Then, I'm on the road...up, down and along all those big rolling hills down to "The Gorge". Today, I'm driving the Columbia River Gorge between Washington and Oregon...one of the most scenic drives in America.
There's two ways that you can drive the Gorge...you can take Interstate 84 on the Oregon side which runs low close to the water...or you can take Route 14 on the Washington side which runs high off the water along large bluffs. This morning, I'm taking Route 14.
And it is a beautiful drive with view after view of the river far below.Soon, my fingers hurt. That's because they're wrapped around the steering wheel in a white-knuckle "death grip". On the "Bill Thee Pants-Wetting Scale" (with 1 being "dry" and 10 being "soaked"), I give this drive a 7.5. It's especially comforting to know that the other wheel could fall off the camper at any time...sending me plunging hundreds of feet down to a watery grave.
So, after two hours or so, I am relieved to be heading down and across the river at The Dalles, Oregon. Another half hour or so heading west (and close to river level), I'm at Hood River where I turn south to Mt. Hood. This route south is called "The Fruit Loop" because it cuts right through the heart of Oregon's fruit and vegetable growing region. Ever since I was here in 2008, I've been imagining the day when I could return to buy fresh fruit and make a turnover using my Coleman stove-top oven. Alas, that is not to be on this trip. Nothing is really "in season" yet...a few early cherries, and that's it.
I do get a few great views of Mt. Hood along the way. You don't really see much...then you turn a corner and...wham!...there it is..a big snow-capped peak. Around 2:00PM or so, I arrive at my campground...Trillium Lake in the Mt. Hood National Forest. I chose this campground because the view of Mt. Hood from Trillium Lake is one of the most iconic images in the entire U.S. Parks/Forests system.
All day long, it's been bright, sunny and warm. But, as I'm heading into the campground, the sky has turned dark and cloudy. And, when I get out to register, I can feel that the temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees into the low 50's...it's cold.
The Camp Hosts are being cagey this day..."Well, we're pretty booked up right now. These three spots could be open, you just have to drive around and see". OK, I drive around...and I can't help but notice that 99% of the spots look open to me...and it's a Sunday when most people are leaving a campground. Anyway, all of the "three" spots are open, so I pick the nicest one.
About the time that I get out of the Explorer to set up camp, the rain starts. Not a heavy rain, just an on-again/off-again drizzle. Great...now it's not just cold, but rainy as well. It's never fun setting up camp in the rain...I have to do it in stages when there's a break in the drizzle. Even though this is my "Summer Camping Trip", I always come prepared for cold weather. At higher elevations, it can stay cold well into July and August. So...I haul out my "cold-weather" duffel bag...it's gor flannel shirts, sweatshirts and flannel-lined pants...today, I'm opting for all three.
I spend most of the afternoon sitting in the Explorer reading. I'm still engrossed in Shirer's "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" which I first read when I was in High School. Around 6:00PM or so, the clouds finally break (a little) and the sun comes out (a little), and it warms up (a little). All I've had to eat today is an energy bar and a small bag of potato chips, so I'm pretty hungry. For dinner, I cook penne with vodka sauce...I cook the pasta, but I'm just heating up a bottle of Mario Batali's sauce...camping does involve a degree of personal sacrifice. I bought a nice wedge of cheesecake at the grocery in Walla Walla, so that's dessert. I also open up one of those bottles of table wine from Walla Walla...so, all in all, it's a pretty good meal out here in the wild.
After dinner, I'm able to sit at the picnic table and read for awhile. It's not raining, but the temperature has been steadily dropping, and now I'm wearing a parka over my flannel shirt and sweatshirt. I can't help but think of my friend Ed and the night we spent camping last summer at Blomidon Provincial Park in Nova Scotia. The temperature dropped into the 30's and there was poor Ed all bundled up shivering at the picnic table writing in his journal. It's like that tonight here...deep in the Oregon forest.
When it starts to get dark around 9:00PM, I've had enough of the cold. Inside the camper, I shed the parka, but everything else stays on. Under the down comforter, I'm nice and warm...and soon fast asleep.
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