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!
