Today we planned to go have brunch with my mom at her house in Kelso, WA and decided we'd move the Airstream to a Washington State Park called Paradise Point State Park. We knew it was probably not really going to be Paradise since it was right off of I-5, but figured it was close to my mom and she'd be able to follow us back after brunch and check out the new rig. We drove through the one loop…there were maybe four other spots occupied. The first one we passed was a Grapes of Wrath operation that looked like it hadn't moved in several months, complete with creepy stringy-haired guy with a limp. Next was a camper with a "For Sale" sign in the front window, guarded by two low-headed frowning pit bulls tied to it. Hmmm. Then a nondescript motor home with no one around, and the camp host. I had a bad feeling about this place. It felt depressed, and had none of the "yay, we're camping!" vibe that one expects from a state park. We parked in a spot, payed our 27 (!!!!) bucks (perhaps an unsuccessful attempt to keep out the riff raff) and headed to my mom's.
After brunch (rather than have my mom follow us back to this creepy camping village) we decided we'd go to a private RV park we'd seen on the way up. On the way to rescue our rig we noticed a sign for a place called Columbia Riverfront RV Park and decided to check it out. This RV park is the kind of park we usually never visit. It was nice, but it's one of those parks that has ALL the amenities. And usually ALL the amenities means rules and american flags and no dogs and no tents and no fun just serious retired people all staying inside. In other words, better looking than Paradise Point, but a certain sternness….at least in our previous experience. These parks don't tend to have many young people in them. This was not an exception to that, but it was RIGHT on the Columbia River, with huge ships and barges and tugs passing by constantly. We got a riverfront spot with a killer view and decided to stay for a few days. It was lovely.
View from our dinette:
(Posted by Laura)
