We left Portland again and again it was very hard to leave our loved ones. This time it was made harder because Paisley was such a cutie and we know that we will not be back for a long time. We got to see almost everyone and that was wonderful. Charlotte and her son Creighton came over one night for dinner. Sophia wasn’t feeling well and stayed home so she is the only family we didn’t get to see. We know we will be going back there but not knowing when makes this leave taking difficult.
One of the highlights of this visit was a short but fun camping trip with Jake, Julie and Paisley (and of course Rosie, their dog). We camped for two nights at Ainsworth State Park. We were right in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge area. The campground was rustic with big tree-filled sites. Jake did a great job of hitching, driving and setting up the pop-up tent trailer. Julie helped but had her hands full with Rosie on the leash and Paisley in her arms. All went well and they are ready to go off on their own in their pop-up. It was great for Doug and I because we love spending time with them, especially Paisley, who loved the whole camping experience and we just love being in the pop-up. Can’t say the same for Rosie who is far from happy living in the great outdoors. One of our days was dedicated to visiting the fabulous waterfalls nearby. Doug and I had been there about 6 years ago and will no doubt go again – driving down the historic road and stopping along the way to hike around spectacular falls is a perfect day of celebrating nature.
So it was hard to turn away from Olde Stone Village. We had beautiful weather in Portland but our first night after that was spent in a drenching rain. We spent just one night in Cascade Locks. After we got set up we never left the RV – why go outside and get wet when we could be dry and cozy inside. So we have no idea what this campground was like. It’s weather like this that makes us really enjoy our fireplace! When originally looking at RVs we laughed at the idea of a fireplace, but we use it all the time. It gives us a gentle heat source and it makes our living area look even more homey.
Then we hit the best weather yet – warm temperatures and bright clear blue skies. We spent the next two nights at Wine Country RV Park in Prosser, Washington. This is a really nice park with wine tastings every evening from local winery’s. There was lots to do in this area so we spent our one day doing a lot. I went to a Fiber Arts Festival and saw beautiful quilts and learned much from the displays of unique yarn spun from diverse animals like yaks and camels and other sources like bamboo. Doug spent that time at a farmers market and then we went to Bill’s Berry Farm where we picked raspberries, blueberries, and Bing cherries. We also stopped for groceries to stock up our pantry and fridge. A fun day!
Our drives have been uneventful and safe thanks to Doug’s planning efforts. We are driving longer these days and if you look at our map you can see that we are traveling relatively fast (for us). I’m trying to do better as a navigator and I’m getting a big kick out of following the map and noting the distance we have traveled. It’s exciting to look ahead to our next big destination. You can see our full travel history here.
Now we are staying at the Spokane KOA. We’ll be here for 4 nights which gives us time to get out and explore. Today we went to Downtown Spokane to walk around the Riverfront Park and see the falls. The park had this cool Radio Flyer wagon sliding board!
