While in the area, we visited our favorite winery, Marchesi Vineyards in Hood River:
We did a wine tasting (alas, not free, as we are no longer members there, since we can’t easily get wine deliveries):
A resident dog, Jazzy, spent some time hanging out with us:
Jazzy and Jenn:
A charcuterie platter for lunch:
Misters keeping us cool on a hot day:
Vines:
Jazzy (with a boo-boo):
Vines:
Of course, we came away with a case of wines. That’ll keep us going until we can get back again next year!
The cupboards in our coach can get fairly warm when sitting in the sun. A common solution for that is to add extra protection via silvered bubble insulation like Reflectix. I recently added some to the back of most of the cupboards:
While staying near Mount Hood, we of course had to visit Trillium Lake for its great view of the mountain.
A view of the mountain on the way:
Trillium Lake and Mount Hood from the dam area:
We had a picnic dinner:
Then enjoyed views of the mountain over the lake:
This may look a little familiar: it’s the view on the Magne Shade on our coach windscreen (except during daytime):
More pics:
Ducklings:
Lots of people enjoying the lake:
A quick post with a couple of videos from short rides around Mt Hood Village. No photos, other than embedded in the first video, since those I took appeared in my review of the campground.
As mentioned previously, I use Strava to track my rides, and Relive to convert the routes into 3D videos.
Here’s the first ride, by myself:
And the second ride, with Jenn:
Not overly exciting, but a handy way to explore large campgrounds.
We stayed at Mt Hood RV & Camping Resort in Welches, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice Thousand Trails Encore park.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:
Nice campground close to Mt Hood
This park has a nice mix of sites close to all sorts of outdoor activities in the area. We were grateful to be under the tall trees during the worst of the heat even if it meant the Starlink was pretty useless. There are newer sites that have no trees, but they were baking in the sun. You really need to weigh your priorities when making your site reservation. The roads are a bit narrow in spots, and they have a few trees that need to be trimmed, but overall we had no trouble getting our 40′ motorhome around to our site. We really enjoyed the on-site restaurant. Their breakfasts are awesome. We camped at Mt Hood Village RV Resort in a Motorhome.
The RV park map; it a large park, with multiple campgrounds within it, separated into short-term and long-term RVs, plus cabins:
An embedded map (that you can zoom and pan around):
Weather:
Our site:
Our bikes:
The screen tent:
We moved the picnic table out of the way, since we have our own in the tent:
A big rock on the neighboring site:
Utilities:
I got out my ladder to access the roof; I attached knee pads to it to protect the edge of the roof:
The main reason for the ladder was to remove a branch that I’d noticed was wedged up there:
I also took some pics of the roof, since this was the first time I’ve used the ladder to access it (and I’ve still never been on the roof):
We took Paladin out into the screen tent:
Some aerial photos from my drone:
The village has a restaurant and store:
Village store:
Dragonfly Cafe and Bakery:
Breakfast:
Dinner:
Plus a game room:
And indoor pool:
We were in the Vine Maple Hollow campground (a bit harsh to call the children slow):
Our neighbor had a catio:
Another catio:
Some campgrounds were a bit more exposed:
Monthly sites available:
More campsites:
Tiny homes and cabins:
A nice park. We’ll likely be back here again in the future.
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 79 miles from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon, with a detour to Todd’s Auto & RV in Portland.
We drove our coach 79 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon, with a detour to Todd’s Auto & RV Service in Portland.
The map route for the first leg, heading east:
And the route for the second leg, also heading east:
Leaving Buxton:
Paladin on the steps:
Sunset highway:
The freeway tunnel:
Downtown Portland:
Todd installed our tow system last year, but recently the light on the dash that confirmed the brake was being applied in our toad stopped working. Fortunately, we had to pass near Todd’s shop when heading through Portland, so we arranged to stop by there so he could investigate (supervised by Paladin):
The issue turned out (as we suspected) to be a bad indictator light; he was able to swap it out for a good one; this light comes on when the truck’s braking system is activated, due to the coach brake being applied. It’s a useful confirmation that the truck is actively braking with the coach:
We then continued on, passing through Gresham:
MAX light rail stop:
Paladin asleep in his safe space:
Through Sandy; here’s their “trolly” bus:
Downtown Sandy:
Sandy used to be our local town (well, Estacada was closer, but smaller; we preferred to shop in Sandy). Mt Hood Pet Resort is where we took our dog for daycare and boarding:
Speaking of Mount Hood, a view from the highway:
And our destination, Mt Hood Village RV Resort:
One of several criteria when choosing an RV was that we needed to keep working as we travel, so we wanted a desk (or two). So soon after we bought our coach, we removed the couches, and replaced one with a desk:
From the start, I used a lap tray with my laptop, sitting in my living room chair, while Jenn used the desk. Over time, she decided that she didn’t need the second screen, and ultimately didn’t need the desk either.
So we removed the desk, while temporarily leaving its drawers:
We might get some custom furniture to go there in due course, but in the meantime we decided to replace the desk with IKEA KALLAX drawers and cupboards; a very flexible system that we’ve enjoyed in the past.
Here are the drawers being assembled:
To prevent the drawers from sliding open when the coach is in motion, I added roller catches:
The new drawers next to the old ones, while transferring the contents:
Next I assembled IKEA KALLAX cupboards; the bottom-right cubby is a cat bed for Paladin:
I got brackets to connect the two units, for extra stability:
The two brackets on the back are covered in self-adhesive felt, to avoid scratching the wall:
I also added a bracket to mount the units to the wall:
The drawers and cupboards:
Related, I added velcro to Jenn’s laptops and laptop stand, so they stay put while driving:
She uses the laptop stand on the dining table when she has meetings, or uses a lap tray in her living room chair like me.
After Astoria, we visited Fort Clatsop, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park:
The visitor center:
Jenn at the passport cancellation station:
Photo spot:
Info sign:
A replica of Fort Clatsop one can explore:
Trail:
A ranger talk on water:
216 years ago today:
We took a day trip to the Oregon coast.
We had planned to go to Mo’s in Seaside for lunch, but they were too busy, so we continued up the coast.
Some pics of Seaside:
Astoria:
We ended up going to Bridgewater Bistro, which we had fond memories of from staying in Astoria for our anniversary in 2008:
The restaurant is on the pier, and has a cute window in the floor showing the water below (and a skeleton on a rope ladder):
We had a tasty breakfast for a late lunch:
After that, we drove over the Astoria–Megler Bridge between Oregon and Washington; a 4 mile long bridge across the Columbia River:
And back again:
Cannery Pier Hotel:
