Walla Walla, WA to White Salmon, WA via I-84

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Phil was a little better this morning, so he drove to our next stop of White Salmon, WA, which is on the north side of the Columbia River, across from Hood River, OR.

We drove along I-84 on the Oregon side because the interstate follows right alongside the river, and it’s a beautiful drive! This is the first time we have actually driven along the Columbia River. We have gone north and south at both ends of it several times, so this trip we made it a “destination.” The Columbia is

wide and deep and seems to have a constant wind blowing up the river valley. Today there were white caps on the river and because of this wind; it is a playground for wind surfers and kite surfers. Watching these people play on the water gives you a feeling for how big the river is, and how powerful! Because of the river’s size and the distance from the road to the middle of the river, the surfer’s seem to shrink to the size of an ant.

The only reason you know they are there is because of the bright colors of the sails and kites.

At several points of our drive today we could see Mount Hood, still with snow capped peaks, overlooking the River Valley.

Mount Hood reaches 11,239 feet into the sky and is Oregon’s highest peak. It is quite majestic looking.

In order to reach our campground we have to cross the river at a town called Hood River. The bridge is all steel, including the roadway, which is metal grate.

If I could have stuck my head out of the window far enough, I could have seen the water through the roadway. The bridge is also very narrow, just wide enough for two way traffic, the guard rails were all scraped where vehicles had gotten to close. Somewhat nerve wracking when you are towing a wide load like the trailer across it! The bridge is also a toll bridge, cost us $5.00 with the trailer.

We are staying in the Bridge RV Resort on the Washington side of the river in a really small town called White Salmon. No interstate noise, but the train is at the bottom of the hill, just below the RV Park. At first I thought that there were some very inconsiderate people on Harley’s riding through the park, turns out it was the train, several times during the day and at night!