The Dalles

Aug 7 we spent the night boondocking along the Columbia River which separates Oregon and Washington States.  This is located at the Rufus exit.  We have stayed here in the past located on land owned by an Indian tribe, and it is a great place to spend one night.  It was 108 degrees so we ran our generator and air conditioners until 9 PM.  There were several homeless people living here so we moved up the river a ways and found a more private spot.  Several indian tribes fish for salmon off these platforms during the peak fishing season.  We had a great unobstructed view of the river from our RV.  Can't get any better than that!

Ponderosa Falls

We stayed here August 5 and 6.  This is a nice park with full hookups, 50 amp electric, sewer, and water.  There internet was not usable as they were in the process of updating it.  I needed to send a file to Knights of Columbus and the office manager was happy to send it for me the day we were leaving.  We had a pull through and was relatively level as we just put out blocks under our tires on the passenger side and it was perfectly level.  There appeared to have some full time residents in the park, but it was well maintained.  There was an issue with the sewer while we were there and talking with other campers in the park, it was not unusual.  We have stayed here before and would come back.  We paid $13 per night with our RPI membership.  I rate this park P***.   We tried to get an extra night the day before, however they were booked for RPI members.  We serviced the motorhome at Speedco August 4 just 2 miles from this park.  Changed the oil and filters, but we had to wait for the following day for one of the filters.  They allowed us to park our rig overnight in their lot, so everything worked out.  We stocked up on groceries the following day and the remaining filter was installed by 1PM.

Yellowstone National Park & Moose Creek Campground

We stayed here August 2 and 3, located 88 miles north, after driving through Yellowstone National Park as there was no available camping in the park.  We pulled into the campground which has only 13 dry camping spots and we lucked into the last one at about 7:30 PM.  We had to move to another spot the next day as ours was reserved.  Both sites were pull through, so we did not have to detach. All sites have a picnic table and fire pit.  All sites were large enough for my rig and there was water to fill a water bottle or bucket, a ventilated pit toilet and trash receptacle which was large enough to accept a 1 cubic foot bag.  This is located along a river with rafters coming through and many satisfied fisherman.  There is also a little traffic noise from the highway which is not well traveled after dusk.  We paid $7.50 per night with our senior pass and I rate this park F****.

We spent August 1 in a rest area just a few miles east of Cody, Wyoming.  We did visit Old Faithful, the fountain which erupts water and steam on a regular basis.  We just missed the last one and waited about 90 minutes to observe the spectacle.  We watched a free 20 minute movie at the visitor center to pass the time.  No parking for our motorhome and connected Tahoe anywhere near Old Faithful.   We found a pull-off that accommodated our length about 6 miles down the main highway and detached the Tahoe to visit Old Faithful.  We also took a 2 mile hike to visit these colorful pools of water which are very hot, 156 degrees.  I guess there is some algae in the water which gives it the beautiful color.