After leaving Vernonia I followed Hwy 47 through the tiny town of Mist and to Cathlamet along the Columbia River.

I love to explore old cemeteries and religious architecture, so I’ll always stop when I spot an interesting one. A tiny old chapel with a cemetery was tucked along the mountain road near Mist. I peered in the windows of the chapel to see what remained. It appears to still be in use, probably for burials and such.

I explored the historic settlement of Brownsmead tucked against a tidal estuary of the Columbia River. There are only a few buildings still standing, and some residents farming the rural land.

I thought I’d camp nearby at Gnat Creek Campground in the Clatsop State Forest. But when I arrived, it appeared to be basically a homeless camp. The campers were packed densely into each site with multiple tents and a permanent looking sprawl of tarps and canopies. I wasn’t comfortable camping there, and there didn’t appear to be any empty sites anyway, so I drove on to Astoria to roam around a bit.

There is a lot of camping on the Oregon coast, but it’s almost all state parks and private RV parks. Neither appealed to me. I don’t like to stealth camp, where you just find a deserted side street and try to pretend you are an empty parked vehicle.

So after pondering my options for one more night, and tired from a night of poor sleep, I decided to cut and run. Homeward for my (other) own bed!