Memaloose State Park, OR 5/2 - 5/7

We have often driven down the Columbia Gorge by all of these interesting state parks and campgrounds and vowed to one another that someday, we would stop and visit these places instead of just blowing by and finally, we have stopped. We are at the Memaloose State Park that is very close to the river - up on a bluff above the railroad tracks - and a few miles west of The Dalles. Most of the camp sites have views of the river - some better than others - but it is such a nice place to just live that we are so glad we stopped. Rain and trains, it just doesn't get much better than that and we expected both. The rains has fallen most every day that we have been here - except when we arrived, got lucky that day, and the trains rumble by at least once an hour but the the barges pushing goods up and down the river don't make much noice. Still hope to get photos of both.

The main feature that we see in the river is the Memaloose Island that was an important and ancient burial ground for the Indians in this area. When the dams were built, the island shrank from about 4 acres to about 1/4 of an acre causing many of the graves to be moved.

According to the Internet, "There are several islands in the Columbia River named Memaloose, which is a derivation of the Chinook Indian word “memalust,” meaning “to die.” The largest and best-known of these islands, Lower Memaloose, is near the south shore of the river a short distance east of Hood River. Historically, Indians of the area used the island as place to lay their dead to rest. Bodies were wrapped in reed mats or sometimes buckskin, then stacked one atop another in structures made of split cedar planks. Lewis and Clark landed on the island in 1806 on their return journey up the Columbia and counted 13 structures full of bodies.
Also buried on the island is a pioneer of The Dalles area, Vic Trevitt. He requested that he be buried “with my Indian friends.” His grave marker can be seen from the Memaloose Island rest area along Interstate 84. "

Did I mention the trains? So many come by here that we can now identify the direction they are traveling, upstream or downstream, by the sound of the engines. There are just as many trains on the Washington side and this one is of an Amtrac. They pass through two tunnels that were blasted through solid rock.






We aren't bothered much by the noise of the trains because so many RV parks are built along the freeways and the train tracks - must be some kind of rule.


We learned of a place to view Mt. Hood called Panoramic Point that is a few mile outside of Hood River off of OR 35 and the description made us want to see this place so off we went. Now, you can take the easy way there or the hard way and you know which way we choose - yup, the harder route. It isn't hard, just crooked and a little narrow. Next time, we might try the each way that is up Whisky Creek Rd - shorter and not so crooked. Yes, there will be another time because this is what we saw from the overlook - no mountain. The closer we got to Hood River, the more overcast the skies became and we knew this might be our view. So, use your imagination and you can see that huge mountain off in the distance towering over the valley of fruit orchards. Visit this are in mid April to see all the color when the trees are in bloom. OR 35 is the road you would take out of Hood River to get to the mountain.



The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum is a wonderful place and we so enjoyed the couple of hours that we spent there viewing all the exhibits. They have exhibits on the history of the river, Native Americans, Lewis & Clark, history of the Dalles and the ice age and of course the Missoula Floods that determined the eventual usage of all this area. And, a cafe, Basalt Rock Cafe, is available for lunch and we can not figure out why we didn't have lunch there - old people, who knows?















Walking trails (many paved) are also available. and thats where the next couple of photos were taken.



This isn't a photo of the Columbia but was taken near a small pond that is adjacent to the Center. Lots of wild flowers in the spring.










The river looks so much like a smooth lake and it must have really been something to see before it was "tamed" by the dams. I can remember driving by Cellio Falls on our family trips to Portand and still hear the water crashing over the falls and the Indians fishing from their handmade platforms that always looked so dangerous - and probably were.




The Canadian geese don't seem to mind being out in the rain and I guess that's to be expected because, well, they spend a lot of time on water. Us? We are tired of the sound of rain hitting the top of the trailer and after so many weeks of being wet, are ready for some desert living. Brown is good.

Calling cards? Yeah, we know they had been around.

Remember that you can click on the photos to see a larger view.