Cascade Locks, OR July 14 - 22

We arrived on Friday the 13th (we aren't superstitious) and set up.   We met the KOA cat, Thomas, a real moocher!   On Saturday morning we enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes and sausage at the campground, and then decided to go across the river to Stevenson, WA to find the church and see what else is in the town.   The Visitor's Center was open, and the volunteer loaded us down with brochures AND directions to the church and incidentally the Gorge Interpretive Center Museum was on the same road.   Since it was cloudy and threatening to rain, we decided to stop there and check it out.   Fantastic!   We especially enjoyed seeing the information and equipment on salmon fishing and the exhibit of the wood industry.  

I was particularly looking forward to visiting the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive center in Oregon City, about an hour from Cascade Locks.   We drove over on Sunday and found the site with no problem....except that the site was no longer open.   It had been closed in May.   It evidently had run into hard times and had struggled for some time, as the buildings were in need of care.   There was a walk with signs on the outside, so we read the informative signs about the various people who lived in the area, and then drove back to the campground.

On July 16 we drove the scenic route to Mt. Hood, the tallest mountain in Oregon.   Our goal was to see the Timberline Lodge at the 6000 ft. level.  It was built by the WPA and dedicated by Roosevelt in 1937.  We ate lunch at the Rams bar on the second floor, and enjoyed watching the skiers and snowboarders on the ski runs.   We toured the building and the day use building next door where skiers got their lift tickets and  got their equipment for skiing.   It seems that the Timberline Lodge is home to several ski teams who use the ski runs to practice during the summer.   We continued on hwy 26 to Sandy and Gresham and then back to I-84  and since it was late afternoon when we arrived, we were able to find parking at the Multnomah Falls, the 620 ft. waterfall right on I-84.  

Some of the other experiences we had while camping at Cascade Locks include the 2-hour ride on the Crystal Dolphin, a tour boat that sails from Cascade Locks on the Columbia River.   The river is a training area for sailing in high winds, and we were treated to the sight of Laser sail boats on the river.   It seems that the Olympic sailing team uses the area between Cascade Locks and Hood River for experience in high winds.   Another day we crossed the river and went to McClellan's Overlook, about 40 miles from camp, to view Mt. St. Helen's.   The side we saw was the south side, so we didn't view the crater that was formed after the 1980 volcanic eruption.   Another excursion was to the Evergreen Museum in McMinnville, OR about 80 miles from camp.   The museum has two buildings: the first houses experimental aircraft and military  planes from WWII and older.   The most famous plane is the huge Spruce Goose, the enormous experimental plane built by Howard Hughes.   In fact, in order to obtain the plane, the museum had to promise that the plane would be housed inside and so the hangar had to be built to hold the plane!   The second museum building holds planes from the Korean War to the 1990's, rockets and space exhibits.
It was an awesome museum!

On our last day in Cascade Locks we went to the Maritime museum in town and then drove to the edge of town where I bought 5 lbs. of cherries for $10.00.  I wish the kids were closer so I could share my loot!  

The historic Columbia River Gorge area is beautiful, and Cascade Locks was a central area from which we could explore the area.   We loved the waterfalls, the river and the mountains (we could see Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood) and the KOA folks were really great.   I of course loved the cat, Thomas :-).   The only negative to the whole experience was THE TRAINS!   They roared past the campground at all hours of the day and night (5-6 per night), with their whistles blowing from one side of the camp to the other.   Jack lost a lot of sleep due to their whistles!   After a few nights, I generally slept through them.

On July 23 we left the Columbia River Gorge and moved into Washington.