Wildhorse Resort and Casino, Pendleton, Oregon

usbackroads destination--Wildhorse Resort and Casino, Pendleton, Oregon

The run from Boise to Pendleton is around our 200 mile daily travel limit.  You are pretty much on I-84 all the way to Pendleton.  Baker City and the BLM Oregon Trail Center are worth a stop.  If your traveling in July and August the Anthony Lakes Area just outside of Haines is worth a steep trip up the mountain.    Here is the Forest Service link to Anthony Lakes, don't forget that steep trip UP the mountain means a steep trip DOWN the mountain.

The run between Boise and Pendleton goes through Ladd Canyon and of course Cabbage Hill.   I-84 is up high for a portion of the trip so check those mountain camera's for conditions.  The trip down Cabbage Hill is a six percent grade, but with the exhaust brake it went smoothly.

There is a truck stop right next to the Casino where you can buy a t-shirt that states that you survived the trip down Cabbage Hill.  But more importantly, it is a good place to get diesel with plenty of room.  We got here pretty late so did not explore the casino.

The campground is just under $30/night.  They do have a golf course close and offer golf packages.  Lots of sageland around the campground for walking the dog.  Here is the official link to the campground.

There is a Pendleton Woolen Mills outlet store on the outskirts of Pendleton.  You don't want to haul your RV down there.  Pendleton Wool products are very high quality and a unique western gift.  One year we did all our Christmas shopping here and the blankets also make excellent wedding gifts.  For more information click here.

Here is a picture of the pull through spurs.  They are narrow.  How narrow, well the step was on the grass and our tennis balls that we normally put on the bedroom slide to avoid bumping our heads found use next to the electrical panel!

Tight, real tight.

However, the spurs had nice grass complete with a picnic table.

Since we are not into golf or gambling this will probably remain just an overnight spot for us.  Some of the spurs are NOT level, so you might want to walk the campground before selecting a unit.

My only comment was they must have used Forest Service design standards for the campground design!!


The trip between Pendleton and Wenatchee is another 200 mile jaunt and we headed for Confluence State Park to clean up the 5th wheel and see how the homestead survived the winter.  

Riverview RV Park, Boise, Idaho

usbackroads destination--Riverview RV Park, Boise, Idaho.

It was the latter part of March when we came through Boise.  We left Jackpot and we were trying to get as far west before a predicted storm with snow hit the mountains.  We started surfing the net for an RV park in Boise.  We have several retired friends from our past that live in Boise so decided it might be a good stop to wait out a storm.

Boise also has the riverfront bike path that goes through the heart of the city.  Unfortunately, the Boise of my youth with its population of 35,000 is long gone.  While we were there the Boise Metro Area went past the Spokane Metro Area with a population well over a half million people.  It was and still is a great community and city.  A little big for our taste to be a resupply town, but worth the stop.

The Riverview RV Park is next to the fairgrounds, rodeo arena, and the Boise Hawks baseball stadium.  The RV park is leased  from the fairgrounds.  So be aware, at times it could be hard to find a vacancy or it might be noisy if the fair is going or the ball games are in progress.  It is a typical RV park.  The very special part is the bike path right next to the park.  Here is the link to the park: Riverview RV Park.

The bike path was a favorite for Bugaboo and Snowpatch.  There were lots of ducks, geese, and other animals up and down the bike path.  The geese gave Bugaboo a wide berth.  There is something about a dog on point that just unnerves geese.  However, with Snowpatch they just hissed at him.  I guess somewhere between 10 and 100 pounds the geese back down!

The bike path runs all the way downtown and beyond.  It even goes past Bronco stadium in case you want to watch a football game on a blue field.

The Boise River is rather special as it flows through town.

Here is the link to the establishment of the greenway:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise_greenbelt.

This link gives you all the bike trails in Boise:

Boise Bike Trail Map.

The bike trail should be on your to do list as you travel the western US.  Do not forget to go into downtown Boise for shopping and other city attractions.

It is a nice city.  Much more deserving of the biggest little city moniker than that Nevada town!

It is Idaho.....so fishing is always close.  Even downtown!

Some people even walk the bikepath.  We spent four days waiting for the weather to clear in the mountains. It was nice to see old friends and it is always pleasant to spend a few days in Boise.