Onward to Oregon

Started driving towards OR this morning; after 2+ weeks with a traveling companion, I'm on my own again. Have a reservation for 2 nights at the Lepage Park, a CoE (Corps of Engineer) campground at the John Day Lock and Dam, Lake Umatilla near Wasco, OR. At $15 a night with electric hookup (with my senior pass discount) this was a good base to explore the Columbia River Gorge area, or so I thought. The plan was to stop for breakfast at the Baker Truck Corral and Restaurant in Baker City just to check out the place since it allowed overnight RV parking. The place was rather quiet, not many people about, and right next to the main highway. The food was good though and the service friendly. I had the Grilled German Sausage and Eggs breakfast plate with coffee.

Back on the road, I went to the National Historic Oregon Trail Intepretative Center nearby. This is a 500 acre site managed by the Bureau of Land Management and has a nice visitor center with exhibits. Entrance was $8 but free with the Senior Lifetime Interagency Pass. I spent a couple of hours walking through the indoor and outdoor exhibits that were very well done.

On the way out, I took in the wide open space the pioneers must have gone through on their way west. Stopped at the Oregon Trail Ruts Access area to see the ruts made by their wagons that were still faintly visible today.

Finally saw the Columbia River, and made it to the CoE campground. It was not quite what I expected, pretty bare although it has views of the bridge over the river. There was really nothing much to do there, plus no cell signal (Verizon). But it was nice to have electricity and I could turn on the a/c. Spent a rather boring night in the RV.

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