Deschutes River State Recreation Area, Oregon

We're here on the Deschutes under tall trees, watching the river drift by and flow into the Columbia. This is a premier fishing spot, so we're told by fellow campers. There are a lot of trails leading out of camp too, so there's easy access to other parts of the river for both fishing and hiking.

If you are a fisherman this is heaven. If you have romantic notions about the sound of a freight train whistle you'll like it too. You have the opportunity to enjoy the sound pretty much once and hour during the day, and about five times during the night. It's a benefit that the train is so close, and the horn so loud, as it serves to drown out the freeway noise, which is even less romantic than the train.

As we are neither fishermen nor train fans, we decided one night is enough and will move on today. I will add however, that I'm happy to know so many freight trains are moving. Early in this recession we saw long lines of freight cars of all types sitting in storage in train yards all across several states. It was a sad thing to see, sort of like seeing a bustling city suddenly turn into a ghost town. Some lines may still be slower, but at least there's plenty of business on this route.

The Columbia Gorge is known for wind, it's a wind surfer's paradise. It had been unbelievably calm all afternoon, but that changed in the evening. If we hadn't known better we would have thought a real storm was blowing in - it was just the typical Gorge breeze rustling through the tall trees.

Travel tip: When you are in a fishing camp don't leave to early in the morning, and make friends with your neighbors. Especially those who are from out of state and don't have much freezer space. Our neighbor, from Alaska, just gave us three big, beautiful chunks of Chinook salmon. It was 35 inches, 'don't know how many pounds but it was a beauty! Guess what we'll be having for dinner tonight!