Memaloose State Park, Mosier, Oregon

After we left Yakima we spent a night at Memaloose State Park in the Columbia River Gorge. It's tucked between the Columbia River and I-84 and next to a rest stop. No real hiking, no river access, not much to do except walk the dogs. But it had lots of trees, pretty views of the Columbia River, and was good place to spend the night (which is all we wanted) if freeway noise doesn't bother you. 

We didn’t have reservations, so I called to check availability and left a message. We never heard back. But we’ve never had a problem at a state park on a Monday in the off season, so we made Memaloose our Plan A. When we arrived, a sign on the closed camp office said there were no full hookup (water/electric/sewer) sites, but lots of tent sites. By "tent" site, they just mean there's no electric or sewer. We wanted full hookups. And Jim didn't believe the sign. So we scoped out the campground, found a couple unreserved full hookup sites (despite the sign) and nabbed one.

The park was full of chubby ground squirrels and Maddie went crazy trying to get to them on our walks. Once inside, she stood on guard intently staring out a window until Jim finally pulled the shade.

Our campsite looks bucolic ... until you realize the white streak to the upper left of our rig is a semi tractor/trailer whizzing by on I-84. The tent (no electric or sewer) sites were big enough for RVs.  Many of them were close to the river and had the best views. 

I read that spiders often build a new web every night -- and this one was on our bathroom window in the morning.

We give this view from the dump site a second place award for "best view from a dump site."  First place goes to one we saw several years ago at the Olympic Peninsula. That one had a view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 

The campground at dusk. Memaloose is named for a nearby island in the Columbia River  where Chinook Indians placed bones of their deceased on open pyres.