campingwiththekemps
Camping with the Kemps
PNW family camping
11 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
noodlebelli
Noodlebelli
quadrantmodelquotes
Quadrant Model Quotes from 2013 Lectures
hopeshoodie
LITG Refugee
katveldt
kat veldt
jovojusomaha
Untitled
Photo
Wenatchee Confluence State Park is huge! Well kept grassy grounds with spacious pull-throughs. We had family renting a vacation house nearby, so we spent most of the time there, but we will be back. Roads are paved and our spot was level - what a plus! We were in site 33 and it had full hook ups. This spot is near the park entrance, but we did not experience any noise or disturbance as a result. Jim said the bathroom was dated, but clean. The girls played at the swimming beach on Saturday and they said the water was reeeaaalllly cold. Even for a 98 degree day, it was tough to get in and stay in. Refreshing for a cool-down though. I noticed they have an absolutely massive group (tent) site if you're into that. Not much shade to be found. The website is very accurate about shade/full sun spots, and I imagine the shady ones book up quickly. Also, I liked that they had ample dumpsters throughout the park. We had one right across for our spot, and there were enough around the loops that no single dumpster ended up overflowing and nasty.
0 notes
Photo
Fort Worden, WA - Thanksgiving weekend 2016
Fort Worden in Port Townsend is a really cool park. This place is a decommissioned military base and many of the buildings are available as vacation rentals. One has been repurposed into a taphouse!
The grounds are impressive and wooded/open space + beach! There is a small museum near the beach as well as a cute aquarium for the kids with tide pools they can poke at to their hearts’ content.
Fort Worden has RV spots on the beach and the wooded area. We prefer the wooded area because the beach gets very windy. Our friends have seen awning damaged on trailers in the beach area. When we were there for Thanksgiving, the park had turned off the on-site water to protect the pipes from freezing. That sucked, because the guys had to keep filling the tanks with portable water storage containers. The bathrooms were okay.
Worden is a great place to explore. The old concrete batteries are still standing and you can see where the cannons/guns used to be mounted. Beautiful sound views from all of the bluffs with the occasional ferry passing by.
Fun fact - Ford Worden is where the movie “Officer and a Gentleman” was filmed.
0 notes
Photo
Ocean Shores, WA
Our friends own a spot in Ocean Park, WA where we occasionally join for beach weekends. These photos are from a trip in February when the clam tide was at 9:30am. We lucked out with minimal rain showers and temps in the high 40s/low 50s.
2 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Lake Pearrygin State Park in Winthrop, WA
Pearrygin has edged out Taidnepam as our all-time favorite camping spot. We try to go every Mother’s Day week when Winthrop has their 49er Days western festival. The town is really cute, the parade is fun for little kids and the candy shop holds fun kid-oriented contests with sweet prizes on Sat afternoon.
The lake is drop dead gorgeous, the fishing has always been great, there is a good sized beach with a groomed swimming area and everything is very well maintained. We’ve seen deer wander through the campground, lots of rabbits and marmots as well as the resident bald eagles.
The campsites are generously spaced and one of the loops has full hookups. We usually stay in the pull-through spots with water/electric and use the communal bathrooms. The showers are big, reasonably clean and quarter-operated. The beach sites are popular but we have found they get quite breezy. Staying up closer to the ridge will keep the wind out of your site and out of the fire pit.
We always book this place a year in advance.
0 notes
Photo
Lake Ki RV Resort in Lakewood/Smokey Point/Marysville This park is kind of ghetto, mainly because they offer longer term rentals. The long term places usually end up looking like trailer parks. There is a small beach with swimming access and the water is shallow enough for little swimmers. The dock looks well kept, but it will get crowded with people trying to fish. The fishing and swimming access are WAY too close to one another. Not possible to fish while there are swimmers in the water. Also, it’s obvious everyone dumps their fish heads and guts right next to the swimming area. Gross. We were in RV site L17 (full hookups) and tent site T35. Probably the best combination available for space and tent site privacy. Two nights for both sites was $179, so way overpriced for what you get. The ground is terribly uneven, full of mole hills, weeds everywhere and in desperate need of mowing. The roads are all big chunky gravel, which makes for lots of dust and it’s uncomfortable to walk on. Not a great biking park, it’s too small and there are no trails. Bathrooms were clean, require a password and small. Quarter operated showers. Oh, and someone stole my sister’s kayak. We will not be back.
1 note
·
View note
Photo
New trailer. New truck. The helpful folks at Tacoma RV told us our 1500 (gas) Suburban would tow our Passport travel trailer with ease. They were so wrong. We towed the straight and narrow just fine, but mountain passes were trouble. C'mon now, this is Washington! You have to be able to power through those passes. Jim did an extensive amount of research, as he usually does, and we ended up snagging this beautiful, fully loaded 2013 Dodge Ram with 36k miles from an auction in Texas. The sticker on this truck was 65k when it was brand new (WHO spends thaaat?!). Jim and Jim Sr. went on a father/son road trip and brought her home. You can imagine Jim’s delight when he pulled our trailer up a 10% grade no sweat at 55mph. He was grinning like a schoolgirl.
2 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Taidnapam of Tacoma Power Parks Riffe Lake, WA
Taidnapam is our FAVORITE PNW camping spot! It's another special place tucked away from the crowds and bonus...less than two hours from home. It's also possible to get there with ZERO I-5 miles, which is a miracle in and of itself.
Tacoma Power owns this massive swath of land on pristine Riffe Lake - an aquamarine treasure among a hilly landscape at the base of Mt. Rainier. Though our littlest is still too much of a small fry for hiking, many occupants were here to take advantage of all the hiking and exploring options Mt. Rainier National Forest offers. We stuck to the groomed paths, criss-crossed our way around the property on our bikes, and cast our poles into water in hopes of landing a fish or two. Jim managed to snag one that could most accurately be described as a minnow.
The spots are generous, but you're still going to be nestled among the trees with your neighbors. We noticed almost all of the occupants were families and many had young children. The roadways had a constant stream of kids on bikes, though it was never obnoxiously loud or distracting. We made friends with the folks next to us and the kids kept each other entertained.
The washrooms here were fantastic! Absolutely the best we've seen. Exceptionally clean. There is a traditional multi-stall restroom per gender, a single style family restroom, and the shower facilities were each their own fully-enclosed room. The showers are not free, but there are enough of them that you probably won't have to wait.
Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were epic here. Unrelenting. I brought a large fogger that I used to douse the grounds around our trailer, we hooked up our Costco bug-catcher, covered ourselves in Deet (which will take the ink right off your tablecloth, FYI), and burned citronella candles. Our outside time was bearable, but we still employed long sleeves, pants tucked into socks, and a healthy dose of smacking each other around when the opportunity to kill one presented itself.
And lastly - Taidnapam has zero cell reception. You will not be able to connect to your data network, making a call is nearly impossible, and texts are so unreliable it just isn't worth it. You can get a signal in the nearby town when absolutely necessary, but don't expect to find much other than a few bars of cell service there. I recommend walkie talkies if you have older kids that need to explore but also stay connected.
#taidnepam#tacomapowerparks#washingtoncamping#washingtonrvparks#familycamping#rving#pnwcamping#taidnapam
0 notes
Photo
Thousand Trails in Plain, WA (Leavenworth)
Our trip to Leavenworth was the first non-holiday weekend of July. Despite an ill-conceived plan to pull the trailer up Blewitt Pass (maybe our Suburban is not quite the best vehicle for pulling a loaded trailer up those long steep hills), we made it from Lake Tapps to the campground within three hours. It was a warm weekend - 80s or so, and the park was pretty full.
Something to keep in mind about this campground is that it is much farther from the city of Leavenworth than one might think. Also, the road between the two - the Chumstick highway - is twisty, turny, narrow and has one hell of a hairpin. It’s been redone recently (as of 2015), but the extreme weather in this area probably leads to quick wear and tear. Those 25 minutes between Leavenworth and your slip would be really exciting in the snow!
The mosquitoes were a nuisance here, but the bees, wasps and flies were way worse. The staff put up traps seemingly everywhere, but it does little to keep these nasty pests from harassing your site, especially if you have any food out. I'm not sure how universal of an experience this is, but my husband had an insane allergy attack here. The air was definitely stagnant and hot, but I did not pay attention to things like pollen count. He was miserable. Fortunately, Safeway in Leavenworth has a pharmacy that was very useful. Our spot was in a thickly wooded area, but don’t expect much privacy from your neighbors. Like most RV parks, there are a few outlying slips that offer more space, but from the looks of it, they were for smaller RVs.
Thousand Trails had several great amenities. We were near a pretty cool horseshoe pit and the rest of the family entertainment is all clustered around the main office. The pool is huge, but barely warm enough for our kids. The pool area bathrooms were older and reminded me of most community swimming facilities…somewhere you want to pass through, not use. Next to the pool was a small playground at the edge of an expansive grassy field. The field was really nice, and were most families congregated. Sand volleyball, pick-up soccer matches and Frisbee golf were going on at all times.
The main clubhouse has an activity room full of older sports equipment, but plenty of things to keep a group of kids occupied. There is a big chalk wall, a small shop full of snacks for purchase, reasonably private restrooms (though they were BLAZING hot the one time I used it), a TV room (side note - a pair of old ladies watched Family Feud in there allllll day long on Saturday), table games like pool and fooseball….probably a few more things I forgot as well. The clubhouse was practically deserted, but it was gorgeous outside during our stay, so most families were outside.
The restrooms closer to each wing of sites were older but clean. Showers are free, but my husband encountered an extended wait while someone’s teenage son pretty much camped out in the men’s shower. Ew? My girls and I tried to wash our hands at one point and were met with two pre-teen girls who had the entire countertop covered in beauty products. They were sitting on the counter painting their nails. It smelled like a perfume hut and the air was glittery. I told my girls that what these young ladies were doing was NOT called camping!
Overall, I would say that Thousand Trails should get three out of five stars. The amenities and entertainment options are above average, but the facility is dated and just too far off the beaten path.
0 notes
Photo
Grayland State Park - Grayland, WA
Our first trip with the new trailer was to Grayland state park in Grayland, WA. This place is a hidden gem - and actually much closer to the city than the more popular “name brand” Washington beaches. Grayland is only 35 to 40 minutes west of Aberdeen. For reference, that’s about an hour and twenty minutes from Tacoma.
The state park has MANY pull-through spots, which was perfect for our maiden voyage. They’re also nicely paved, perfectly flat, and each slip is spacious. Our campsite was horseshoe shaped and it included a huge wooded area. The girls felt like they were exploring a forest all within our own spot! The woods led straight to the beach, which is most easily accessed by perfectly groomed trails spaced about every 500 ft.
I was thrilled to find well-maintained bathrooms. There was only one spot that I would say was too close to the facilities. Each bathroom hut had two toilet rooms (ladies on one side, men on the other) and a separate shower room for each. I liked the fact that it wasn’t a stall situation. Showers will cost you, but the facility is comfortable and clean.
The staff at Grayland were friendly and they kept a low profile. There was so much space between spots that I wouldn’t say this is a real social place. It’s perfect for a quiet escape if you’re looking to enjoy the beauty of the coast.
We HIGHLY recommend Grayland State Park.
0 notes
Photo
Father's Day, 2015
How do you give dad the gift of family, fun and adventure? We bought our first travel trailer!!!
What began as just a browsing trip to Tacoma RV in Fife ended with a pretty major purchase and a commitment to spend more family time getting out of the house, into the great outdoors, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.
The Passport Ultra Lite was the best option for our current Suburban, but it didn't exactly come ready to roll. Sway bars, a fancy hitch and a rear mount for our bike rack added about $1000 to the purchase price. We expected to do some damage at Camping World too, but ended up outfitting our new toy with odds and ends from Amazon and Cabela's. Hoses, blocks, valves, chalks, leveling gauges, a telescopic ladder, lanterns, wand-style lighters, special TP - all the essentials for RVing. The girls got memory foam pads from Fred Meyer to top the sad cushions they call mattresses and Jim and I scored big with a new mattress from Mattress Ranch in Lakewood. Amazingly, the Passport comes with a full sized queen - a necessity for Mr. 6'3".
We chose our new toy on a Sunday, set an appointment to sign for the financing on Tuesday and picked it up on a Wednesday. It was THAT EASY. Oh, and one of the reasons I thought I'd never own a trailer was because I assumed the interest rates were ghastly. 4.24%, people! That....and I am sure I could never pull one, park one, take a corner with one behind me. But you see, I married this awesome guy who came pre-programed with mad skills. And he drove it home like a boss.
1 note
·
View note