By Donna Barr, West End North Correspondent

The Coho Resort took another step further toward fulfilling the dream of Warren Konapaski, on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Konapaski family members offered a view shelter above the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with hot dogs and lemonade. Regardless of the spit of rain, visitors from Seattle and Port Angeles relaxed around an iron fire pit, enjoying the fresh air and view.

Konapaski developed the site — half-way between Clallam Bay and Sekiu — as an RV park and fishing resort in the 1960s. His daughter Tina Mahaney remembered him hoping to operate the resort and pass it on to his 11 children as a family enterprise with views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Vancouver Island and passing ships.

But things happen.

When Konapaski realized children scatter to their own dreams, he didn’t give up. He came up with another way to keep the scenic site in the hands of his family, while spreading the joy they’d always felt when living and playing on the water and in the forests.

Tina’s husband, Tim Mahaney, said that the sports fishery industry had changed. So the family redesigned the property to share with others.

Five years ago, plans began to turn the Coho Resort into the Coho Estates. The RV sites and moorage that fishermen once rented during the fishing season, are being sold.

Road access to the site is gated. Water and sewer hookups are in place. Electrical meters stand at each site. No permits are required because the family is not including deeds in property sales.

The 57 acres of terraced RV sites offers a 30-foot moorage for each site, 1,600 lineal feet of tidelands, a 900-foot breakwater and a protected marina.

They are considering hooking the place up with WiFi, which many tourists seek in campgrounds.

“We look for it, “ said Tina.

New, stricter regulations reflect the need for fish and fish-breeding environments to recover from long decades of overuse.

The Estates encourage buyers not only for the traditional fishing tourist destination, but for beach combing, hiking, surfing and diving.

The area is also an Audubon area and the Clallam River’s wetland and fish-breeding area are improving, making the area more of a draw for birdwatchers and kayakers.

For more information about ownership, e-mail pchurch@olypen.com or call Coho Estates LLC in Port Angeles, 360-477-0325, or visit www.cohoestates.com.