20250330 Sunday, March 30, 2025 Cape Disappointment Day 4

20250330 Sunday, March 30, 2025 Cape Disappointment Day 4

Bag 'O Razor Clams

The razor clam dig tide was later this morning, so we didn’t need to use headlamps to look for clams.  In stark contrast to the previous several days, today, there was no wind and the tide was further out, revealing a sandbar out in front of the B campground loop, where most people were looking for clams.  Ben wondered if the sandbar might actually make the clams deeper, so he wandered back over to the north end of the beach where we have found most of our clams in the past, and sure enough, there were actual clam shows there that made it easy to find our limits.  We could actually be a little picky about trying to dig up only the larger shows, and we did end up with some larger clams today.  

We ran the generator while cleaning and putting up the clams, but the generator started shuddering before actually shutting down.  Ben wondered if maybe the oil level was a bit low because the dipstick showed it to be at the lower end of normal.  That would have to be addressed later in the day.  We got the clams put up and then broke camp because our site was reserved by someone else in advance through the State Parks reservation system, but we only had to move from the north loop to the south loop of the same campground B.  We did take the RV to the dump station because the fresh water was down to less than 1/4 tank, and dumped the black and grey tanks, as well as refilling the fresh water.  There were lots of RV’s and trailers using the dump station as people were headed home after their weekend camping trip.  

We got the RV set up in the new site, and then headed into town to find an internet signal and do our Duolingo lessons. Ben also had to do further research on the generator because the RV didn’t have a manual for the generator in its document binder.  

We had lunch at McDonald’s, which only cost us $15 for two.  Not a great meal, but certainly the cheapest lunch we’ve had in Long Beach by a long shot.  While there, Ben did download the manual for the generator and saw that it burns between 1.6 and 3.3# of LP per hour, depending on the load.  Since it’s running off a 20# portable tank, that could mean anywhere from 6 to 10 hours, and since we have been running it about 2-3 hours a day, the tank could be empty.  

When we got back to the RV and checked the tank, it did feel like it could be empty.  That was an easier solution than any other sort of malfunction.  But the manual also said the generator was due for its first oil change at 20 hrs.  So Ben did pick up motor oil while we were in Long Beach and did an oil change at the campsite.  

The generator then ran just fine off the main LP tank supply.  We were not able to refill the portable LP tank in town because the LP places were all closed on Sunday.  We will make a stop tomorrow to refill the portable LP tank after we leave the campground and start our trip south.