After looking at our options, we pulled out of our boondocking spot on the Biggs-Rufus Highway around 11am. I looked at the Google Earth image of the Elks Lodge in Hood River again and decided it would be too tight for our rig. We didn’t want to risk getting into a place we couldn’t exit from.
One of the places we found is a small Corps of Engineers (COE) park on the Columbia River called Celilo Park. It’s off exit 97 from I-84, between the interstate and the river. Celilo Falls is a place of historical significance to northwest native Americans. There were a series of waterfalls, pools and eddies here where the Columbia River squeezed through basalt formations. This created a natural choke point for salmon swimming upriver to spawn. It’s said the native Americans gathered here to fish for 15,000 years, using dip nets or spears to catch salmon. This ended in 1957 when the COE completed construction of The Dalles Dam. The dam flooded the back water and covered the falls.
The drive westbound on I-84 to exit 97 was only about seven miles. We pulled into Celilo Park and found a large paved lot with parking stalls for RVs about 40 feet long. The lot was mostly empty. We checked the sign boards and found the eastern end of the park and lot were for day use only. The west end has free camping for up to 14 days. There’s also a boat ramp.
We had to park across a number of the painted lines marking the parking stalls – we’re too long to fit in a single stall. There weren’t many people here, so we thought it wouldn’t be a problem. The view is great and the park is well-maintained. The downside is noise. On the south side, between the park and I-84 are two railroad tracks. Several trains come down the line – day and night. The tracks cross the road at the park entry. Due to the road crossing, the engineer is required to blow the train horn – two long blasts and one short – 15 to 20 seconds before crossing the roadway. That puts eastbound trains right at the end of the park when they blow the horn. There’s also a train track on the Washington side of the river, but it doesn’t contribute much noise.
Train tracks run next to the lot
Noise notwithstanding, we thought it was a beautiful spot and decided to stay for the night. Donna had a project she needed to work on, so we settled in. There were a couple of tent campers when we arrived, but they packed up and left around 1pm. One tent was left behind. It seemed odd. Several RVs – motorhomes, fifth-wheels and travel trailers stopped in the lot in the afternoon, but they only stayed a short while then moved on. One other RV stayed overnight – a Volkswagen Rialta van conversion by Winnebago. These were made in the ’90s.
I went for a walk through the park and saw barge heading upriver. The tow had two barges pushed by a tugboat. It’s nothing like the huge barge tows I wrote about on the Mississippi River. Barges have transported goods on the Columbia River and Snake River since the 1800s. Until the dam system and locks were installed, barges had to be off-loaded and goods portaged to another barge above the falls at a few points on the Columbia – including Celilo Falls.
Columbia River barge
We had nice weather – a few high clouds at times, but it was mostly sunny. We’ve dropped nearly 4,000 feet of elevation from Bend-Sunriver. The elevation here is less than 300 feet above sea level. Using the standard calculation of three degrees temperature drop per thousand feet of altitude, I would expect it to be about 10-12 degrees warmer here under normal conditions. Sometimes the standard calculation doesn’t work out due to atmospheric anomalies like temperature inversions and such.
The color of the clouds before sunset was reflected off the river. It was gorgeous – I shot a couple of photos but really couldn’t capture the beauty of it.
Looking up river – that’s Washington on the far bank
Looking down river toward The Dalles
The wind blowing from the west made small white caps on the water in the afternoon – it looked like the river was flowing east as the white caps were pushed along the surface. Of course, the Columbia flows westward to the Pacific Ocean.
When I took the photos just before sunset, I looked at the tent that was left behind. No one had come out of or into the tent all afternoon. I wondered if someone was inside, maybe ill or in need of assistance. I walked next to the tent and called out, “Hello.” After walking around a couple of times, I pushed against the sidewall with my foot in a few spots. I thought I felt something or someone inside. I opened the door zipper a few inches to take a look. No one was inside, just a pile of bedding and clothing. No one came that we saw in the night and the tent is still here this morning
We’ll hang out here for a while, then we’ll move on west after lunch. The weather forecast calls for another 70 degree day with a possibility of rain showers in the afternoon. We’ll look for a spot in Hood River for the night before we move to the Columbia River RV Resort in Portland tomorrow.