Crow Butte State Park

This trip was taken at the request of our son, Bryan, who was visiting from Alaska.  We had a great time and enjoyed the weekend! 

Campground Info:  Crow Butte State Park  Boardman, WA.  Site 22.  Weather was sunny, light winds, increased winds and rain.  Bathroom rating:  Excellent!

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Bryan, Carl, Geoff, Uncle Carl and Cyrus the boxer.

Riverside campsite at Crow Butte 

This trip was special in that it was the first time Bryan has gone camping with us since we got the G.R.U.B.  Bryan was visiting from Alaska for two weeks and took the opportunity to join us. 

This was a different spot for us - this time we were riverside.  Pretty spot, lots of grass and water views.  That first evening and next morning were perfect!  We had a campfire and made S'mores in the evening and camping donuts in the morning.  Sunshine, hikes and napping in the sun were the order of the day - at least until about 2:00 in the afternoon! 

After the rains came in. 

Our park host came by and warned us that there was a thunderstorm headed our way - of course!  If we're camping, it's raining!  Spent the first part of the storm huddled under the awning, watching the rain and visiting.  Our neighbor brought over "Cherry Bombs" maraschino cherries soaked in rum.  Then, the wind kicked up and the sky opened up! 

The awning had to come down.  The cooler went into Bryan's tent in order to keep it from blowing away.  We spent the rest of the evening inside, visiting, eating and enjoying each others company.  Next day the campsite was so flooded, we packed up early and left amid more rain! 

Crow Butte - Again...

Just a quick trip to one of our favorite campgrounds! 

Campground Info:  Crow Butte State Park  Boardman, WA .  Site 42 (where else!) The weather was sunny and windy!  Bathroom rating:  Excellent!

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Geoff and Cyrus the boxer.

This trip was sunny - the first one all year, but VERY, VERY windy!  Windy enough that we were not able to spend much time outdoors.  The wind brought the temperature down enough that coats were still a requirement. It was very cool to see a herd of deer crossing the road as we entered the campground. 

The next day we went for a hike to see the beach area - again windy!  I almost lost my stylish baseball cap!  Along the way we ran across a couple of herds of deer out foraging on the ridge. 

The beach itself was pretty much non-existent - we have had so much rain this year that the shoreline was covered with high water. 

Crow Butte Beach 

We are looking at a different site for next month when we come back.  Bryan is coming home from Alaska and has asked to go camping with us.  Time to try a different site and see how it is! 

Crow Butte - Revisited Again

We wanted to try taking Cyrus to a campsite that wasn't quite as sheltered from vision as Manchester was to determine if he was really going to be good with camping.  So - back to Crow Butte!

Campground Info:  Crow Butte State Park  Boardman, WA  Site 42.  Weather was sunny and hot.

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Geoff and Cyrus the boxer.

Cyrus in the sunshine.

On this trip we borrowed a friends inflatable kayak.  We figured that we should try out the water sports at some point in time and this would also help us to determine if we wanted to look at purchasing a kayak ourselves at some point. 

Jim and Geoff took care of inflating the kayak and then took the maiden voyage while I stayed back at camp with Cyrus.  Because of his nails, and the fact that the kayak was borrowed, we didn't feel it was a good idea for him to go in the kayak.  Not only that - Cyrus isn't too crazy about water.  He will get his feet wet when necessary, but other than that... not so much! 

Off into the wild!

Again, another relaxing and enjoyable weekend!

Crow Butte - Revisited

Crow Butte will be a favorite camping area for us - we love its closeness to home for a quick weekend camping trip.  Only a three hour drive along the Gorge and you're there!

Campground Info:  Crow Butte State Park  Boardman, WA.  Site 42.  Weather was sunny and hot.

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Carl, Geoff, Kyle (Geoff's friend).

This trip is full of first time things.  We got the new truck to pull the GRUB.  Previously we had been using our Subaru, but it limited how much we could take camping with us.  With the new truck, we can pack coolers, chairs, and the new lasso golf set.  This was Geoff's birthday trip this year - and the lasso golf was one of his gifts.  As you can see, the large grassy areas made it a perfect playing field!  We also took the new fire pit so we could cook S'mores.  Another first time - having a guest of Geoff's along with us.

Learning the fine art of Lasso Golf 

We brought the scope with us this trip and the guys went up to the "observatory" at night to view the stars.  They were able to view a lot of wonderful stars and the temperatures were perfect for it.  During the day, the boys went to the swimming area and swam in the river for most of the late morning and afternoon. 

With the nicer weather and the end of the school year, there were a lot more campers on site.  Some came with boats and used the boat launch to spend the day on the water.  Even with a full campsite - it still felt wide open.  Another relaxing weekend accomplished!

Crow Butte State Park

Jim & Geoff have gotten into astronomy.  However, in the Pacific Northwest that can be a challenge as there always seems to be cloud cover.  Jim discovered Crow Butte while he was looking for a place to observe the night skies unobstructed by clouds, trees and light pollution.

Campground Info:  Crow Butte State Park  Boardman, WA  Site 42.  Weather was hot and sunny with beautiful night skies.

Campers:  Jim, Uncle Carl, Geoff, Deb.

Crow Butte is more of a "park like" setting than a lot of other places we have been too.  The sites all have large grassy areas with trees - which help during the sunny, hot afternoons.  It is on an island in the Columbia River up the Gorge.  On two sides you have the river and views and on the other is the more arid and hilly spots.  We have the arid spot - that leads up and away from the trees for better stargazing.  There are no campfire pits at the sites - only little BBQ pits.  If you want a campfire, it is permitted but you need to bring your own.  Bathrooms are very clean. 

There is boating and swimming available.  It is also a day use park for the nearby towns - which are not that near by!  Fisherman have been seen up and down the river as well.  We found a couple of Geo-caching opportunities, but this campground, for us anyway, is all about the stargazing and relaxing.

The path to the Observatory

Jim and Uncle Carl started out on this trip and the rest of us joined Jim on the weekend.  There are many, many, many rattlesnake warnings at the camp - however, we were fortunate enough not to see or hear any.