Discussion and Results
Conclusion
Even though I could not produce the results I wanted in Idrisi, looking at the Attribute table created in ArcMap it was easy to see which campground best suited my criteria. There are only 7 campgrounds that are actually on the ocean: Beachside, Cape Blanco, Cape Lookout, Harris Beach, Humbug Mountain, Nehalen Bay and South Beach. Only Nehalen Bay and Cape Lookout were in the northern 1/3 of the Oregon coast. They are equally close to multiple surf spots, but Cape Lookout beat out Nehalen Bay in Hiking (3/3 to 2/3 for C.L.), Price ($16 for C.L. and $20 for N.B.) and Tree cover (3/3 for C.L. and 1/3 for N.B.). Even though both got a 5/5 for fishing, I would give the advantage to Nehalen Bay for fishing because the campground is right on a river that enters the ocean. In addition, after looking at the campground locations Nehalen Bay actually might be a better place to camp because it is located on a pennisula between the Pacific Ocean and a river. Nehalen Bay is also very close to 6 different surf spots, while Cape Lookout only 4, which are spread further apart. Nehalen Bay is also closer to a major highway (# 26), but this does not matter because I will drive to Oregon on the Coast Highway # 101. Even though I could not perform the analysis that I wanted to in Idrisi, I still got the answer that I was looking for: Cape Lookout best fits my constraints and factors for choosing a campsite on the Oregon coast.
Further Discussion
Most of the campgrounds that I found data on were state or other large campgrounds. I do not know if there are smaller more secluded, no ammenities and lesser known campgrounds such as British Columbia Forestry Campsites. In BC these are easy to find (with the BC Backcountry Road Mapbook, or on the BC Ministry of Forestry website). BC Forestry campsites are much better than actual Provincial or other large campgrounds becasue most of the time they are free and dogs are allowed to run around off the leash (niether Chili or myself enjoy having to keep him on a leash). These campgrounds are also better because it is a liitle more natural than the big, often crouded and noisy state parks. There are no showers at BC Forestry campsites, but as I stated in the conceptual outline, I only added showers to my criteria to make more constaints, I really do not care at all if the campground has showers or toilets. I could not find anything like this in Oregon, but during my research I came acroos a book called "Ray's Guides: Free Camping in Oregon State". You have to buy this book so I could not include any of that in my analysis, but I will purchase it before I go and possibly camp at a place in there. I also have friends who know outdoorsy poeple who live in Oregon. Before my trip I will get ahold of some of these people to see if there is anything like the BC Forestry Campsites in Oregon.
Chili Dog looking for clams
Final Note
Although I was unable to perform an analysis in Idrisi and I will probably fail my Final Project I am very happy that I tried. As stated in Metohological and Operational Problems I have very basic computer knowledge. Before the Lab on Dreamweaver I had no experience with websites. In fact before this project my computer skills were so poor that I did not know how to cut and paste with Print Screen and Paint. I think that the knowledge and experience I gained doing this project is very valuable. Through all the struggeling and stress I learned how to perform the analyses that I wanted to do in the begining, however by the time I learned it it was much too late. If I knew what I know now when I started this project, I could have done everything I wanted in significantly less time than it took to complete this project (except for creating links to campgrounds and surf spots by clicking on the points on my West Coast of Oregon map).