The day was hot, hot, hot!
The drive began as one of those where we just trusted the
GPS to get us where we wanted to go. I
knew we needed to end up on Interstate 84, heading east, but the route it gave
took us through back roads, past Christmas tree farms, blueberry patches, and what
appeared to be bedroom communities for Portland. We did eventually get to I-84 and drove
through some beautiful areas of the Columbia River Gorge. The river was wide and blue, with mountains
on either side, lots of greenery, and some weird rock formations.
As we traveled east, the land leveled out a bit, still hilly
but not as rough, and it began to look drier and more like “The West”. We arrived at our reserved site at Memaloose
State Park in early afternoon, and getting out of the RV, the heat hit us.
Memaloose is a strange little park, located on the Columbia
River between Hood River and The Dalles.
We ended up here for two nights largely because sites at other state
parks were impossible to find, and it looked nice, right on the river. Well, it’s not really on the river; there is
no river access due to a railroad track that runs between park land and the
water. To reach the park, we had to pass
it, go to the next exit, backtrack on I-84 west, get off at the rest area, and
the park road began at one end of the rest area. The entry took us downhill toward the river,
into a grove of trees which provided some shade (thank Goodness!).
Memaloose’s claim to fame is its location along the Oregon
Trail. The name refers to the island in
the river, just offshore, where Native Americans buried their chiefs. So the story goes.
The park is wedged between the highway and the railroad
track, so depending on where one’s campsite is, you hear either highway noise
or train noise. Our site happens to be
one along the highway which is very close by but above us, due to the slope of
the land. So, yes, we do hear trucks and
cars pretty much constantly. There are
no hiking trails, but it’s too hot to hike. There’s no swimming or boating or
fishing. I guess it’s a place to simply
relax.
And it’s hot. Did I
already mention that? The campground
host said that the previous day, the temperature had gotten to 102. High today:
96. Hot. Dry.
However, there was a good breeze, so we stretched out in our recliners
in the shade, drank many cold drinks, and read.
When it was still 86 degrees in the RV after dark, we gave
in and started up the air-conditioning.
AHHH! Lovely! Sure glad we are not in a tent!
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