dinner. We B-lined it to the campsite. Once there the most challenging part of our day began: reading the check-in instructions.

Adam read over the bulletin board and his brain interpreted the empty space below “Available spaces” to mean that this campsite was in fact full. Adam then accepted defeat; maybe winging it wasn’t the best idea. It was 8pm and last night we went to bed at 9, so Adam declared “there’s a 3-star Holiday Inn Express 20 minutes south for $180 a night, let’s just go there.” Helen refused to relent; unable to accept $180 for one night of desperation. Emotions were high and Adam just wanted a place to sleep. 

Helen elected to read the bulletin board for herself and realized the list of open campsites a was directly above “Available spaces.”  Overjoyed with relief, we motored to find the best open spot. The canopy opened up directing a single ray of sunlight onto a perfect spot as if the heavens themselves marked our campsite:

We made camp, enjoyed our dinner, and relished in the confirmation that winging it does in fact work when you do it as a team. 

This whole ordeal sparked something in Adam . He has realized that he is plagued with the curse of being too bougie to sleep in cheap hotels, too cheap to pay for nice hotels, and too restless to enjoy sitting at home. There’s only one solution...

The next morning Adam began reading comparisons between Dodge Promasters, Ford Transits, and Mercedes Benz Sprinter vans. Not this year, and probably not the year after that, but one day.. one day Adam will build a fully self sufficient camper Van! The seed has been planted.