October 7-12, 2018
Let’s go camping again, ok?
I’m a little bit behind in posting here, but I don’t want you to miss a minute of the fun so let’s go back one month to October and my camping trip down to the Oregon side of the mighty Columbia River. I was really looking forward to this!
The Columbia River runs along the border between Washington and Oregon for many miles. Although I live in Washington, I decided to camp on the Oregon side of the river because, at the end of this camping trip, I would be heading just a tad further south to Milwaukie, Oregon, (just south of Portland, Oregon) to visit an old college friend and show off the new RV travel trailer.
Here’s a map below of Washington State and the Columbia River. I was camped in Oregon’s Ainsworth State Park just a very few miles east of Portland.
The drive down from Seattle-Tacoma to the Ainsworth campground is easy … just head south on I-5, then south on I-205 and across the Columbia River, then head east on I-84 for about 25 miles to the exit and the road that would then take me another 1/2 mile to the entrance to Ainsworth State Park campground.
Since it was October, I hoped the campground would be somewhat empty, and boy did I get my wish! There are three sections to the campground … my reservation was in the third section. The first two sections were more than half full all week. But I had only one neighbor (three campsites away from me) on the first night there, then they left and I had a different neighbor (four campsites away from me) on the second night there, and I had NO neighbors anywhere in my section of the campground for the rest of the week. I could see two other RVs through the trees in one of the other sections of the campground, but I pretty much had the place to myself … peace and quiet. 🙂
The earliest allowed check-in time here wasn’t until 4:30 pm, so I arrived on the dot at 4:30 pm. I set up my rig, leveled, plugged in, and then went for my usual exploratory walk around the campground.
The photo above is of the “amphitheater” inside the campground. This time of year, it isn’t used much, but the schedule posted in a nearby kiosk proved it was very busy during summer months for Ranger-led talks and programs and evening slide-shows.
I don’t usually take photos of bathrooms, but the bathrooms here were the cleanest I’d ever seen in any state park so far … cleaner than any of them in Washington.
Above … the showers, each with a private outer room and each outer room had one seat in it and hooks on the door and a shelf for belongings.
The building was certainly not new, evidenced by the old style shower plumbing fixtures, but it was clean as a whistle! This was especially noteworthy to me since the cost of a campsite in the State of Oregon is about half the cost of a similar campsite in the State of Washington. I wonder why.
I continued my walk through this lovely campground, walking past other campers in their campsites along the way and walking past the great big motorhome that belonged to the volunteer Park Host.
Eventually, I made it back to my little white fiberglass cabin in the woods. What a perfect home in a perfect setting.
After dinner and then a good night’s sleep … adventures tomorrow!
I love how you find such nice places that are almost empty. This looks like a beautiful place, and I am with you on the clean bathrooms!
I just lucked out again here didn’t I, Ginger? My spot was perfect.
Hi Ann, I just found your blog recently and am studiously reading each post from the beginning. I’ll get caught up soon. 🙂 What wonderful adventures you have, and great photography to go along with each story. I’m still working but hoping to be able to travel like you do when I retire. Thank you for sharing so many details! I’m taking notes and learning a great deal. Love the bathroom photos! 🙂
Welcome Judy! Nice to have you here.
Here’s to retirement and travel. I hope you retire exactly when it’s right to do that and that you have lots of years of travel and great experiences. I will look forward to your blog when you get around to that. If you have questions about my truck or trailer or anything else about my camping, please do let me know. I’m happy to share what works for me.
The bathroom photos were fun to share. 🙂
So interesting how Oregon’s campsites are less $. I like to know that!
Speaking of bathrooms, I remember camping in Jasper with an 8-month old and there was actual hot running water! What a luxury, especially with a baby. We used to fill up a hot water bottle to tuck into the playpen before we put her in to sleep for the night. That was 30+ years ago. I guess we shall have to go back to see if it’s changed….
I double-checked the price differences between WA and OR … WA with full hook-ups (water, elec, sewer) is $40-$45 … OR will full hook-ups is $24. Those are 2018 prices. The significant difference puzzles me, I’ll have to ask around and see what answers/reasons I get.
Wow, hot water! For tent campers that could make a huge difference … or for parents with a wee babe.
This looks like a great campground!
It was! So beautiful. And I finally figured out why it wasn’t full. Because of the Eagle Creek Fire (I might write a blog post about it), and the fact that the “Historic Columbia River Highway” was closed, all of the highway signs along the freeway I-84 had placards on them that said Ainsworth campground was closed, so the locals didn’t even try to go to Ainsworth. The Ranger at Ainsworth told me they were getting campers only from out of state … ok with me! 🙂
One of the reasons we purchased a larger motorhome was for a fullon bathroom so we would have a large clean bathroom that was private. But your trailer looks like the perfect answer without spending a fortune. I agree with Dawn, great campground!
Ah, yes, the amenities that come with a full-size motorhome are certainly attractive, but like you say, those amenities come at a price. Still, I bet you love your motorhome. Do I remember that you still have it? I bet you folks have found some gorgeous places to camp!
Do you have any of Washington state’s discount passes?..Last month Maryhill with my 50% off was $20…The campground at La Pine S.P. was $29…They charged for full-hook-ups even tho the water was turned off…
Enjoy your travels!
David
Hi Upriverdavid … I don’t qualify for any of the Washington State discount passes, sure wish I did. Lots of us keeping asking them for a senior discount, but so far they don’t have one.