On our way to Charbonneau Park in Washington.

The park is extremely well- maintained.  Spacious sites with fire pit, picnic table and cement pads.  Unfortunately during our stay fires were banned due to dry conditions.

Clean restrooms and showers available

Sprinklers are set around the park to go off at different times to keep the grass green.  The park caretakers make sure the sprinklers don’t interfere with campers.  As you walk around the park, you can get a glimpse of ‘sprinkler rainbows’

Two swimming beaches to cool off in the 100 degree heat.

Charbonneau Park
WA

Lonestar enjoying the shade

Huge dock area for your boat so you can enjoy your favorite water sport.  There are spots for house boats, sailboats, and motor boats.

A variety of water sports–tubing, skiing, sailing

I always try to get a photo of the lovely sunsets.

There are trains located near the park which run only during the day so they won’t disturb anyone during the nighttime hours.

We recommend this park.

 

 

 

 

 

For my birthday Lonestar took me on a Sterneheeler Cruise on the Columbia River.

It was an elaborate brunch cruise including Mimosa’s and other beverages.  Some brunch items were french toast, eggs benadict, fresh fruit, and much more.

Marvelous scenery as we traveled down the Columbia River.

We even caught a glimpse of some wildlife.

An Osprey sitting on her nest guarding her offspring

A California sea lion warming in the sun

Native American fishing village.  Fishing docks line the river banks.

This is called the Bridge of the Gods.  At one time it was a dirt bridge connecting Oregon and Washington.  When it  collapsed the steel bridge was built.  The average water depth of the river is 50 feet, however, under the bridge the depth is 100 feet.

When you enter the docks this statue greets you.  I liked it so I have added it to this post.

The cruise cost was $55 each but well worth the price and one fabulous birthday present.  If you get a chance take the trip.  They also provide a dinner cruise.

What would a trip to Oregon be without  trip up to Mount Hood. We took the trip with the Cam Am.  As we got closer to the top we had to stop to put on jackets.

Mount Hood, Oregon

We were even treated to some roadside waterfalls.

The scenery was breathtaking and then you get a distant glimpse of Mount Hood.

As we got closer the mountain grew bigger.

A ski lodge and hotel sets part way up to Mount Hood, it is the farthest up you can go .  The only way to get higher up is to take a ski lift and ski back down. Yes, skiing and snowboarding in July.

If you love fabulous scenery, this is the trip for you. If you love skiing, this is a must.

Scenery traveling to and from the campground.

Interesting bridge over the Columbia River.

Lewis and Clark Campground — A very  well maintained campground with friendly staff.

Pull through sites made it easy to get set up since we are pulling a trailer.

Fire pits and picnic tables at every site.  The time we spent there, campfires were banned due to the extremely dry conditions.

Charcoal grills were okay to use.  However, don’t buy the cheap grill like we did.  We were shocked when the outside cover of our grill caught on fire.  It is still usable but it looks really bad.

The only negative comments I read about this campground:

The trains run throughout the day and night however, they were not allowed to blow the train whistle through the Columbia River Gorge. Train whistle are quite annoying but all we heard were the trains rumbling down the tracks did not bother us at all.

The other negative review I read was that sites were not kept up well by campers.  There are only a few sites in poor shape and they were only in one spot in the campground.   The staff is working on cleaning up that area.

We enjoyed our stay at Lewis and Clark and would not hesitate to revisit this campground.

 

One of the highlights of this years trip was to see the Oregon Coast.

I could have stayed at the coast all day listening to the crashing surf and watching the water spray as it pummeled the rocky shore.

The intensity of surf was breathtaking.

Here are 2 short videos so you can experience it through media:

click here for video1

click here for video 2

Hope you enjoy the videos.

 

 

Utah State Line.  We have never been to Utah and was amazed at how beautiful it is.

These rock formations look like sand dunes.

 

We stopped to camp at the Great Salt Lake Park.  There were only five spots available for camping, a parking lot with water and electric hook-up.  We were right on the shore of the Salt Lake.

Camping by the Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake looks massive however it has receded in the past years.  Where the water receded it left salt patches. It looked like snow or ice.

Salty shores of the Great Salt Lake

Rocky Shore/Great Salt Lake

The one popular sport on the lake is sailing.

Sailing Information

If you want to fish or swim this lake is not for you.  Only brine shrimp can survive is the extremely salty water.  Also, there are hordes of brine flies that blacken the shoreline.  The salt sticks to your body when you swim in the lake.  However, the neat part is, that you can float in the Salt Lake without even trying.

If you have a chance, visit the Great alt Lake.

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This campground was very nice and setup in such a way that many spots were pull-thru .  Paved lots, covered picnic area with picnic table and a fire pit.  There is a pond for fishing but no swimming is allowed.  Tent sites and group camp sites are also available.

The Colorado River flows along the banks of the park.

The river is popular for rafting.

Nala had a chance to cool off from the 100 degree heat in the Colorado River

The park also has spacious area for groups for picnics, these area needs to be reserved prior to gathering.  The picnic areas are covered with picnic tables and grills.  Horseshoe pits and a volleyball court are also located at this group picnic site.

The Colorado scenery was fabulous, going out early in the morning to see sights and staying in air conditioning in the heat of the afternoon.

One mountain formation was named ‘Praying Hands”

To the end of every day there was always a fabulous sunset.

We really enjoyed our stay at this state park, and it comes with our recommendation.

This was our second visit to Trinidad, CO.  This visit we had time to tour the city of Trinidad.  Very quaint town, with historic buildings.

 

Notice the red brick streets on photo below.

Bird cage is  unique.

We ate most meals in the RV but treated ourselves to pizza, Bella Luna Pizzeria,

This was some of the best pizza we have ever had.   Its got to be the wood fire oven, as seen below.

If you look close at the below photo is a full stack of wood used in the pizza oven stacked on right.

If you expect fast food this is not the place for you.   The oven can only accommodate so many pizzas at one time.  Therefore, there is a long wait for them to be baked.  Very popular and well worth the wait.

Trinidad Scenery

Trinidad SunsetTrinidad was a mining town and has some great history.

Trinidad Campground.

Trinidad CampgroundThe sites have water and electric.  Dump station available.  Lovely walking paths.

If you ever travel to Trinidad, CO make sure to take the time to check out this campground and the city of Trinidad.  We loved it and plan to revisit.