RV ALASKA - From One Site #8 to Another

Months ago, Alan and I had agreed to book reservations on this extended expedition for those dates and places we thought we might potentially run into trouble – like Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada and Independence Day and Labor Day weekends.  I covered the Fourth of July holiday weekend with reservations at Denali State Park and Denali National Park.  Y’all know how that turned out for us.  For Labor Day weekend, I had booked reservations at Hood Park – an Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campground in Burbank, Washington.  That was the first COE campground we had ever stayed that I crossed off our “Return To” list.

Date(s) – August 30th – September 2nd

Total Miles Traveled to Date – 16,139

Wildlife Sightings to Date – Apparently, almost all of God’s critters took the holiday weekend off.  From Friday through Monday of Labor Day weekend, we only saw 1 river otter.  Since it was the only river otter we saw on this entire trip, we considered it a big win.

Our tally of wildlife sightings currently stands at: 1 fox; 4 feral horses; 3 loons; 2 ptarmigans; 5 ospreys; 101 dalmatians eagles (including 2 fledglings); 4 seagull chicks; 16 swans (including 2 fuzzy cygnets); 9 sea lions; 33 seals; 17 sea otters; 1 river otter; 4 cow moose; 1 bull moose; 5 grizzly bears (including a sow with 2 cubs and the back end of one grizzly retreating into the brush); 8 black bears; 1 coyote; 1 snowshoe hare; 8 rabbits (including one cute little baby bunny and one very fast bunny that just managed to cross the road safely); several small herds of bison with at least 2 dozen young calves; 9 deer (2 of them bucks with their racks covered in velvet); 9 mountain goats (including 3 tiny and adorable kids); 23 bighorn sheep; 62 elk (including 7 calves that hadn’t yet lost their spots and a number of bull elk with full racks covered in velvet); several small herds of pronghorn antelope (including 2 mamas with 3 newborn fawns between them); 4 great blue herons; dozens of American white pelicans; at least a half dozen families of adult geese with goslings; and several dozen ducks (with lots of little ducklings).

Highlight(s) of the Day – Despite the fact that we will not be returning to Hood Park, the campground proved to be the perfect place to hide out over the Labor Day weekend.  It’s located directly on the Snake River in the quiet town of Burbank, Washington (population: 3,398).  Over the weekend, we picked up some groceries, ventured out to Amethyst Creamery in Richland for some delicious homemade ice cream (highly recommend!) and stopped at Broadmoor RV in Pasco to check out their Outdoors RV travel trailers.  (No, we’re not in the market for a new RV; we simply don’t have the opportunity to see them “in person” back on the east coast, so we took advantage of Broadmoor’s proximity to our weekend hideout.)  The view of the Snake River out our big back window was lovely, and we could see the bridge connecting Pasco to Burbank.  The park was full or nearly so, but it was quiet, and we spent Saturday and Sunday just poking around the nearby towns and chilling out at our campsite.  Making reservations for the holiday weekend was a good move – it prevented the stress that would have resulted from trying to find a place to land at the last minute, and we enjoyed one of the best waterfront campsites in the park.

On the Monday of Labor Day weekend, we moved on to our next stop – Union Creek Campground outside of Baker City, Oregon – for a long-awaited meet up with friends.  When Alan and I decided to drive cross-country to buy our Outdoors RV trailer, we planned our route so that we could stop at the ORV factory in La Grande, Oregon, for a factory tour.   That was back in March of 2017.  Our tour guide Kevin was just amazing – exceptionally knowledgeable, cheerful, happy to answer our five million questions - and he had such a good sense of humor.  Long story short – we stayed in touch with Kevin, and went on to develop a wonderful friendship with him and his wife Maddison, despite the fact that they’re more than 30 years our junior – proof positive that friendship can bloom in the most unlikely places.  Since we met, they have welcomed two sweet kids into their family and are expecting another, and we were absolutely delighted to meet them for dinner in Baker City as we were passing through on our way back east.  The evening ended all too soon, leaving me wishing that we didn’t live more than 2,000 miles apart.  (Don’t look for a photo below.  We got so involved in catching up that I completely forgot to take one.)  Honestly, connecting with friends and family across the country is truly one of the best benefits of our road-tripping lifestyle!

Lowlight(s) of the Day – The “souvenirs” we picked up at Hood Park.  Keep reading.

Campground(s) – Despite its scenic location and spacious campsites, Alan and I won’t be returning to Hood Park in Burbank for two reasons.  The first is the fact that the camping loop we were in apparently doesn’t have an adequate power supply to carry the entire loop in really hot weather.  We actually received a printed notice at check-in that instructed us to use only one air conditioner during our stay (no problem there – we only have one), and to refrain from running all major electric draws at once.  In other words, we were not to use the microwave when the air conditioner was on.  Heaven forbid I use my hair dryer while the coffee maker was running – I probably would have blown the circuit.  This is so far from our usual experience with COE campgrounds that we were shocked.  Get it?  Shocked?   Yeah, I know – really bad.  My apologies.  I know that we’re not paying big bucks for our campsites at COE campgrounds.  In fact, Hood Park cost us just $15.00 per night with the 50% discount allowed via Alan’s Lifetime Interagency Senior Parks Pass.  Still, we book an electric site with the expectation that we’ll have adequate power.  In this case, we definitely did not.  That restriction applied to our loop only; however, since our loop had the best waterfront sites, the inadequate power supply is one reason we won’t return to Hood Park.  The other?  Spiders.  Yup, lots of them.  We couldn’t go outside without running into spider webs which I find really unpleasant.  The icing on the Not Coming Back Cake though was when I opened our cargo hatch at our next stop and found two large spiders inside dangling from their web.  That is definitely NOT the kind of souvenir we like to bring home.  So, picture me scratching off Hood Park from my list of potential future stops.  It’s too bad, really.  Often when we’re traveling we find places that we love, and our “Return To” list continues to grow.  In my opinion, that is not a bad thing.  Hood Park, though, was definitely a “one and done” for us.

On the other hand, Union Creek Campground outside of Baker City is one that I can see us returning to without hesitation.  When I was looking for a place for a quick, one-night stay near Baker City, I did check out a couple of campgrounds in town.  Staying right in Baker City certainly would have helped with the logistics of meeting Kevin and Maddison and their adorable kids.  But our options in town were private RV parks, which we tend to view as options of last resort.  Our preference is always state or federal campgrounds, and I found a U.S. Forest Service campground just under 20 miles outside of town.  I know most travelers would look at that distance as an inconvenience they wouldn’t want to deal with.  But we saw the drive to Union Creek Campground differently.  For a mere 20 miles outside of town (through beautiful country, I might add), we’d have a campsite in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.  Chances are it would be set among the trees, spacious and much quieter than any location in Baker City.  Not only was our site set among the trees and spacious, but the campground was, indeed, exceptionally quiet – and we even had electric.  Adequate electric power.  Just sayin’ . . . Coincidentally, we somehow ended up at campsite #8 at both Hood Park and Union Creek.  At Union Creek, the electric sites are $44.00 per night.  With Alan’s pass, we paid just $22.00, plus an $8.00 reservation fee.  Unlike Hood Park, Union Creek Campground is definitely on the “Return To” list.

Note – Did y’all notice that I updated our map of Visited States in the column at the right, and added another map for the Canadian Provinces?  Definitely on our way to everywhere. (Looking at you, Hawaii.)

Pics(s) of the Day

After leaving Anacortes, our reward for surviving the Seattle traffic was beautiful Snoqualmie Pass

Site #8 in Hood Park, a COE campground in eastern Washington

Loved the view out our big back window

Sunset over the Snake River in Hood Park

Eastbound on Interstate 84 in Oregon - a view from "the Pendleton Hill"

Another long view from I-84 in eastern Oregon - this one between La Grande and Baker City

Site #8 in Union Creek - a U.S. Forest Service campground in eastern Oregon

A distant view of Phillips Lake from our campsite at Union Creek

Up Next – The open road is a place where stories are born and lasting memories are created.  Alan and I enjoyed an unexpected dining adventure in Nampa, Idaho.  It was a meal that we’ll never forget - and I can’t even tell you what I ate.  Except for the pie.  That I remember.