October 11-16, 2025
Another new camping destination for me. There are so many wonderful campgrounds in the State of Washington! This one, Beacon Rock, is on the very southern edge of the State of Washington, and is right on the shore of the mighty Columbia River. My very own campsite wasn’t right next to the river, unfortunately, but it was within walking distance.
In the image below, my home is the RED dot. Beacon Rock State Park is the YELLOW dot.
You can see that the BLUE Columbia River runs along the border between Washington and Oregon for quite a while, but then turns and comes up through the eastern part of the State of Washington, and actually comes from up inside Canada. I may have mixed you up here with how I wrote that. The Columbia River starts up in Canada, then flows down through Washington, then westward along the border between Washington and Oregon, then empties in the Pacific Ocean.
Here’s another image below that shows the route of the mighty Columbia River. It starts up in Canada, south of Invermere. Then it runs north (down hill), then turns and runs south through British Columbia in Canada, eventually entering the State of Washington in the USA. When it reaches the border between Washington and Oregon (south of Richland, WA), it turns to the west and flows to the Pacific Ocean along the border between those two states.
The Columbia River is the second largest river (by water volume) in the USA, even tho it’s just in one state, Washington. Just the area along the river banks is larger than the country of France. It’s one heck of a lot of water … it’s a huge river. Of course, that’s not including the St. Lawrence River that is mostly in Canada. That river is larger, more water output than the Columbia, but it’s mostly in Canada, so I’m counting just USA rivers here. O, Canada! 🙂
And I get to go camping here, right along the Columbia River! Check out that large YELLOW dot in the first image above to see where I went. It was about a four-hour drive from home, with most of that time driving down the busy I-5 freeway, but then I turned east onto the really pretty highway 14 that runs along the Washington side of the Columbia River.
And, eventually, I arrived.
I found my way around the campground roads, found my site, and backed in. Oh how gorgeous.
Below, the view from the front of my truck.
There was a walkway, just off to the right from my campsite … hmmm, what is that building there in the trees?
Ah, restrooms and showers. Handy!
The photo above and the one below are views of one area close to where I was camped. I was here in October, so the autumn colors were very pretty.
Photo below … looking past the left side of my trailer and out to the entrance. The building contains tools and spare parts and other such stuff for use by state park employees.
As you can see by the pools of water on the ground, it was raining when I arrived. It wasn’t a heavy rain, just a light rain, but it was enough that I extended the awning just a bit to cover the steps and the ground there so they would stay dry.
While I was walking around and exploring the campsite area, I discovered this mushroom/fungus below. There was only one of them there; I never saw another one like it. Does anyone know what it is? I’ve looked online since I got home and can’t find it. It was about 2.5 inches in diameter.
So this is my home for the week. I’ll be showing you the mighty Columbia River soon. My campsite was less than half a mile to the edge of the river, a comfortable walk. Stay tuned. 🙂
Nice campground and campsite. A little rain never hurt anyone. 🙂 You find the best spots for camping!
I actually like a little rain, the air smells so nice afterwards. Thanks Rob.
Google research tells me that your mushroom might be an “Old Man of the Woods” mushroom, though they usually have white striations not yellow. But I did find one website that said that the PH of the soil does sometimes result in yellow striations. Maybe?
You sure know your stuff, Jan, or maybe I should say you know your “mushrooms” … or maybe you know your “research”. I do know that PH of soil matters in the colors of Hydrangeas, so why not for mushrooms too? Thank you. 🙂
Yes, Ann finds the BEST camping spots! Or maybe there just aren’t any BAD camping spots in Washington State? Neither of us knows what that mushroom is and we can’t find it online. It’s really kind of pretty. 🙂
Hi Marge. I’ve found some campgrounds that aren’t my very favorite in Washington, but I have yet to find one that I haven’t liked. I like them all, and most of them are indeed my favorite when I leave. It’s hard to have so many favorites. 🙂
There aren’t any supports under your awning when it is extended. What holds it up? I thought there had to be stick supports under the outer corners, that’s what a builder is telling me, at least a builder that I’m talking to. Ha! Maybe not the best builder. I live in the midwest, wish I was closer.
Ah, yes, when I first knew that the awning would not have supports, I wondered about that, and asked Escape Trailer (in British Columbia) if that was ok. They said it was … and that there are criss-crossed horizontal arms right under the awning that hold it up very well. And it has a wind-sensor built in such that if there is wind enough to cause problems then the awning will close up all on its own. Escape Trailer is in Chilliwack, BC, website escapetrailer.com. They do NOT sell through dealers, so anyone buying one of the trailers simply pays them and does not pay a dealer such that the dealer can make a profit. And they will do tons of stuff for you differently than their standard trailers. Take a look Emily, might give you some ideas no matter who you have build your trailer. Get out on that road! 🙂
Really like the maps. Seems most bloggers don’t include maps. I like maps. I’ve spent many years hiking along the Columbia. But I still haven’t gotten back up to the source of the river in Canada. I’d sure like to do that. Ok, going to do that! Wow, thank you. 🙂
Your trailer is so sweet.
I like maps too, Steve, always have. They help with geology, climate, identifying surrounding human settlements, etc. Oh boy I hope you do get up to the source of the Columbia River, and that you report it here … please do! With photos. If you post photos, I’ll have to “approve” it, but I surely will. Or, just go and enjoy it. I’d like to get up there too one of these days.
I love the new header!! I looked at that and saw a green dog and said to myself wow I’ve never seen a green dog before how did that happen? You had me fooled. 🙂 Oh, yah, nice campsite too. 🙂
🙂 Almost had you fooled … almost! But you figured out the truth.
Jan, you are amazing. I thought that mushroom did look like an Old Man of the Woods, but the ones I’ve seen always have white stripes, never heard of yellow stripes. Google wouldn’t tell me anything, I finally looked in some of my books and finally found ONE reference to the PH balance in the soil sometimes resulting in yellow stripes. You get a gold star, or a gold stripe! 🙂
Ruby, I like that “gold stripe” that you gave Jan … for the gold/yellow stripes on that mushroom. That was great. 🙂
Green headed dog, so cool!
Mushroom, don’t touch it, don’t eat it!
The campsite, beautiful!
Your trailer …. perfect! 🙂
Thanks June. Great comment! 🙂
It looks absolutely beautiful. I love camping in the fall
I think autumn is my favorite time of year and I sure love camping then too, Dawn. Lots of folks have gone home, kids are back in school, the days and nights are not so hot. Life is good. 🙂
The Columbia River gorge really is magnificent! What a great place to camp.
You were here a few years ago, right FG? So you saw the Columbia. It certainly is magnificent, I never get over seeing any part of it, no matter how many times.