Grande Hot Springs Resort

We stayed at Grande Hot Springs Resort in La Grande, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second visit to this resort; our first visit was in a rented trailer on the way to Yellowstone. This time we were also on our way to Yellowstone, via the Tetons, but in our motorhome.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-07-09
Check out: 2023-07-11
2 nights

Weather:

Sunny, thunderstorm
High temps ranging between 84-92°F, lows around 51-59°F
Some evening wind, 20 MPH gusts

Noise:

No road noise
Rumbling train noise (no horns)
No neighbor noise

Site:

#31, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad; left it connected
Fairly level
Gravel about 90 feet long by about 11 feet wide
Grass between sites about 20 feet wide
Tiny picnic table on grass

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
50 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 15 Mbps down, 8 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
Verizon: 13-27 Mbps down, 9-13 Mbps up, 36 ms ping
AT&T: 5 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 140 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Thermal pools

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient spot to stop in Eastern Oregon

This was our second stay here, and it was just as nice as the first time. However, I didn’t remember feeling the earth move whenever one of the huge freight trains went by, which we definitely felt this time. If you’re a light sleeper, just be aware they go by all night. Our site was a decent-sized pull-through with the most ridiculously tiny picnic table I’ve ever seen. The hot springs soaking pools were nice after a long day of driving, but the mosquitoes put a damper on the experience. As did the loud, obnoxious group of partiers in one of the pools. Having said all that, though, we did enjoy our stay here as it’s a nice, convenient stop along I-84, and the grounds are very nice, with a small stream running through it. We camped at Grande Hot Springs Resort in a Motorhome.

The campground map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Tiny picnic table:

Tiny picnic table

Utilities:

Utilities

Our site:

Our site

We went for a dip in the big pool on our first evening, during the adults-only time after dark (which was not as pleasant as it could be, due to several very loud people, and mosquitos):

Pool area

Pools:

Pools

The entrance sign:

Entrance

Fountain in center of driveway:

Fountain in center of driveway

Office:

Office

Bridge over hot canal:

Bridge over hot canal

Canal

Tent sites beyond canal:

Tent sites beyond canal

Open area:

Open area

Feral cat (notice the ear tip); probably staff:

Feral cat

Fire pit:

Fire pit

Group tent area:

Group tent area

Cabin:

Cabin

Yurts:

Yurts

Garbage and recycling:

Garbage and recycling

Other sites; the park was mostly empty:

Other sites

Neighboring hot lake:

Neighboring hot lake

Sunset:

Sunset

Video

Video: Welches to La Grande, Oregon motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 262 miles from Welches, Oregon to La Grande, Oregon.

Travel from Welches to La Grande, Oregon

We drove our coach 262 miles, about four hours of driving, from Welches, Oregon to La Grande, Oregon.

Here’s the map route, heading east:

Route

Interactive map:

Preparing to toad up in the maintenance area:

Preparing to toad up

Mount Hood:

Mount Hood

Our tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) reported a high temperature on the front passenger-side tire, which was concerning, but resolved itself (they normally run at less than 99°F):

TPMS high temperature

Columbia River:

Columbia River

A stop at a rest area:

Rest area

Paladin was enjoying sitting on the stacked dining chairs:

Paladin on dining chairs

Interesting overpass:

Interesting overpass

Dam:

Dam

Sternwheeler river boat:

Sternwheeler river boat

Bridge:

Bridge

Wind turbines:

Wind turbines

Another dam:

Dam

Bridge:

Bridge

Another rest area; we were amused by the motorhome towing a jet-ski:

Rest area

We ran the generator so we could use the ACs, but got a wiring status error; when I looked at the generator later, I noticed that the breaker was off; no doubt from when we got it serviced recently; I’m glad it wasn’t an actual fault:

Wiring status error

Solar farm:

Solar farm

A viewpoint stop:

Viewpoint

A sharp corner onto a dirt road towards our destination:

Sharp corner

Our destination:

Our destination

Truck canopy, slide tray, lift kit

We had a tonneau cover for our truck:

Truck with tonneau cover

Enabling us to securely store our folding bikes and a bunch of other stuff in our truck bed:

Truck bed

But to be able to store the bikes vertically for easier access, and better access to other stuff, we wanted to get a canopy, aka truck cap. We saved for it, and ordered one several months ahead from a Portland company. When back in Portland, we emptied out the truck bed, took the tonneau cover to our storage unit (we’ll probably sell it eventually), and cleaned out the bed as best we could:

Truck

Then we headed to Northwest Auto & Truck Accessories to get it installed:

Northwest Auto Accessories

They had a decent waiting area, where we spent the day, working on our laptops:

Northwest Auto Accessories

We also got them to install a lift kit to raise up the front by a couple of inches, to make it level with the rear, and give a little more clearance for dirt roads:

Lift kit

Here’s the installed canopy, the ARE MX, paint-matched to our truck:

Canopy

More pics of it at our campsite:

Canopy

We also got a CargoGlide CG1000 slide tray from them, to make it easier to access stuff at the back:

Slide tray

The window at the back of the bed:

Window

It folds down for cleaning:

Window

The canopy is attached via four of these clamps:

Clamp

We also got some 50-gallon totes for our folding bikes:

Totes

The bikes in the totes:

Bikes in totes

Less-frequently accessed stuff in the back of the bed:

Stuff in back of bed

The telescoping ladder is strapped to the side, so it doesn’t interfere with the slide tray:

Ladder

Fully loaded for a travel day; we sometimes remove the mats and folding chairs while at a campsite, or they can be shoved to the sides to provide a rearview mirror visibility tunnel:

Fully loaded

We added Grand Teton and Yellowstone stickers to the back (with our coach’s Magne Shade reflected in the window):

Grand Teton and Yellowstone stickers

Truck with canopy

Some very useful additions.

Mt Hood Village RV & Camping Resort, again

We stayed at Mt Hood RV & Camping Resort in Welches, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second visit to this nice Thousand Trails Encore park; we stayed here last year in late July.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-06-30
Check out: 2023-07-09
9 nights

Weather:

Sunny
High temps ranging between 74-90°F, lows around 50-61°F
No significant wind

Noise:

No road noise
No train noise
Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

Hemlock Meadows #97, back in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach (on gravel)
Unlevel; used blocks on the front jacks
Fairly large site: gravel about 50 feet long by about 22 feet wide, plus about 20 feet wide weedy bark area
Picnic table and fire pit on gravel

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
55 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, a little inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 22-83 Mbps down, 5-11 Mbps up, 35-110 ms ping
T-Mobile: 11 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
Verizon: 10-13 Mbps down, 5-8 Mbps up, 150 ms ping
AT&T: 6-8 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Closed indoor pool
Onsite restaurant

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Excellent campground near Mt Hood

This was our second stay here, and still really love it. We were originally assigned a site in the Vine Maple Loop that would have been too small for us, so we asked if there were any open sites in the Hemlock Meadows section, which is a more open area with bigger sites. The helpful staff member at the front gate gave us a couple of choices and told us to let her know which one we picked. Seeing as it was the weekend of the 4th of July, we were so relieved that there was availability. We picked site 97, which was on a corner and gave us a large living area backing onto trees, with a good view of the sky for the Starlink. On a side note: We had dinner at the Dragonfly Cafe, which has really good food, but they seemed to be having some massive staffing issues. It took nearly 2 hours from ordering to checkout, and I’m pretty sure the one and only waitress walked off the job while we were eating as the one and only cook had to act as cashier. We never went back, fearing a repeat, which is a shame because I’d been dreaming of their eggs benedict for the past year. We camped at Mt Hood Village RV Resort in a Motorhome.

The campground map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site was nice and spacious, and we made use of our new flagpole for the Starlink dish (and you may notice something different about our truck; more on that on Monday):

Our site

Steak and potato salad, watching a Mariners baseball game on the outside TV from the tent:

Steam, potato salad, watching TV

Our site

Unlike normal Thousand Trails parks, Encore ones assign sites. We had originally been assigned a different site, but asked when checking in if they had other options, since we thought this wouldn’t fit us; they agreed it wouldn’t be a good fit.

Looking at it later (the left one in the following picture), we were definitely right to change; it was narrow and very sloped:

Original site

The main plaza area, with the (closed) indoor pool, rec center, offices, and cafe:

Plaza

We enjoy when there’s an onsite restaurant; this campground has the Dragonfly Cafe:

Dragonfly Cafe

Dragonfly Cafe menu

We went there for dinner on our first evening (always nice not having to cook on a travel day). Which was a rather drama-filled experience; we waited over an hour for our food, then the server walked out partway through, and the cook had to come out and accept payment from us and others. It was tasty, though; burger for me:

Dragonfly Cafe food

Prime rib for Jenn:

Dragonfly Cafe food

Laundry:

Laundry

Other sites in the Hemlock Meadows loop:

Other sites

See our previous visit for lots more pictures of other loops.

We enjoyed our stay here, and would definitely stay again in the future.

Video

Video: Buxton to Welches, Oregon motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 75 miles from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon.

Travel from Buxton to Welches, Oregon

We drove our coach 77 miles, about two hours of driving, from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon.

This is the start of our eastern migration, as we head from the west coast toward the east coast, ending the year in Florida.

Here’s the map route, heading east:

Route

Interactive map (no stops):

We drove our coach and truck separately to the welcome center, as a convenient place to toad up:

Connected truck to coach

Toaded up

Leaving the state park:

Leaving state park

Roadworks, replacing a bridge:

Roadworks

Heavy traffic near the Vista Ridge tunnel, as usual:

Heavy traffic

Traffic map

Freeway tunnel

A bike and pedestrian bridge over the Willamette River:

Bike and pedestrian bridge over Willamette River

Jenn driving, with a glimpse of downtown Portland beyond:

Jenn driving with Portland beyond

Portland downtown:

Portland downtown

Overpasses:

Overpasses

Freeway with the convention center towers in the background:

Freeway with convention center in the background

Bridge:

Bridge

MAX light rail station:

MAX light rail station

A water tower and a glimpse of Mt Hood:

Water tower and glimpse of Mt Hood

A plane coming in for a landing, and Mt Hood:

Plane and Mt Hood

We took NE 238th Drive, which used to be unsuitable for RVs and trucks, but was widened a few years ago:

NE 238th Drive

Some somewhat close trees:

Trees

Our RV GPS kept warning of 40 foot length limits, which no longer applied since the road was improved. It’s a nice feature when up-to-date, though:

40 foot length limit message

Totally fine, though:

NE 238th Drive

Turning on to Burnside Road (with some roadworks; good thing we didn’t want to go straight):

Turning on to Burnside Road

US-26 highway:

US-26 highway

Downtown Sandy:

Downtown Sandy

Our homestead was somewhat near Sandy (25 minutes away, but it was where we went shopping). But we never made it to the rather distinctive Joes Donut Shop:

Joes Donut Shop

Mt Hood Pet Resort was where we took our dog for playtime and boarding, often grabbing a coffee at Mountain Moka Cafe next door:

Mt Hood Pet Resort and Mountain Moka Cafe

Interesting structure:

Interesting structure

A glimpse of Mt Hood:

Glimpse of Mt Hood

Motorcycles:

Motorcycles

Our destination, Mt Hood Village:

Mt Hood Village

Driving to our site:

Driving to our site

Our site before parking:

Our site before parking

When we get into a site, we are always careful when opening cupboards and the fridge for the first time, as things can shift. On this occasion, our fridge was rather full, and an expensive bottle of bubbly, some juice, and some food fell down; if we had just pulled the fridge door open without being careful, they would have smashed on the floor, and we would have been very sad:

Fallen items in fridge

LL Stub Stewart State Park, Dairy Creek East

We stayed in the Dairy Creek East campground of LL Stub Stewart State Park in Buxton, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

We stayed here last year in the west loop, and really enjoyed it. So we decided to stay again this year, this time in the east loop.

Unfortunately it was a relatively late change to our plans, so we weren’t able to get a more private site on the outside of the loop, but we still enjoyed our stay.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-06-25
Check out: 2023-06-30
5 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny
High temps ranging between 73-79°F, lows around 46-50°F
Fairly negligible wind, up to 23 MPH gusts

Noise:

No road noise
No train noise
Quite a lot of neighbor noise (kids playing)

Site:

#81, back in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
Unlevel; used blocks on the front jacks
Large site: about 28 feet long asphalt driveway, plus about 40 feet long and 35 feet wide gravel area
Grass between sites, about 25 feet space between sites, about 75 feet behind
Picnic table and fire pit on gravel

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
47 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 8-11 Mbps down, 12-18 Mbps up, 28-90 ms ping
AT&T: 105 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 32 ms ping
Verizon: 25-42 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 30-140 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage compactor and recycling outside campground entrance
No pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice state park in the Coast Range

This was our second time staying here, and have enjoyed it both times. Last year, we stayed in the West Loop and enjoyed the trees. This year, because it was a last-minute plan, we got a site on the inside of the East Loop. I would have preferred an outside site on the East Loop, as the inner sites have no trees or shade and back up onto a large grassy area where people play loud field games. Still, the sites in both loops are large, with plenty of room for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle, a screen tent, a fire pit, and a picnic table. We would definitely stay again and make sure to plan in advance to get a site on the outside of the loop. We camped at L.L. Stub Stewart Memorial State Park in a Motorhome.

The RV park map:

Map

An embedded map, that you can zoom and scroll around:

Our site:

Our site

Even though we only stayed five nights, we set up the CLAM tent, in part to help discourage people from taking a shortcut through our site, since we were next to a path leading to the bathroom block:

Our site

We both worked outside in the tent at various times:

Our site

The aforementioned path, with our coach visible in the background:

Path

At the other end of the path, the bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Other sites:

Other sites

A camp host ran after this T@B trailer to tell them that their tongue jack was still down; oops (T@B trailers are cute; this is a slightly larger one than the one Jenn’s father has):

T@B trailer

Earlier in the week there were a lot of empty sites:

Empty sites

Central grassy area, with the playground in the background:

Playground

We would have preferred a site on the outside of the loop, but we still really like this campground, despite all the kids. We generally like state park campgrounds a lot.

Video

Video: Shelton, Washington to Buxton, Oregon motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 182 miles from Shelton, Washington to Buxton, Oregon.

Travel from Shelton, Washington to Buxton, Oregon

We drove our coach 180+ miles, about three hours of driving, from our home base in Shelton, Washington to Buxton, Oregon.

Here’s the map route, heading south (exact origin omitted for privacy):

Route

Interactive map, with potential stops:

We were “moochdocking” at our home base, with 15 amp electric, water, and no sewer. We had showers and most bathroom usage in the house, while sleeping in our coach. But our grey and black tanks still reached about half full over the two weeks we were there. We dumped them at our destination:

Tank levels

Paladin on passenger chair prior to departure; he would probably have preferred to stay there, but sorry, I need that chair:

Paladin on passenger chair

When you come to a fork in the road, take it:

When you come to a fork in the road, take it

US-101 South:

US-101 South

Heading to I-5 South:

Heading to I-5 South

A motorhome towing a boat; we wondered if they had another vehicle to put the boat in the water, or had just bought it and were transporting it somewhere, or something:

Motorhome towing a boat

We stopped at a Love’s for fuel, with an extra long truck and trailers going out the entrance:

Extra long truck and trailers going out the entrance

Fuel stop

80 gallons of diesel; our first fuel stop since Eugene:

80 gallons of diesel

Bridge:

Bridge

Paladin wasn’t having a good time; sometimes he forgets about travel days:

Paladin

I-5 and Columbia River:

I-5 and Columbia River

Another bridge:

Bridge

Nice day for a Classic Beetle convertible:

Classic Beetle convertible

A pickup with oversized tires crossed the median barrier and got stuck, causing miles of slow traffic in both directions:

Pickup stuck on median barrier

Rough concrete roads almost worthy of California in southern Washington:

Roads worthy of California

Interstate bridge:

Interstate bridge

Entering Oregon:

Entering Oregon

Entering Portland:

Entering Portland

Exit to west:

Exit to west

Fremont Bridge:

Fremont Bridge

A glimpse of downtown Portland from the bridge:

Downtown Portland

Fremont Bridge

Downtown Portland

Freeway tunnel:

Freeway tunnel

Paladin hadn’t been using the steps, so I closed the step cover, and re-introduced him to his safe space next to the passenger chair; he was happier there:

Paladin back in his safe space