We took our time packing and breaking camp Wednesday. We had to check out of the Deschutes County Expo RV Park by noon. At 11:40am, Donna and I walked over to Dave and Stilla Hobden’s site to say our goodbyes. They were nearly ready to roll as well. We’ll see them again down the road. For sure, we’ll meet up in Quartzsite next January, but our paths may cross sooner than that. That’s the beauty of the nomadic life. We meet people and establish new friendships. We stay in contact and we know we’ll eventually find each other again.
We rolled north on US97 to Terrebonne. I’d contacted an Escapees member there who offered to let us boondock overnight on his property. But looking at his place on Google Earth, I was concerned about getting our rig turned around to get out of there. He suggested another boondocking site. It was the rest area at Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint. It was all of 13 miles up the road from the RV park. We wanted a place to stay for one night before we returned to the Fairview RV Park in Portland.
We’d heard about this place from our friends, Mark and Emily Fagan (Roadslesstraveled). We pulled in and found half a dozen long parking spaces for trucks and trailers. We claimed a space and Donna made turkey wraps for lunch.
We had our lunch in the park at a picnic table. As we entered the park lawn, I saw an unusual sign. It warned of a 300-foot cliff ahead and noted that many dogs have died here.
Many dogs have died here?
This scenic overlook is perched high on basalt cliffs carved by the Crooked River. Peter Skene Ogden was a Hudson Bay explorer and fur trapper. He explored much of the Snake River country and led the first trapping party into central Oregon in 1825. In 1826, he discovered Mount Shasta. Ogden, Utah, is named after him.
The steep cliffs along the Crooked River impeded travel and development of central Oregon. The Crooked river Railroad Bridge was completed in 1911, connecting Bend Oregon with the Columbia River Gorge. It’s a 460-foot span, 320 feet above the river.
Railroad bridge, 320 feet above the river
We walked along a path at the edge of the cliff. The path has a rock wall about three feet high to prevent people from accidentally falling over the edge. We wondered how dogs could fall into the chasm. We walked past the railroad bridge and saw where the safety wall ended. The wall stopped, but the path became a dirt trail along the edge of the cliff. Yikes! The photos don’t do justice to the scale of the cliff. A sheer vertical drop of over 300 feet is frightening to look down.
In 1926, a steel arch bridge designed by Conde McCullough was built making travel by car to central Oregon from the north possible. It was called the Crooked River High Bridge and remained in service on old US97 until the Rex T. Barber Veterans Memorial Bridge was completed in 2000.
The old bridge was still serviceable, but it couldn’t handle the growing traffic volume. US97 was widened and crossed the river on the new bridge. The old bridge is now a pedestrian viewing area.
Old Crooked River High Bridge
The new bridge is a concrete arch spanning 410 feet and is 300 feet above the river. It was the first bridge in the USA to use a cast-in-place segmental construction method.
New bridge, viewed from the old bridge
After we returned to our coach, Donna started working at her laptop. A big tractor-trailer rig had pulled in beside us. The operator of the rig had his window curtains closed and left the engine running – presumably to run his air conditioner. With his closed curtains, it looked like he planned to be there for awhile. The big diesel engine was very noisy.
On our walk, I saw a closed road with a locked gate across it at the end of the parking lot. I walked back over to check it out. I figured I could back our trailer near the gate with our coach on the right side of the roadway. We would have a nice spot away from the truckers for the night. We set up there and it was nice and quiet.
Later in the evening, another tractor-trailer rig parked in front of us. The driver was friendly and talkative. He told us all about his dog who had come running over to greet us. He said he planned to pull out at 5am and wouldn’t block us in. This is a popular overnight rest stop for truckers.
At dusk, we saw turkey vultures swooping down into the line of trees in the park. They would soar high over head, then dive down to roost in the trees. There had to be at least two dozen turkey vultures roosting in the park. I’ve never seen that many in one place before.
We had a peaceful night and hit the road at 8:45am. We stayed on US97 north past Madras, then we turned onto highway 197. It was scenic country. The road winds up and down ridges. The road surface had sections with frost heaves. The new Koni shocks performed great. I can only describe the ride with an overused cliche – firm, yet compliant. We still could feel the bumps, but they were quickly damped and the coach was easily controlled. We had virtually no side-to-side sway, less road vibration and a much quieter ride.
Highway 197 goes down a series of switchbacks to the Deshutes River at the town of Maupin. From there it climbs steeply again and eventually descends into the Columbia Gorge at The Dalles. After a brief stop to stretch our legs, we continued west on I-84 to Portland. The drive along the Columbia River is beautiful.
After a bit of a hassle at the front desk at Fairview RV Park, we were checked into site 100. They seem to have issues with their reservation system. They juggle people around to find suitable spaces. We were eventually assigned a long pull-through site that allowed me to keep the trailer hitched up.
Donna spent the afternoon preparing for her trip to New York. She’s going to visit family and celebrate her father’s 80th birthday with a surprise birthday party that she and her sisters have planned. She also has business appointments in the city. A taxi picked her up at 8:30pm and took her to the airport. She’ll return on Tuesday evening and we’ll pull out of here the following morning.
Today, I plan to wash the scooter. The forecast calls for temperatures to reach the mid-80s with little chance of rain. At some point, I’ll wash the coach and trailer before we leave here.