Columbia River Gorge

We departed West Glacier and overnighted outside of Spokane, Washington on Thursday, July 12^th. We drove south down U.S. 395 through the wheat fields of eastern Washington and headed to a Washington state park on the Columbia River. We met our friends Vince & Lisa at the state park to join them exploring the Columbia River Gorge.

We checked out the Oregon side of the Columbia by visiting The Dalles and Hood River, on the Columbia River Gorge. We especially liked the area around Hood River, with its views of Mount Hood, a lavender farm, and a local winery.

Three days later, last Monday, we moved 70-miles west to Cascade Locks and a nearby Oregon state park where we camped for four nights on a hill in the woods. We drove into Portland on Tuesday and visited their world-famous rose gardens. We also sampled some Voodoo Donuts.

We visited Bonneville Dam & Locks on Wednesday. It was interesting to see the dam, locks, and the fish ladder around the dam.

We went into Cascade Locks on Thursday and took a scenic ride on a real paddle-wheel boat up and down the Columbia River Gorge.

We left Oregon on Friday and drove about 90-miles to Castle Rock, WA to stay at another state park for a couple of nights. We visited Mount St. Helens National Monument on Saturday. It was interesting to see what remains of the mountain after the devastating volcanic eruption on May 20, 1980

Yesterday we drove north up I-5 through Seattle to Whidbey Island, Washington for a five-night stay. We’re staying at Cliffside RV Park on the Navy base and have great views of the San Juan Straits. We hope to see some sea-life while we’re here.

Steve & Julie Cornelius