One more day...
White Salmon, Washington: Since I posted so early last night
(trying to conserve energy while dry-camping) you missed all the excitement!
Our neighbor caught a steelhead in the Deschutes River! He brought the prize
back to his family, who were tent camping next to us, only to learn they had
forgotten a knife. RV Goddess to the rescue! Boy, oh, boy, do I have knives -
and a sharpening steel. (Luckily for them, we also had Ziploc bags, garbage
bags, flashlights and a lantern! I don't think they had planned to catch a fish?) The 13-year-old son cleaned the fish on our
picnic table - quite
well, too - with the advice of his Dad. They offered us half of that lovely fish
and it was all I could do to politely refuse. Maybe it is time for DT & I to find
dust-off our fishing poles?
We had to make-do with our steaks. (If you missed the late-night steak photo
post... better
check-out the bottom of yesterday's column.)
This part of the campground has 30 amp service and
water. No sewer; no dump.
We really enjoyed our over-night stay at Deschutes
River State Recreation Area and are thinking of trying to find a time
when we can return. There is some freeway noise and a train running
along the Columbia (quite often), but on a sunny day all that can be forgotten.
Especially if the fish are biting. Check-out time is an unusually-late one o'clock! Yes!
The view up (south) the Deschutes River at Deschutes
River State Park
This must have been very similar to what the pioneers saw when they
finally made it to this spot on the "Da Chutes"
River. They knew this is where The Deschutes would meet the
Mighty Columbia River, and where they would see the lush green
valleys
ready for their tills. Wrong. The green stuff was
still thirty miles down the Columbia River. Not only
were they crushed at not finding their Oregon Eden,
they had to ford the Deschutes River! It was tough
on the Oregon Trail.
No wifi hotspots either.
We were up early and DT went for a run on the
mountain biking trails in the State Park. Five
miler! The man is unstoppable. I stayed home and
made my famous potato hash for My Runner because he
loves it so much. Such a
devoted wife.
After his run, DT "iced" his legs in the cold
Deschutes River. After a while, he motioned for me
to "bring my camera". Dave was staring across the
river at a fisherman in a drift boat.
Now that's a drift boat!
You may have figured we are close enough to home that I could
have driven home last night to fetch a knife for the fisherman if needed. All
good RV trips must come to an end - but we still had one more day and we wanted
to try a restaurant in Hood River again, so we called the
Bridge RV Park in White Salmon,
Washington (across the Columbia River from Hood River, Oregon) and booked
for one night. One last night with full service, to could catch-up on dishes and
laundry after our 24-hour boondock.
Great park, but we didn't know/had forgotten the steel mesh toll
bridge
across the river is so narrow! And by narrow, I mean 9'10" lanes. Total
freak-out. The lady taking the toll (75-cents for autos; $3.25 for our RV+car)
asked My Driver, "How much do you suppose it would cost to replace one of your
side mirrors?" The bridge is nearly a mile long - it spans the Columbia River!
Longest mile ever. The bridge website advises large RV's to cross at alternative
bridges... but we didn't read the website until after we crossed, and
there are no restrictions posted before entering the bridge. (See photo below.)
Obviously not, because we met a massive log truck and a huge semi loaded-down
with crates of fruit! Suck-in Magna Peregrinus! Goodness. That was an
adventure I never wish to repeat. My Driver, so calm and cool, probably took it
as a challenge. I don't know. I didn't ask him.
I had my eyes closed.
So we found ourselves on the
"Washington side" of the Columbia in a full-service
campsite for one night. Our bus is filthy. Our Honda
is filthy.
How many nights do you suppose we
have spent in our motorhome since November 2008?
Plenty, right? Today was the first time we put
propane in the tank! We couldn't even remember where
the valve for the propane tank was located! The only
appliance using propane in our RV is the two-burner
cook top. I guess we go out to eat too often. The RV
park owner filled us up. Looks like I am going to
have to budget $15 on propane every couple of years.
Besides being very friendly, the RV
park owner has the coolest collection of vintage RV
mini cars!
Good thing too, because this size of
RV will easily fit on the bridge back to Oregon.
We had a relaxing afternoon. I found the White
Salmon Post Office - up something called the Dock
Grade - scary even in the Honda. (I'm telling you,
driving is simply hazardous in this part of the
Columbia Gorge.) Napping occurred. We chatted with
our very friendly neighbors, and then dressed for
our final dinner on the road - for this trip,
anyway.
To get to the restaurant in Hood River, Oregon, we had to cross the
(75-cent) toll bridge. In the Honda. As I said earlier, this bridge is
9'-10" wide. Our bus is 8'6" wide. In the Honda, we were
fine. Maybe now you understand our dilemma earlier today.
Quite a while ago, we had lunch at
Celilo in Hood
River, Oregon. This restaurant is generally considered one of the best in
our state. Tonight, we drove the very narrow bridge to give Celilo a try at
dinner. Celilo (pronounced sah-lie-low) is named after the falls
that once fell across the Columbia River near present-day Hood River, Oregon before The
Dalles Dam (Dalles rhymes with gals) was constructed.
The falls were a rich Native American fishing ground.
(Why do I always have to explain how Oregon place names are
pronounced?)
This beautiful mural, in our State Capitol in Salem, depicts
Lewis & Clark meeting with Native Americans at Celilo Falls on the Mighty
Columbia in 1805 on their return trip east, after wintering on the Oregon
coast. Oregon's adopted daughter, Sacajawea, is also in the painting.
Did you know
her famous baby - Pomp, aka Jean Baptiste Charbonneau - lived quite an
interesting life traveling the world and is buried
in the middle of nowhere in Oregon?
With all this exciting history, why do we ever leave our own state?
Back to present time - we enjoyed perfectly delicious meals at Celilo and
encourage you to try this Oregon treat if you are ever in the Columbia River
Gorge. Everything is fresh, local and usually organic. We just love
Celilo!
If you are not into RVing... just
say goodnight and check this site tomorrow. I really
opened a can of worms had a lot of emails
this morning about the Silverleaf system I wrote
about yesterday, so I am going to post photos of the
rear Silverleaf panel.
As Jimmy Buffett says... My whole world lies waiting
behind Door Number Three. Open a cabinet door next to the washer-dryer
in the bath area of our RV and you will find "Control Central". The top
black panel is our solar monitor. When we are not plugged-into electricity
or the engine/generator is not running, the solar panels on the roof sucks up free
power from the sun. The next panel, with the fancy faux burl wood is the HWH
system that controls the two slide rooms in the bedroom. (There is another
in the kitchen area for the big living area slide room.) The two lower white
switches are my favorite - they control the radiant heat in the tile floor.
(Notice they both read OFF? That is because it is nearly 100 degrees outside
today.)
The Silverleaf is the black panel above the radiant heat switches.
This is the "Home" screen. Wouldn't you think, that after
nearly two years in this RV, one of us would have removed the flimsy protective
plastic screen cover on the monitor?
Anyway... this screen shows the date and time and gives us a basic idea
about what is going on with our RV. We had just arrived at the campsite and
we were plugged into 50 amp service. Our fresh water tank about one-quarter
full - it holds 100 gallons. DT had just dumped the gray tank (water from
the sinks, shower, dishwasher and laundry) and the black tank (toilet) is
one-quarter full. Don't you just love how the fresh water level is shown in
blue and the black water tank is brown? Eww. Guess what? (The grey
water level is shown in grey!) This "basic information" screen show the
status of our batteries (full) and how much juice we are consuming.
Continuing on our tour:
AC Power (left): this screen goes into more detail about the
electricity we are using on each leg and allows us to set the max amount of
power going to charge the battery bank. (We have one set of batteries for
the "house" and another set for the engine. Engine batteries are not
monitored here.)
DC Power (right): This shows us the batteries are being charged through the
inverter. (The inverter turns energy stored in the battery into 120v
electricity.)
Water (left): Again, this monitors our tanks. This screen
also shows our propane tank is full. We can turn our water pump on from this
screen, or from 367 other places in the bus. The Auto Fill allows us fill
the water tank without having to go outside and push any buttons or flip any
switches.
Genset (right): We can start/stop the generator from this panel... or from
several other places in the RV.
Temp (left): Obviously, the temp in the plumbing bay. (I
told you it was hot today.) This reading isn't important today. This reading
is important when it is freezing outside. Our coach does come equipped with
a heated plumbing bay... but it is always good to keep your eye on the
temperature in really cold weather. Wouldn't want to have to deal with a
frozen/cracked/broken pipe.
Finally, the photo on the right is a full-view shot from the back-up camera
when the "Camera" button is pushed. Don't come messing around our bus!
We will see you.
I hope you all enjoyed your tour of our Silverleaf system today. Please exit
to your right and don't forget to tip your driver.
Until my next update, from Taylor Manor, I remain your Oregon
correspondent.
RV Park:
Bridge RV Park
65271 HWY. 14
White Salmon, WA 98672
509.493.2222
GPS: N45° 43.361'/W121° 29.236'
Elevation: 144 feet
35 paved full hookup sites with 30/50 amps, 15 tent sites, bathhouse, laundry,
free wifi, great dog walk area. Just across the (very, very, very) narrow bridge
from Hood River, Oregon. Large RVs are advised to cross at Cascade Locks or The
Dalles. The height restriction is 14 feet 7 inches.
Entering the Bridge RV Park in White Salmon,
Washington
Beautiful tent/picnic area
Pet walk area - and the inevitable train tracks with
the Columbia River below