Crossing and Re-Crossing the Columbia River

We left the lovely golf course at Deer Park bright and early this morning.  After finally finding our way to US Highway 395 South, we made our way through Spokane and onto I-90 West.  At the rest area near Ritzville, we saw this curious sign:

Sure enough, there were the seagulls, feasting at the rest area, only 300 miles from the ocean.

We saw amber waves of grain...

...and places to store the grain.

We saw dust devils.  It was indeed windy as the day went on.

The first time we crossed the Columbia River was in the Tri-Cities at Kennewick.

The second time we crossed the river was at Umatilla, where we entered into Oregon.

It was still very windy as we made our way to I-84.  See why this area is called the Columbia River Gorge?

John Day Dam

And the dam's patriotic U.S. flag

Biggs Junction Bridge near Maryhill, where we will cross the Columbia River back into Washington.

Maryhill State Park, where we hoped to spend the night, was full, so we went next door to Peach Beach Campark.  We were lucky to find a pull-thru site for the evening.  We have no sewer hookups, but we have free wifi, cell service, satellite signal, 50 amp power, and water--all for $30.  They can get those kind of rates because the park is right on the river and enjoyed by both campers and wind surfers. 

Site#69, our home for the night

Little peach trees and big peach trees at Peach Beach Park.

Tomorrow, after we cross the Columbia River back into Oregon, we'll drive for two more hours and then cross the river again near the Portland Airport to get back to Washington.  This summer's vacation trip to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier National Parks will be nothing more than memories and pictures...

...and a rock chip in the motorhome's windshield that looks amazingly like a larger version of all the smashed bugs!

A Curvy Ride from Helena to St. Mary, MT

Last night a storm came through our campground.  Afterword, Dave and I saw  a meteorological phenomenon called a virga.  You can click on the name and read all about the science involved, but basically it was rain falling in the distance at the time of sunset. 

Virga at sunset

This morning the sun was out and the wind was gone.  We left the RV park at 8:45 and headed north to St. Mary. 

The mosquitoes weren't quite as bad this morning, but we still managed to get a windshield full of bugs as we made the 200 mile drive to St. Mary.  We saw a variety of scenery along the way.

Pretty trees in the town of Choteau

I didn't know there were oil wells in Montana.

We saw a missile launch control facility (no picture) and about ten miles later, we saw one of the underground missile silos.  The picture isn't too clear since I had to take it through the screened side window.

As we got closer to Glacier, the mountains became more visible at times...

...and not at other times.

The town of Browning is a junction for highways 2 and 89.  We were on highway 89 and continued north. 

St. Mary Lake popped into view.

After a harrowing drive through the narrow curves of Highway 89, we arrived at the East Glacier/St. Mary KOA.  It's a decent KOA, with friendly check-in, a playground, swimming pool, and hot tub, but over-priced at $115 for 2 nights after the KOA discount.

Below are two views from our site at the KOA.

We ate a late lunch in the motorhome and then went into the park to the St. Mary Visitor's Center and drove on the Going-to-the-Sun Road as far as it was open.  I'll write about that trip tomorrow.

Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park, West Yellowstone, MT

This morning we made the big move (6 blocks) to Grizzly RV Park.  This was our first choice place to spend all seven nights we were here, but they were booked for the first five, so we ended up at Wagon Wheel Campground for those nights.  West Yellowstone is a busy town in the summer, so we were lucky to get reservations anywhere!

Grizzly RV Park is a very nice park, and it turned out that since we were assigned a back-in site in the back of the park, the price was 48.95 per day--minus the Good sam discount, plus tax, we paid $96.91 for the two nights we'll be here.  That's expensive, but a pretty good rate for this park and for this town.  We are within walking distance to everything, and even closer than we were at Wagon Wheel.

Back-in Site #28 at Grizzly RV Park The staff here are friendly and efficient.  This is a big park and we were lucky to be able to check in at 11 am because their recommended check in doesn't start until noon.  We had to check out of Wagon Wheel at 11, so that would have left us "homeless" for an hour.  Well, not really homeless, since we have our home with us, but without a place to park it.

The view from behind our site.  A large dog walk path is in front of the fence and circles around the park.

A view down one of the streets of the RV park.

The playground

Check-in parking

The park's mascot in front of the registration building.

I always like to see a park's flag waving!

The game room, restrooms, and laundry all are very nice.  There is no pool or exercise room.  This park offers cabins as well as tent sites.  We get can a satellite signal here, but the speedy free wifi (Tengonet) is limited to 2 hours during every 10 hour period, or unlimited free wifi if you are in a premium site.  I recommend both of the parks that we've stayed at here in West Yellowstone! 

Wagon Wheel Campground, West Yellowstone, MT

After three action packed days in Yellowstone National Park, today Dave and I are relaxing in our motorhome in West Yellowstone.  We went for a bicycle ride this morning before it got too windy.  We rode through an area of very nice log houses with big porches.  I could just picture myself sitting there all summer, but not in the winter, of course!

Beautiful mountain scenery on the road to Henry's Lake State Park.

After lunch in the RV, we drove on Highway 20 back towards Island Park.  We drove five miles south to check out RedRock RV Park.  We didn't take any pictures, but it looked like a nice enough park located in a meadow surrounded by mountains.  The sites were smallish and close together, but roomy enough for big rigs. 

Henry's Lake with campground in the middle left of the photo.

Then we drove to Henry Lake State Park.  This park surprised us because all it consisted of was the lake, a day-use boating area, and a campground.  The campground was out in the open with very few trees, which we like because we like to get satellite and we LOVE to look at the stars and watch the meteor showers.  It was windy at the park, but it's windy everywhere around here today.  Sadly, the park doesn't offer sewer hookups, but it has water and both 30 and 50 amp electric hookups.  Our Verizon phones received 2 bars of 3G service at Henry's Lake Campground.

The following pictures are of Wagon Wheel Campground, West Yellowstone

After looking around at most of the RV parks in West Yellowstone, we are happy that we ended up at Wagon Wheel (http://www.wagonwheelrv.com/).  The people that run it are super-nice, we got the best site for big rigs (#2), and we have full hookups with 50 amp.  The only thing we lack is satellite because there are too many big trees blocking our signal.  But those trees aren't all bad because they provide a little shade and serve to somewhat block our neighbors from our site (and sight).

The site to our right and our site face an empty parking lot at a Mormon meeting house.  It's been empty all week, but I suspect it will be filled tomorrow morning!

 Wagon Wheels

A view down one of the streets of the campground.

The sites are located off to the right and left.  This is a small campground but the best amenity is that it is located right in downtown West Yellowstone, only about six blocks from all the stores and activities and from the national park entrance.

The park has a limited game room

Adequate laundry facilities

Clean restrooms and showers

Even a tub full of flowers!

I always consult  http://www.rvparkreviews.com/ the RV Park Review website when trying to plan where to stay.  Not every park is included, but the reviews give me a good idea about prices and desirability of the parks.  Most reviews include a link to the campground's website and show a list of other towns nearby with RV parks.

Our rig in site #2 at Wagon Wheel Campground

It will be interesting to contrast this RV park with the more expensive, upscale Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park where we will spend Sunday and Monday nights. 

Wenatchee, Washington

Thank you very much to all who commented on both sets of my Sophie pictures.  As much as we would like to see our new granddaughter every single day, we thought we had better let the new parents settle into an at-home routine.  We decided to go on a ten-day trip with our motorhome.  Our destination was Wenatchee, the apple capital of Washington state.  Wenatchee is a good six hour drive from our home in Vancouver, WA, a bit further than we prefer to drive in a day, but definitely do-able.

We took Highway 97 north from I-90 to Highway 2, then east to Wenatchee.

The scenery was spectacular while traveling on US Highway 97.  Those are the Cascade Mountains in the distance.

  

One of the highlights of a trip to Wenatchee is staying at Wenatchee Confluence State Park--a confluence where the Wenatchee River meets the Columbia River.  When we arrived yesterday, the sun was out, the temperature was fairly warm, but it was windy as it often is in this area. 

We are taking advantage of the final three days of using our senior resident off-season state park camping pass.  We are camping for $6 per night, but not on weekends in April, and not after April 30--until October, that is, when we'll buy another pass for $50 and start the process again.   As Dave mentioned in his blog, this park is fully booked for this weekend because of Wenatchee's Apple Blossom Festival which starts tomorrow.  When we come back here next week, we will have to pay the regular rate of $28 per day. 

Pull-thru site #13

Our view of the Columbia River