Eastward Bound Through Oregon

We’ve added three stops as we made our way through Central Oregon, as we travel towards Idaho and Montana. The first stop was in my favorite Oregon city, Grants Pass. The climate in southern Oregon is temperate, warming in the day and cooling at night, and they tend to have less rain than the Portland area. The Rogue River provides a scenic backdrop to our location at Schroeder park. Schroeder Park is a city run park so it’s affordable, the sites are spacious, and include power water and sewer hook ups. Finding campgrounds like this on a long-term trip is a great way to keep things affordable, if you’re not quite game for Boondocking in random places along your route.

The canopy of trees overhead
Blanca enjoying the view at Schroeder campground
The redwood grove

The fact we are traveling in May means that we’re seeing spring in all of its glory, with flowers blooming and lots of baby ducks and geese as we park our lawn chairs along the banks of the river. Wildlife Images is the nearby animal rehabilitation center that was well worth the short drive through the beautiful Valley towards Merlin. The facility is well run and they offer tours throughout the day, and there isn’t much in the way of crowds, so the animals seem comfortable and most were out and able to be seen. It’s a great place to learn about a lot of the birds reptiles and other mammals of the Pacific Northwest.

A friendly resident of wildlife images
Spending the afternoon on the banks of the Rogue River

Our second stop was a bit of a challenge, as we were trying to find a location close to Portland itself, in order to see family in the area. We settled on Jantzen Beach resort, located in the middle of the Columbia River on Tomahawk Island, between Washington and Oregon State. Don’t let the word island fool you, as directly across from the RV park was a strip mall with lots of stores and restaurants, so naturally ULTA was on my list of stops. It was actually a pleasure going shopping after a year of not being able to visit many businesses.

The view on the way to Jantzen Beach

We traveled east along the Columbia river gorge, which is a stunning landscape of wild Rivers, steep cliffs, breathtaking waterfalls, and amazing vistas after each turn. If you’ve never visited this area, I really encourage you to put it on your list someday, as Multnomah Falls is nearby, and there are numerous opportunities for photography, hiking or camping. We took a risk on an unknown resort in Umatilla Oregon. This is Umatilla Marina and RV Park and it’s run by the city, so I was a little unsure of what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised by the vast grassy and tidy campgrounds, the nearby marina, and the opportunities for fishing and wildlife viewing. It’s a true and welcome oasis on our trip eastward, as we heard toward Coeur d’Alene Idaho. It was also a short drive to Pendleton Oregon. You might know Pendleton from the cozy woolen blankets and apparel, but there’s also a fascinating underground city tour as well. It’s worth the drive over to check it out.

Umatilla Marina and RVP
One of many rooms you can see on the Pendleton underground city tour
A nice place to stop and get yourself something warm

One thought on “Eastward Bound Through Oregon

  1. So cool to see your travels in Oregon went well. Beautiful scenery with the rivers, falls and snowcapped mountains.

    Like

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