Mt Adams Weekend

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
Scott16, funny how just last night I was reading about Fletcher Class Destroyers of WWII and the Spruance Class DD-992 USS Fletcher you were on and finally the Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers of today. Many interesting namesakes like Churchill and Hopper.

Jeff & Kelli
Yes the Spruance class and USS Fletcher DD-992 was the last Destroyer of the Spruance class in service in 2003 when i served on it. It was in real good shape. The Navy tried a experiment to forward deploy (The Fletcher) with three crews replacing each other every six months. My crew started then were replaced. In 2004 the Navy retired The Fletcher. I heard the experiment did not work for the Navy to much cost. The Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers replaced the Spruance class.
I work on the Arleigh Burke Destroyers here at the Ship Yard at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, similar contruction features except a lower profile and the Aegis system.
That is why i like TC campers they keep upgrading to make them better, with newer designs features. I can't have or get a TC in Hawaii, not allowed, nowhere to go anyway on a Island.

Camper Jeff & Kelli,
Yes the observatory is open year round to public viewing...best to go on a clear, dark evening - very interesting. The park is pretty good, there are plenty of sites away from the road, but there is limited shade/tree cover in the RV spots (about 5 or 6) and only some of the tent sites would level or accessible enough for a TC. Unfortunately, there is really no fishing in or around the park since a few of the beaver dams that had long created some good backwater "lakes" have been wiped out and now the river is really just a 4ft wide creek that is real shallow.

I like the idea of the wobble stoppers, except I think they mount to the inside (truck side) of the jack leg and that would further reduce my clearance to my dually fenders. Right now I have less than 2" between them, so unless I am wrong about how they mount, it might make for a tough loading/unloading process.

Thanks for the good tips on camping!

Scott16, funny how just last night I was reading about Fletcher Class Destroyers of WWII and the Spruance Class DD-992 USS Fletcher you were on and finally the Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers of today. Many interesting namesakes like Churchill and Hopper.

Curahee, Glad you got out and saw the sights. Was the Goldendale telescope open for viewing while you were there? I've driven by Brooks Memorial several times but never stayed there. It is close to the road but also looks on the map to have some decent trails and maybe some fishing. Thanks for the pics. Nice camper and have you thought about getting a set of Torklift wobble stoppers for your front jacks if you are going to use the TC off truck.

My Aunt and Uncle had a Alfalfa farm in Vancouver WA. Back in the 60's and 70's. Then there was just farm land, my family and i went to the farm every summer. I went back to the farm in 1982, while i was in the Navy. A housing development was built around the farm then, sad to see.
Looks like you had a nice trip. Thanks for posting the pictures.
Scott

We really enjoyed Brooks Memorial SP this past weekend. The sites were ok (there were some decent ones in the park in the trees, but we were lucky getting a spot at the last minute.
We made it to Mary Hill SP, the winery, and the museum as well as the Stonehenge replica and the observatory..A very nice area in eastern Washington and great views along the Columbia River Gorge.

Next week we are off to Wallowa Lake SP in Oregon (annual trip) for some fishing and hiking..always look forward to going there a couple of times a year.

Found a site available at Brooks Memorial State Park north of Goldendale...now we should be able to check out the Mary Hill area and the observatory.Thanks!

thanks for the tips. I hadn't thought about Mary Hill and the Observatory. I will have to check that out.

curahee wrote:
Looks like a nice trip. We are wanting to find a spot this weekend and of course reservations aren't available anywhere. We could do first come first serve but, seems like by the time we get to a campground, they are all taken! Fairly typical when in south eastern washington...takes a few hours to get to the mountains.

It gets tough once school is out. We go to places where people aren't like a lot of Forest Service sites in the mountains. The other thing to do is plan early and make reservations. Since you're in SE WA, you could try for one weekend at Maryhill SP. It's on the Columbia, there is a Stonehenge replica up the hill, the Maryhill Museum is half a mile west of that. After dark you can drive up to the Goldendale Observatory to see the stars. It's the largest telescope available for public viewing in the US.
There are places to stay. Many parks set aside non reservable sites that are first come first serve. There are several BLM sites along the I-90 corridor in east WA to check out. Good luck.

Looks like a nice trip. We are wanting to find a spot this weekend and of course reservations aren't available anywhere. We could do first come first serve but, seems like by the time we get to a campground, they are all taken! Fairly typical when in south eastern washington...takes a few hours to get to the mountains.

Looks like a nice little trip. To bad the roads were still closed.