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Saturday, September 8, 2018

Fair Park RV Camping, and Visiting Friends



One often-overlooked camping resource is the many state and county fair parks that have RV hook ups, or simply allow RV dry camping. Except when their annual fair or other events are in session, they are often sparsely populated.  We stayed one night at the Grant County Fairgrounds, which is in Moses Lake, WA.


Although they are generally not beautiful nor luxurious, they are often inexpensive and available without reservations. 

So if you are looking for a convenient overnight stop, consider a fair park. 

But sometimes information about them is a bit hard to find.


I use a variety of resources to find our RV spots, including books and the web. As an experiment, I Googled "RV parks in Moses Lake, WA", and I got 22 listings including trailer parks, dispersal camping, and commercial parks. The Grant County Fairgrounds was not included. I then Googled "RV Camping, Moses Lake WA", and got five listings, also excluding the fair park. 

I found it while doing a search on the Allstays Pro app for a one night stop over, part way between Morton, WA and Elk, WA.  I also found it on the RV Parks Reviews site. Both are great resources. The pull-thru site at the Grant County Fairground was level, easy to get into, and had full hook ups, all for $20 per night. Not a destination, but a great place to sleep safely.


Visiting friends




One of the nice things about RVing is being able to visit friends  around the country. This week we were able to visit two special couples.

Last spring, while discussing summer travel plans with the ladies in the sewing room at Jojoba Hills, I mentioned we had not yet figured out where we wanted to be for Labor Day. (It can be important to plan holidays well in advance.) A lady named Kay invited us to come to their eight-member co-op on the banks of the Tilton River. 


Getting together with new friends at the Buck Snort restaurant in Morton

We had a delightful time getting to know each other better, having dinners both at the campground and in town.

One of the other campers' dogs kept Craig company


It was a very nice Labor Day weekend, away from the crowds in a beautiful place! 



From there we traveled east to Elk Washington, north of Spokane, to visit another friend. 

Before becoming a full time RVer, I spent forty years creating and selling my own line of animal head sculptures. In the early years my process was to crochet, without patterns, the animal head  "skin" and mount it over a paper mâché sculpture. 

In the 1980's a local Los Gatos CA pediatrician, Dr. Bennett,  purchased five pieces for his new office. At some point he moved his practice to Elk Washington, and again uses them in his office decor. A few years ago we reconnected, and when we went full time he invited us to visit if we came his way. This was the year we did.
Dr. Bennett and Merikay with some of the animal heads in his office

He told me his patients love them. It was a delightful experience for me to see my work from so many years ago still being appreciated.

While there, we spent two wonderful evenings with David and his wife, Luann, at their beautiful home. She is a great cook and served us two wonderful dinners. 

They have recently bought a Safari motorhome and are looking forward to traveling around the country, part time. They both had many questions and we shared what we have learned over the years.  


We dry-camped in a field on their land.











One morning we noticed a flock of Guinea Hens on the road edge. I hopped out of the Alfa, in my night gown, and took a few pictures.



They may not be "wildlife" but it was fun to be able to take pictures of them.

This has been a perfect wrap-up week for our Washington/Oregon summer. We hope to either visit again, or possibly meet up and camp together.


RV Life is Good

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had the perfect solution for camping over the busy crowded holiday. It was fun seeing your sculptures again, too. I don't remember seeing many photos of them before you went full time, or maybe I just forgot. I can imagine they would have been great fun for kids in his office.

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  2. We try to find fairgrounds to stay at. I like cheap when it's just for the night. Love seeing your animals. They are so neat.

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  3. Fairgrounds are a great way to stay someplace without costing too much.
    Nice visiting and seeing your creations again
    Your experience as RVers will definitely help your friends as they start their travels.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  4. I really like your new header photograph, especially how it ties in with the creative animal heads you used to make Marikay.

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  5. Sounds like a great time. We have stayed at fairgrounds and city
    /county parks numerous times over the years. It is a nice break from commcerial places:)

    ReplyDelete

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