Florence – not Italy and still excellent!

Last year on my big trip, I spent a couple of nights at Washburn State Park in Florence, OR. When Nanine and I read about the Florence Elks Lodge having an AMAZING RV park, we decided to spend three nights at the Elks in Florence. What a terrific decision! The RV park, which is much more similar to a state park than a typical Elks RV parking lot, has large spaces, lots of green, electrical and water hookups, dump stations, and very friendly people. Furthermore with two full days to hike, we explored the Darlingtonia Natural Site and the dunes without driving and an amazing forest hike a few miles north.

The Elks… Although I joined over eight years ago, I haven’t really done anything with them other than paying my dues. The philanthropic contributions of the Elks inspire me. However, I never felt super-comfortable hanging out at the lodge. I had heard that many people join the Elks due to their support of those that travel in RVs. After I bought Addie, I began to consider this benefit of being an Elk. I’ve stayed at a few Elks in my travels, for example Goleta and Twenty-Nine Palms. When Nanine and I met up at the Napa Elks last month to plan this trip, we decided to plan it around staying, when we could, at Elks lodges. (Nanine is also an Elk.) The lodge in Redding was our first stop, and we were very impressed. The Florence Elks RV park is AMAZING! Our next stop will be at the Keizer Elks – hopefully, that’ll be as good as the others on this trip!

Another organization offering safe places to stay is Harvest Hosts. I stayed at several during my big trip. On this trip, we’ll be visiting three Harvest Hosts – EdenVale Winery (Medford), Blue Heron French Cheese Co. (Tillamook), and Melrose Vineyard (Roseburg). I’ll write more about Harvest Hosts in my next post! In the meantime, here are my favorite photos from Florence.