Camp Hosts

When Jeni and I first hatched the idea of becoming full time RVers 7 years ago, we had visions of beautiful scenery, leisurely traveling the U.S., and living the care free life. We talked about volunteering at State Parks to augment some of our RV costs. But for us, the absolute best thing about our RV lifestyle, has been the great people we have camp hosted with. They come from all walks of life,but we all have one common bond, enjoying life on our own terms in our RVs.
We have been up in Oregon this summer (as you know) camp hosting at Cape Blanco and our current place Deschutes.
Jeni and I had made a date with Jerry and Deb, who we camp hosted with at Folsom Lake this past winter,to meet this summer in Portland Ore. for dinner as they would be hosting at a light house on the coast and we would be at Deschuites. last Wednesday we met for dinner at "Gustov's a German pub and grill. We really enjoyed seeing them and the evening ended all too quickly.
We had a nice surprise this week when Stan and Diane and Tim and Shirley, whom we camp hosted with at Agua Caliente park a couple of winters back were both in the area and they stopped in to the park for a visit. We all had a great time. Good food, great friends, cold beer,and Jeni's favorite, playing cards!(no "hand and foot thank god!) Again, it seemed like the time flew by and we were saying our good bye's. We hated to see this week end as we just didn't get enough time to spend with our friends,but one thing we know for sure, we will see them again down the road.
After a real busy weekend here at the park,Jeni and I enjoyed the quiet as the campers loaded up and left.As we set on our porch in our site listening to the river, the birds,and the trees swaying in the breeze, we thought how lucky we are living life on our terms. Enjoying the scenery,being in Oregon,living the care free life,and seeing our friends again....our Fellow Camp Hosts. You are the best!

More Waterfalls!

Were on the sight seeing trail again. Heading down the Colombia river on I-84 towards Portland on a warm and sunny day.
The Columbia is a busy river as barges ply the waters taking supplies back and forth from the Pacific to the inland cities.
The scenery along the river goes from high desert brown at the park to lush forests of deep green about 25 miles west.



Our first stop is at Bonneville Dam and the "Cascade Locks" on the Columbia. We pulled in to the Bradford island visitor center to check it out. Here you can see how they use the river for many things. First and foremost for power. There is a series of dams on the Columbia that provide power to all of the northwest but the Bonneville has two separate power plants at the dam. Each churning out over a half a million kilowatts of power. The whole structure stretches all the way across the Columbia all connected by three tiny islands.

Standing at the viewing area, you can feel the rumble of the rushing water as it flows out of the dam to the river below. We almost needed an umbrella as the mist was very damp, but what a fascinating sight it was!

Watching the Barges on the river at Deschutes, I wondered "how do they get up and down stream past the dams ?" "do they jump over the dam like fish?" "Maybe a big crane lifts them over the dam?"NO, The dams all have "locks" something this "Arizona boy" didn't know!

Its a chamber at the dam where the ship enters and water is pumped in or out which either lifts or lowers the ship depending on which way it is traveling.A ship traveling downstream enters the lock and is lowered 60 ft to the river below at Bonneville.

In edition to producing power and getting ships through the dam, Bonneville also helps the fish navigate through the dam with a series of "fish ladders." Salmon, Steel head, and Sturgeon are just a few of the species that travel the Columbia.

In the "Visitors Center", you can view the "fish ladder" and watch the fish on their travels. When I took the picture,only a few smaller ones passed by but earlier there were some" THIS BIG'.(typical fish story)

We were very impressed with the visitors Center. The "Corp Of Engineers"has put our tax dollars to good use here.(for once!)

Well it wouldn't be Oregon with out Waterfalls so we hunted some more up.

On historic hwy. 30 just off the 84,there is Ainsworth State Park and a series of falls along the 30.

The first is "Horsetail Falls.

Horsetail Falls,right on hwy.30, cascades down about 100ft. A nice day use area and picnic area is just below it.I wish we would have brought "Subway". This would be a nice place to enjoy lunch.

Next up,2 miles west, we stopped at Multnomah falls. now this place knows how to "gather a crowd". On I-84 they have an exit just for the falls. You park and walk under the freeway alongside a creek and come to a visitor center, snack bar,restaurant,gift shop,coffee kiosk,restrooms and "the falls". The National Forest Service runs this little "tourist trap money maker!" There is a parking area on hwy-30 also which is where we parked.




The falls were spectacular and fell over 200ft. We hiked up 1/4 mile to the bridge you see to get a closer look. It was assume!

After that "gruelling"1/4 mile hike in the blistering heat(74 degrees!),........ We had Ice cream at the snack bar!

All in all,it was a great day. We got on the 84 and headed east back to the park. Between Cascade lock(Bonneville dam) and the Dalles,we saw a sign for another loop for Hwy-30 so we took it. It rose above the Columbia for some fantastic views and little towns that we encountered took you back in time to a slower pace where farming was the way of life. "a fantastic Day!"

We had a nice surprise the other day when our "camp hosting Friends" Stan and Diane stopped in to see us at the park. They are visiting their Daughter,son in law, and NEW Grandson in Trout Lake Wash. Which is only about 50 miles away. We had a great visit with them and we visited all afternoon. And yes ,Jeni got to play cards with Diane. I owe Diane "big time!"Our afternoon continued into dinner at the Dalles at a little Mexican food place.Good food, Great Friends.We sure enjoyed seeing them again.

We sure love the RV lifestyle. "good friends,good food,good scenery,and More Waterfalls!

warm and suunny at Deschutes

We have arrived here at Deschutes State Park. What a beautiful park this is. Tom the head ranger got us settled in and gave us the camphost book to get us started.Later Bruce the night ranger brought us our "Gator" to get us around.
This is our site. you could fit 3 RVs on this site! Paved,level,lots of shade,a little deck,a storage shed,and it sits above the campgrounds we take care of for a nice view of them.
Oregon Stake Parks know how to take care their volunteers. This is one of the nicest sites we have had.


This is my view from my lawn chair on our little deck high above the campground. We can see the campground and the Dsechutes river.
The 4th of July weekend was packed but very uneventful. With the sites so close together,and no campfires allowed.It seemed like a perfect recipe for trouble but Ranger Bruce kept everything under control. So far the campers have been "Happy Campers"here.
There is hiking here with 4 main trails to choose from.On the river there is boating, rafting,and fishing for world class steel head.

The area just outside the park is a high desert with golden brown hills that go up each side of the deep canyon the the Deschutes river flows through. Inside the park is a beautiful oasis of lush lawns,lots of trees,and cool breezes that cool the area on hot summer days.
The staff here keep the park manicured and lush just like every park we have been to here in Oregon.
The Rangers here in Oregon do not carry firearms like they do in California,but their customer service is next to none and it seems to work for them as we have not seen any trouble so far.


We sell ice at our site but no firewood as there are no campfires allowed during the summer because of the high fire danger.
What a beautiful site we have. The coach and our entertaining area stay nice and shady on hot summer days which was 104 degrees last week.
There is a set of steps that lead up to our site from the campground below. They come up about where the ice machine is.
The climate here reminds me of summer in Sacramento a little,not as humid but hot days and cool afternoon breezes that cool the evenings.

Jeni always loves waterfalls,so when one of the rangers told us of one close by,we just had to check it out.
This is "White river falls" which is in a little "day use" park run by Ore.St. Parks.The White river flows into the Deschutes river.
Speaking of the Deschutes,It is designated as a wild river and protected by State parks, and the BLM.Each segment of the river has its own set of rules. There is no fishing from a boat,only bank or wading in when fishing. Artificial lures allowed. No bait. Each segment of the 200 miles of the river you have to have some kind of pass to be on it depending on which segment your on.



We snapped this picture while we were out sight seeing last week. It is Mount Hood and the cascades in the far distance looking south.
We toured the back roads through towns like Rufus, Biggs, Wasco,and Grass Valley,yes just like in California they have a Grass Valley too.
There is a lot of wheat grown in this area. A lot more that I would have guessed.They harvest it, ship it over to the Columbia river, and put it on a barge and send it down the river to Portland. Some one told us that more wheat comes out of this area than any where else in the world except the Midwest.


Speaking of the mighty Columbia river, here it is.
There is an overlook in the park where we bring rubbish to,and we park the "gator"and gaze at this beautiful river.
The hills on the right side of the river is the state of Washington, and the left is Oregon. Hwy 84 is running along side the river. This is where part of the "Lewis and Clark" trail runs along side the river.
Some days you'll see barges and tugboats plying the river.
The park is located right at the confluence of the Deschutes and the Columbia rivers.
It seems that every park we go to in Oregon,The views are just amazing.We may never leave!
We are glad we are here for 2 months.
The warm sunny days at the Deschutes!