Lori, Ruby and I went on a quick camping trip to the Columbia River Gorge in mid-October. We were in search of that elusive camping spot where we could set up camp and stay for a couple weeks. So we packed up the van and headed south. Driving east from Portland we were treated with beautiful views and enjoyed seeing ships and kite surfers on the river.
Our first stop was the town of Hood River, Oregon. Our good friends Vickie and Troy told us to get pizza at Pietro’s Pizza there, best anywhere per Troy. We got a large Barmaid pizza (Canadian bacon, beef and pepperoni) and I have to say it was damn good! Unfortunately, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. We weren’t sure what to do with the leftovers as our cooler didn’t have room (half the pie). Problem solved when we stopped at a small, independent gas station. We gave the rest to the owner who was quite pleased to have dinner for himself and his wife.
From the gas station we went to our first campsite. Turkey Hole is a small camp area just outside of Lyle on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Turkey Hole is on the Klickitat River, a tributary of the Columbia. It was getting dark and lightly raining so we hunkered down for the night in the van. Turkey Hole is a good stop-over spot but not the site we’re looking for.
We headed out early the next day. Rather than make breakfast (and the associated clean up) at the camp site, we opted to get takeout from a restaurant. This took us to The Dalles, Oregon.
With Yelp as our guide we went to several establishments that were not currently open, including a cafe in the hospital (Yelp didn’t mention the hospital part) before finding Kainos Coffee. Good breakfast sandwiches and very good coffee.
Our next stop was a potential camp site near the John Day Dam outside of Rufus, Oregon. The John Day Dam is one of 14 dams on the Columbia River, three in Canada and 11 in the US, which are primarily for hydroelectric power, irrigation and flood control.The camping area was mostly gravel and dirt with no shade, with train tracks running directly next to it. Not what we’re looking for but it did afford the opportunity to get some shots of Mount Hood in the distance as well as a passing train.
We spent some time checking out a possible camp site closer to the dam. While walking along the river we came across some interesting platforms used for placing fishing nets and marveled at the power of the water being released from the dam after turning the electric generators.
In the end, we decided not to spend the night and instead chose to go home; our search for that elusive camping spot foiled again.
For more information on the places mentioned above:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_River_Gorge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Day_Dam
http://pietrosrestaurants.com
http://kainoscoffee.com
To see more of my photos visit https://jmacdphoto.com/
#Photography #LandscapePhotography #Landscape #MtHood
#ColumbiaRiver #JohnDayDam