Tandem Rally and Northern California
Northwest Tandem Rally 2022 And Beyond
This trip all started with a trip to Eugene, OR for the Northwest Tandem Rally We have been participating in NWTR events since 2016 when we attended our first really in Klammath Falls, OR. The Eugene rally was the first NWTR event in three years, in fact we had been selected to host the rally in Spokane and had planned for the event in 2020 but due to Covid, we had to cancel. We tried again in 2021 but were unable to obtain a venue, again due to Covid.
The Drive
We initially planned to drive to Eugene on Friday, July 1. As we prepared for the trip we decided to use our Harvest Host membership to break the trip up so we could arrive earlier and take some of the stress out of preparing for an early Saturday ride start. We stayed Thursday night at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum, where as a member of Harvest Hosts, we were able to utilize their RV parking lot overnight at no cost. Having travelled through the Columbia Gorge many times, we were pretty amazed that we had never heard of the Discovery Center. The facility is impressive and offers a vast amount of information about the Gorge history and geology. There are nature walks around the center, as well as a bike trail that goes to The Dalles. The overnight stay here was a bit noisy as it is right along the highway, but it was much better than a WalMart parking lot option. We were able to use the generator which was much needed for a summer overnight in the gorge. See Photos of our stop HERE
The second day we had about a four hour drive, arriving in Eugene shortly after noon. The drive was fairly uneventful over the two days, just the typical wind through the Gorge. We arrived at Armitage Park where we had reserved a spot for the trailer during our stay for the tandem rally. Our campsite here was a nice pull-through up agains a tree line. Full hookups
Eugene
After we got checked in and set up, we took a spin on the tandem and got a glimpse of Eugene. The ride into Eugene from the county park we were staying at is about 5 miles one way. We discovered a great little bike trail system in Alton Baker Park that we explored before heading back to going back to Armitage Park where we thought the check-in for the tandem rally was to be.
The Rally
Fortuna, California
Our next stop was Fortuna, CA which is in Humboldt County and near the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The drive was uneventful and we arrived at Riverwalk RV Park in Fortuna with plenty of time to setup and have a quiet evening.
Day 1 ~ Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Day 2 ~ Eureka, California