RV Travels with Dakota Duo: July

Sunday - Wednesday Work in the park, fee booth duty. Wednesday night - we had a farewell party for Richard and Vivian - they were leaving on Friday. I went in to Sandy late afternoon and picked up Papa Murphy's pizza. We baked them in the bunk house oven and had our gathering in the office building. After pizza, we played Progressive Rummy with them and Dick & Anne.

Thursday - Rain in the AM cancelled our hiking plans, so we stayed home all day and worked on travel plans and Gary processed his RV inspection reports.

Friday - up early, we picked up Leslie and Chris and headed north to the Bonneville Dam. Our friends, Erin and Mike, are hosting there and invited us to come up for a tour and lunch. We went to their campsite on Robbins Island first. We walked around the island and saw the incredible views and saw a bald eagle flying over the water carrying a large fish. Beautiful! They said they saw it all the time. We all went to the dam and took the Corp of Engineer's tour from the Washington side. They took us down to see the turbines and taught us the history of the dam. Afterward, we went over to the Oregon side and Erin and Mike showed us where they work. We saw the fish viewing windows - much bigger than our little window - and the locks there. We went back to their place and visited while they grilled burgers and chicken for us. A great time! On the way back, we drove on old Hwy 30, seeing several of the water falls along the route and the views of the Columbia River from the Vista House. Driving back in to Troutdale, we stopped at Edgefield, another McMenamins property. This property was formerly the Multnomah County Poor Farm. The McMenamin Brothers have bought historical properties in Oregon and made them in to breweries, wineries, hotels, spas and restaurants. (The one we visited in Bend was formerly the Catholic school) We had supper here and toured the grounds. They had a herb garden, fruit and vegetable garden, all to be used for dishes made in the restaurant. We had a great evening with Leslie and Chris, a perfect end to a great day.

View from Robbin's Island on the Columbia River

Lower spout disperses young salmon to the river, spray keeps birds away

Bonneville Dam turbine

We were this low below the lake

Saving the dam!

Herman the Sturgeon

Our friends at Bonneville, Mike & Erin

Vista House Welcome Center on Hwy 30

View of Columbia River from top of Vista House

Edgefield McMenamins'

Building/grounds history

Saturday - Our plan today was to drive up to Cloud Cap Inn, a historic building used for the Hood River ski rescues through the years. Up Hwy 35, we drove up to the Cooper Spur Resort and then took the turn for Cloud Cap. Not far up the gravel road, we found the forest service had closed the road to public use. From the Cooper Spur resort parking lot, we could see two peaks in the distance. Staff at the resort told us we could get a good view of them by going up a gravel road just up from the resort. We made the drive up and had fantastic views of Mt. Hood one way and Mt. Adams and Mr. Rainier the other direction. Wow! After pictures, we had a bite to eat at the resort and then headed back. We drove up Mt. Hood to Timberline Lodge again - to see the changes from when we arrived in May and saw in June. A lot of snow had melted, we could hike above the lodge on dry ground. A big change, we would not have seen if we had not been in the area for three months. Skiers and snowboarders were still enjoying their sport, up on the Palmer glacier snow. We came upon the lodge staff decorating the outdoor ampitheater for a wedding. Beautiful flowers and the view - amazing! Back to the park, supper and then Mass at 7:00 at St. John's. A campfire to end a great day.