The fabulous Columbia River Gorge

Wildflowers at Memaloose State Park

Where to begin, where to begin. I have to admit the Gorge has me rather stumped. From what I’d heard about the place I figured I would like it before we came, but I just didn’t imagine I would like it this much. Where can you wallow in wildflowers, bike along a cliff, see mind-blowing panoramas, go wine-tasting, reflect on a snow-capped mountain, windsurf and drink a head-sized margarita in one place? I mean it’s almost too much! Ontop of everything we’ve had 5 days of forecasted solid rain which have turned into slight morning drizzles followed by stunning afternoons of full sunshine. This has driven us like mad chickens out of the RV early each day “to beat the rain” only to result in relaxing days of outdoor gorgeousness. Really now! How is one expected to survive such trying circumstances?

So yeah, I am speechless….well almost….

Polly scans the Memaloose Hills

I’m going to start with a mini-primer on the Columbia River Gorge so you can get your bearings. The Gorge is basically a large canyon, up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) deep in spots that meanders along the banks of the Columbia River that separates Oregon from Washington. The western portion is protected as a National Scenic Area, starting around the confluence of the Deschutes River and ending in Portland, and it packs in a plethora of varying scenery from vast, flat desert-like landscape in the very east (around mile-marker 140) to rolling green hills in the middle (around mile-marker 75) ending in heavily forested cliffs just before the big city. All this wrapped in the pretty little package of the Columbia River with the white glory of Mt. St.Helens & Mt. Adams in the north and Mt. Hood in the south. Got it?

For our visit we decided to plonk ourselves in the middle of the Gorge at mile-marker 73, just east of the very cool city of Hood River (simply awesome little spot). As well as scoring a superb waterfront RV site, we’ve been in the purrrfect spot to pack in the sightseeing, and so we have….well, “to beat the rain” of course. It’s going to take a couple of blog posts to cover it all, but I’ll start you with just a taste:

1/ Wildflowers Galore

MINE, all MINE!!

This time of the year the hills east of Hood River are simply bursting with wildflowers, and if you’re into this kind of scenery (who isn’t?) you can explore several popular and some not-so-popular trails that will highlight the best of the best. On OR side the area around McCall point is a rather famous spot, but not dog friendly (pooh!), while on WA side there’s Dog Mountain which is hard-core & utterly gorgeous, but very popular. We decided to go completely off-the-beaten-path and hike an obscure trail in the Memaloose Hills*. A bit of bushwhacking required, but almost guaranteed to be perfectly alone even on the week-end…perfect! We strolled an awesome 3-mile loop simply bursting with color with nothing but the tweeting of birds to keep us company. No matter what you choose if you happen to be in the area this time of year, don’t miss the show!

*To get to Memaloose Hills take exit 69 on I-84 to Mosier. Go through town and drive 3 miles to the signed “Memaloose Overlook” parking area. You’ll see an unmarked trail going into the wildflowers opposite the overlook. FREE! Explore and enjoy!

2/ Mt.Hood & Lost Lake

A perfect reflection on a perfect day at Lost Lake

The Mt.Hood Scenic Drive

The area south of Hood River is dominated by the imposing and gorgeous Mt.Hood (well, whenever you can see it anyway). From exit 64 you can take Hwy 35 south to Hwy 26 in a huge 105-mile loop back to Portland as part of the Mt.Hood Scenic Byway. It’s reputed to be an ultra-cool drive but, being us, we were looking for something more remote. That’s when I noticed a spot called Lost Lake on the map….perfect! We tested the weather with our thumbs (yes, rain expected), loaded up doggie and made the 40-minute twisty, turny drive to the lake. WOW! We were greeted by a mirror of reflections. A perfectly flat, perfectly gorgeous deep blue framed by a clear-sky image of blazing white Mt.Hood. The easy 3-mile stroll around the lake mixed deep forest with babbling brooks and spots for Polly to swim in the water. Oh, and no-one was there. Probably the rain, you know…

*To get to Lost Lake take exit 64 at Hood River and make your way to Dee Hwy (231). Drive south until you hit Lost Lake Road, then follow the signs to the lake. $7 day-use fee.

3/ Fruit Loop & Margaritas

Fruity margaritas!!

As part of our trip to Mt.Hood we drove a good portion of the Fruit Loop. This awesome 35-mile drive takes you past 30 local fruit and wine stops. Yes, believe it or not the area around Hood River is a huge wine & fruit-growing region and if you’re in the area you just can’t miss this! Many of the orchards have U-pick during season too. We’re about 2 weeks early for the stalls, plus most of the stops don’t allow dogs (a select few such as Mt View Orchards and Wy’East do) but we enjoyed the view of brilliant orchards and snagged a stop at Hood River Taqueria on the way. It’s a pooch-friendly Mexican restaurant with large outdoor patio seating that serves ultra-fresh fare and head-sized fruity margaritas. I say that counts as a fruity stop, right?

The Fruit Loop

*To get to the Fruit Loop take exit 64 at Hood River and follow the Fruit Loop Map
(you can download it or pick up a copy at the Hood River Visitor
Center).

That’s about all I can handle in one post so you’re just gonna have to wait in tense anticipation for the next installment. In the meantime we’ll be lounging in our waterfront spot, doing a few more hikes and maybe even hitting some Hood River hangouts.

Unless we get rained-out, of course

Polly checks out a historic display at Emigrant Springs

Not a “destination”, but a convenient and green stop along I-84 in Oregon

Link to campground here: Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, Pendleton, OR
Link to map location here: Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, Pendleton, OR

1. Site Quality = 3/5
   Decent, but not spectacular sites here. They are all paved back-ins, with a selection of either full hookups (18 sites total -> 30 amp/water/sewer) or tent (32 sites -> no hookups) and on-site picnic table and fire-pit. Decent separation, although some are closer than we’d like plus good all-round green and trees everywhere. Biggest ding is unlevel sites (ours required all the levelers we had on our back wheels) and several of the “tent” sites are at right-angles to the road and have rather difficult access for bigger rigs. There is also a separate cabin loop (C-loop) and horse-camp area.
2.  Facilities = 3.5/5
   Basic, good facilities here. Large warm, individual showers and toilets all kept spotlessly clean. Biggest ding is showers have those annoying spray-heads (except disabled shower). Small picnic area on-site plus large green lawn behind the community building.
3. Location = 2/5
   This is not exactly a “destination” location. It’s a convenient stop on I-84 and is not that far from La Grande, plus it does have some OR trail history (a few displays), but not much else.
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Good doggie site. There are no “official” trails in the park, but plenty of “unofficial” logging trails behind the facilities which go for miles into the woods. Decent space in camp, plus there is a large, green lawn for doggie to play behind the community building.

Overall Rating = 3.4
BONUS ALERT = Explore a historic stop on the Oregon Trail!

Summary: I would call this a convenient & green stop along I-84, but not exactly a “destination” location. It’s a good all-around State Park set in a thick fir forest just off I-84. The positives are the green environment and the Oregon trail history (the spring here was a common stop for emigrants and the park a few displays on it). Sites are OK, but not spectacular. They are paved and mostly quite large, but quite a few are rather uneven. All sites are back-in and have fire-pit, picnic table and a selection of either full hookups (30 amp/water/sewer) or “tent” (no hookups). Decent separation, although a few are closer than we like. There is also a separate loop (C-loop) with cabins and a horse-camp area set nicely back from the road. There are no official hiking trails, but many “unofficial” logging trails right from camp (explore behind the facilities and you’ll find quite a few miles). The biggest issue is road-noise. This campground is literally right off the I-84 so you will get constant day-and-night noise from the freeway no matter which site you choose. Not a big issue for a short stop, but it makes it way too noisy for a longer stay.

Extra Info:  Good Verizon 3G signal. Sites cost $20/night for full hookups (18 sites -> 30 amp/water/sewer), $17 for tent sites (32 sites -> no hookups) in summer season. On-site dump station and water.

Typical site view. This is a non-hookup (“tent”) site A5

View of our site A4. We had full hookups and a HUGE “sitting area” but our site sloped to the back.

View down middle of campground. RV in site #A9 which was nicely private. You can see a “peek” of our site A4 behind the trees to the left.

View of corner of park. Site B15 in front with B13, B12 behind. These were all full hookup, but too close together for our liking.

View down back-side of campground. RV in site #B25 with B23, B21 behind it. These are all full hookup

View of “sitting” area showing fire-pit and picnic table. This was our site A4.

View of cabins in C-loop

View of facilities

Hiking on the “unofficial” hiking trails

Our new backyard at Memaloose State Park, OR

Believe it or not we’ve made it all the way to the Columbia River Gorge, the very tip of northern Oregon, and the banks of the massive estuary that divides Oregon from Washington. During our trip north we’ve followed I-84 and the footsteps of emigrants who bravely forged their way west along this very trail in the mid-1800′s. Pretty cool stuff!

The 1843 Oregon Trail Map

For those not in the know, the ~2,000-mile (3,200 km) Oregon trail was a historic migration trail that started in Missouri and led west to the “Garden Of the World” (or so it was rumored). The first big migration happened in 1843 and by 1869 over 400,000 settlers, ranchers, farmers, miners and their families had made the trip, most of them walking all the way next to their oxen-driven carts. Now, that’s what I call a hike! This year we picked up our first taste of the trail at Three Island Crossing State Park, ID and have followed it ever since (one day I’d love to follow the whole thing).

It’s a tad easier to drive the thing in an RV, I tell ‘ya

The East end of the Columbia River Gorge

And getting towards the middle…prettier and prettier

Our tire delay in Boise put us few days behind schedule. Originally I’d planned several additional stops on I-84, including some boondocking at John Day Dam (a fabulous boondocking spot, by the way), but we decided to shorten our stops and get to the middle of the Gorge as soon as we could so we could stay on-track for our June bookings on the coast. We did a quick lay-over in Emigrant Springs State Park (review coming) and then hightailed it up the road to Memaloose State Park where we are currently nestled in an awesome waterfront site. The forecast calls for a mixed bag of grey, rain & sunny weather over the next few days (pretty typical for this time of year), but we can watch the boats on the river from our window when it drizzles and lounge on the lawn with our cocktails when the sun comes out. Not too shabby!

I’ll be getting more of this ALL summer!

And you know what…we’re in OREGON!! Can’t tell you how darn excited we are to be back here. It’s actually funny to recollect that Oregon was never one of the states we planned on visiting in the RV when we started this fulltime journey. Can’t exactly say why, but it just didn’t make “the list”. The only reason we ended up here was because of our slide troubles in 2011 which started a mad 1,000 mile dash to Eugene. In a way, it was the start of our own migration to the “Garden of  The World” and the whole state turned out to be a totally unexpected, totally wonderful surprise that’s kept us coming back ever since.  With the heat creeping up down south and fire-season starting elsewhere, we’re gonna be looking forward to yet another cool, relaxing summer in wonderful Oregon. Let the adventures begin….

Gorgeous spring buds

And pine…wonderful pine!

The green pet area at Boise Riverside RV Park

A basic, but very friendly RV park in a GREAT location in Boise, ID

Link to park here: Boise Riverside RV Park, Boise, ID
Link to map location here: Boise Riverside RV park, Boise, ID

1. Site quality = 2.5/5
   Just so-so sites here. They are all basic, cleared flat dirt with decent separation (there’s “double-size” between each RV -> a space for your RV and a space next to it for your car) with water/electric (greenbelt-facing sites) or full hookups (50 Amp/water/sewer), but really not much else. Most sites are separated by a concrete pad, some have a strip of grass, several have decent trees (ours was actually quite shaded although the tree threw sap all over the RV), but only a select number have picnic tables. The water/electric only sites had a bit more grass, but were generally smaller in size (smaller rigs only). Electricity OK, but water pressure was low.
2. Facilities = 3.5/5
   Decent facilities. Bathrooms and toilets were a tad older, but spotlessly clean. Low water pressure in the showers, but otherwise good temps and plenty of space. All showers have separate bench and hooks for your stuff.
3. Amenities = 3/5
   Decent, but basic amenities. There is a large, clean on-site laundry ($1.50 per wash), grassy areas, propane, dump and BBQ area. Decent (workable) on-site WiFi although signal was poor the further you got from the office.
4. Location = 5/5
   Location is what you come here for. Boise Riverside RV Park is literally ON the greenbelt with direct access to the bike-hike trail and only ~15 mins from downtown. Excellent location for anything you want to do in town.
5. Pet friendliness = 5/5
   Good area for doggie. There’s limited space at camp, but there is an on-site (large, green) pet-walk area and you are right on the greenbelt for access to miles of walking (and river dips) right from camp. Also, you’re only ~15 mins from the foothills and all the extra hiking there.

Overall rating = 3.8
BONUS ALERT: Camp RIGHT on the Boise greenbelt and only ~5 miles from downtown!

Summary: This park is all about location, location, location. On the cosmetic side I would call it a basic private RV park. Sites are basic dirt with full hookups (rather low water-pressure, but otherwise fine), decent separation, some basic grass or concrete in-between, decent trees, but not much in the way of “extras”. There’s good, basic facilities, good amenities, everything is clean and well-kept and the owners are super-friendly and supportive (e.g. you can wash your RV for only $5). All good stuff, but not exactly stunning. Where the park wins me over is location. You are literally RIGHT on the Boise greenbelt, with direct access to miles of walking, biking and water-dips (for doggie) right from camp. Also you’re only ~5 miles from downtown and the Boise foothills. When we came to Boise a few years back we stayed at Hi Valley which was a very neat park, but further from town. Boise Riverside is more basic and not as modern, but in a much, much better location. I think if we come back we’ll choose to stay here again.

Extra Info: Excellent Verizon signal (4G LTE and 3G). On-site WiFi is workable, although signal is poor as you get further from the office. Sites cost $32.56/night or $179.22/week or $375/month for full hookups. Water/electric only sites are $25/night. Good Sam’s Discount. On-site dump station and propane.

Front view of our site (#6). Very shaded, but the tree threw sap all over our RV

Back view of our RV site. We had no-one to the left and right side is empty.

View down front greenbelt-facing water/electric sites. Mostly smaller rigs here.

View down some sites near front entrance of park

Another view down front entrance rows

View of sites near back of park

Another view of back sites

View down middle row

View of facilities in middle of park (laundry, showers)

Walking Polly on the greenbelt right next to the RV park

That’s the look of a broken belt

Paul and I are very, very careful about our RV tires. We religiously check tire pressure, cover them whenever we are parked, keep them clean, use 303 Aerospace Protectant (the best stuff out there IMHO) and keep a close eye on datecode. Almost any RV tire you ever buy will “age out” rather than actually “wear out”. The vast majority of RVs simply don’t get that much road-time (compared to a commercial truck, for example) and at some point the rubber just starts to get too old and you risk problems. Exactly when that happens is a favorite debate on RV forums that usually elicits at least 10 pages of heated answers. Many folks will push their tires to 10 years, but we’ve always held that we would replace ours at 6 years of age no matter what…and for “the beast” that year was 2013.

Jeff starts work on the rig

So, the good news is that I knew this and had spent the last couple of months researching tires, looking at load and dimension specs and figuring out cost. We run 275/80 22.5 H-load tires on our rig and there’s only around 4 manufacturers (Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear) that offer that particular size and load. I had carefully narrowed down our choice to a couple of options, joined the FMCA Tire Program (which gives awesome discounts on Michelin tires) and even chosen the very place we’d get them done in Oregon (no sales tax, ya know). Oh yeah, we were all set and prepared. No problem baby!

But, as you know, sometimes RV life isn’t always as smooth as you expect. In fact, one of the age-old laws of RVing is that things will always happen at the least opportune moment….in other words you will inevitably have a major tire problem when you’re within agonizing reach of Oregon (but not quite there), in a place where no-one has your size and where you definitely can’t get any tire discounts.

“the Beast” at Les Schwab

We noticed the bulge on our front tire as we were sitting in the RV park in Boise. Originally we thought it was the curb a person-who-shall-not-be-named had scuffed on the way in, but shortly after we realized BOTH front wheels had the same damage. It’s the classic look of a broken steel belt and the way you can tell is the bulge is apparent in the same place on both sides of the tire (front-facing and inside-facing tire-walls -> run your hand radially along the front, over the tread and continue along the back and you’ll feel it on both sides). BAH! BUM@ CR*P! Given the abuse we put our tires through (especially with boondocking and crazy, bumpy, rocky roads), I guess it’s kind of lucky this didn’t happen before, but the timing just sucked.

The ONE thing that is NOT acceptable on a 33,000 lb beast is a bulge in the tires. No, no, no, no, no….!

Paul chats w/ Jeff after the work is done

Back view of “the beast”

Knowing there was no way we could drive with this, I started calling around to all the tire spots in the area. The 2 commercial truck tire guys in the area did not have the size we needed, or could only get it 2 weeks from now and/or could not guarantee datecode (very important this -> you should always ask about datecode if you’re buying tires), and most of the regular tire places didn’t have the facilities to handle us. But there was one place, and one guy who could answer all my nit-picky questions (I’ve never been an easy customer) and had the facilities to take us. Les Schwab on Jefferson (208-336-3110), and more specifically Jeff knew exactly what we needed. He was able to get the tires within 2 days and could guarantee a datecode of 1013 (that’s the 10th week of 2013, almost impossible to get fresher). Total SCORE!

That’s an AWESOME datecode!

Happily tucked into the pines in Oregon

I was ridiculously nervous about the 5-mile drive over, but we made the drive painlessly and Jeff was there to personally greet us and get us going. He started work as soon as we stepped off the RV and had the 2 front tires changed (brand new Michelin XZE’s) within an hour while we went for a Starbuck’s and lounged with doggie in their waiting room. An overall fabulous experience! We’ve decided to keep the back (undamaged) tires until we get to Oregon, but feel 500% better with new steers even though the cost {{groan}} caused us to hyperventilate and cackle hysterically like old witches. Ah well, ’tis the price we pay for no mortgage and utter freedom, right? The new ride is smooth as silk and I couldn’t be happier with the service.

We’ve now made it (FINALLY) to Oregon and are hanging for a few days in deep pine forest (oh yeah!) before we make the drive to spend the next few weeks in the Columbia River Gorge. Onwards and upwards Scotty…we averted another near-disaster and are still on the road.

Related Post: Tire Maintenance & Handling Tire Blow-Outs