Rock Creek Reservoir Campground in the Mt. Hood National Forest, Wamic, Oregon: 7-27 to 8-1

We crossed the Columbia River Gorge once again on our way to Oregon and Rock Creek Reservoir. The drive kept me busy looking at the undulating landscape – much of which was filled with golden fields of wheat waiting to be harvested. Other fields had been harvested, with only the wheat stubble and tracks of the giant harvesters dissecting the fields remaining. Along with the fields of grain came the grain elevators, of course, testament to the annual harvests. Beyond the wheat fields we often glimpsed Mt. Hood and once in a while, Mt. Rainier peaked over the the horizon – at times they were both in

view in spite of being nearly 200 miles apart. Our destination was tucked about 15 miles away from the nearest little town and very different from the manicured Hood Park. Rock Creek Reservoir Campground (not to be confused with two other Rock Creek Campgrounds in the state). There was no water nor electricity at the sites, so we filled our tank with fresh water on the way in, then found our site and backed in. One sniff when we opened the doors told us we were in a Ponderosa Pine forest – there is no aroma like it. The campground was quiet except for the gray diggers (California ground squirrels)

which seemed to be scurrying all over. They are obviously squirrels, but their bodies have little white spots all over. As with many other squirrels, they can be a nuisance, and people around here seem to hate them. The hosts came over and gave us a great overview of the area and, when we mentioned the large number of yellow jackets buzzing around the campsite and sting both of us, they brought over a couple of traps. Within about 30 minutes, each trap was boasting more than twenty of the nasty little critters.

The next day we drove a big loop (197 to 216 ) around south of camp, through Tygh Valley, Maupin, and Pine Grove. During the drive, we saw three of the largest peaks in the area – Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Rainier and had a picnic lunch along the Deschutes River. There were signs for the Barlow Trail, the Pioneer Woman's Grave, and the Pioneer Brides Trail, but the camp hosts had said the trails to those spots weren't good and they have an old “beater” truck they use when they go places like that, so we sadly, we bypassed them. Maybe we'll go to rent-a-wreck next time we're in the area.

The following day we took a walk around the forest. The hosts had told us about an eagles nest beyond the picnic area and said you could often see the adults and their offspring if you were lucky. We were more than lucky. We watched an adult eagle perched in the top of a snag as he/she seemed to be watching two young eagles testing their wings. As the two young birds moved across the sky, the adult turned its head to follow their flight. We must have watched for 45 minutes before reluctantly moving on. The reservoir was nearly dry – testament to the drought in the area – but we did see a deer

picking its way through the forest and, of course, the ubiquitous gray diggers.

The weather, although comfortable at night with our battery-powered fans, in the high 90's during the day so we decided to take another day trip – a big loop to the foot of Mt. Hood, over to Portland, the Dalles, and back home. We began the day driving through the thick forest toward Mt. Hood. It was around 9 AM and 52 degrees with a chilly 10-15 MPH wind when we reached the food of the mountain. We bypassed most of Portland, then headed over to the Columbia River Gorge and took the Historic Columbia

River Highway east for a pretty drive to three of the beautiful waterfalls along the route. Once back on the road, we stopped at a Native American fish market and bought some wonderful smoked and fresh salmon as well as a beautiful (and later, delicious) salmon filet, then on to The Dalles for fresh produce and on home.

The next day was supposed to be 105 degrees, and since we didn't want to stay in camp the entire day, we headed back to The Dalles to check out the dam, have a nice lunch, and then visit a museum – a great way to spend a hot day.

The dam tour was only open for tours on Saturdays so we signed up and spent some time going through the displays at the visitor's center. It was a fascinating story about travel on the river and how it changed. From 1863 to 1915, the river was blocked by nearly ten miles of impassable rapids between The Dalles and Celilo. Steamboat passengers traveled the ten miles by portage trains, then boarded waiting steamboats to complete their journey. In 1915, The Dalles-Celilo canal was completed. It covered eight-and-a-half miles and was 65 feet wide – too narrow for two-way barge traffic.

None-the-less, it was a boon to river travel. In 1957, the canal was replaced by the Dalles Lock and Dam. In 1975, after years of work, a series of locks and dams opened navigation 465 miles inland, creating a seaport in Lewiston, Idaho. Today, the Columbia/Snake River System is the nation's second-largest water highway. The Port of Lewiston alone ships a million tons of wheat and barley down the river each year along with potatoes from Idaho, lumber from Canada, grain from the Dakotas, and minerals from Montana and Wyoming.

The fish ladders were another part of the dam that caught out eye. Built for salmon and other fish what migrate, the ladders create a series of ramps that go up, across the top, and down the other side of the dam. These ramps are filled with water, but are divided across the ramp at intervals to create pools. These dividers aren't solid – they often have an opening on the side that allows the fish to swim through or jump over the divider. Fish ladders are specifically designed for the species of fish in the area – the speed and amount of water flow, the design of the pass-throughs, etc.. There is, of course, a lot more to

designing a fish ladder and not everyone is a proponent of them, but at this point it seems to be a reasonable compromise between the dams and the no-dam folks.

From there, we had delicious lunch at The Riverenza. Rich had a fat gyro with an equally big flavor and I got a cup of fresh tomato soup and humus with multigrain chips. It was a wonderful lunch and it's on our list of places at which we'll stop the next time we're out here.

Our next stop was the Columbia Gorge Museum and Discovery Center. The museum covers the

Lewis and Clark Museum, Columbia River Gorge from volcanoes to floods to the early inhabitants, settlers, agriculture, and the Ice Age. While we have learned much about most off the topics, there is always more to learn (and I forget these days at a faster rate than I learn), we were mesmerized about the Missoula Floods (also known as the Spokane or Bretz Floods) at the end of the Ice Age and the jaw-dropping changes it made to the landscape. During the Ice Age an ice dam had formed and with the warming temperatures, sudden ruptures occurred and waters rushed down the Clark Fork and the

Columbia River, flooding much of eastern Washington and the Willamette alley in western Oregon. Geologists estimate that a cycle of flooding and freezing of the of the lake and dam lasted an average of 55 years and that the floods occurred several times over the period between 15,000 and 12,000 years ago. The last of the floods moved 540 cubic miles of water, 40 cubic miles of ice, 50 cubic miles of rock, sediment, debris down the Columbia River Gorge at speeds up to 65 miles per hour and overflowed into Portland/Vancouver area as well as the Clackamas, Tualatin Yamhill, and Willamette

valleys at a depth of 400 feet. There are a lot of good books and web sites about the Missoula floods, if you're interested.

We returned to camp late afternoon and sat outside in the shade. Since the humidity was so low, the 100 degree heat wasn't unbearable while we sat in the shade and a light breeze blew, but even after the sun went down and windows open and fans on, it was warm inside. After a restless night we called our next stop and arranged to arrive two nights early, let the hosts know we were leaving early, and left for an electric site in Elma, Washington.