Heading east out of Portland towards Yellowstone National Park, we needed a place to camp for a few days. We were hot and tired. All we needed was somewhere with shade to relax for a couple of days. Almost a month on the road and 5000km of travel, was starting to take it's toll (it's a tough life).
We picked Emigrant Springs in Oregon, off a map. The campsite was part of a state heritage area, right off Interstate 84. At about 1000m elevation, we were hoping it would be slightly cooler than Portland at 38°C.
We arrived on Saturday afternoon and registered our campsite. The campground was fairly busy, however we found a site (with plenty of shade!), popped our money in an envelope and posted it into the registration box. Although, a fairly basic system - it works!
On Sunday, the campground emptied out and remained quiet for the rest of our stay. This provided plenty of opportunities for the squirrels and chipmunks to visit. The novelty of these cute, skittish creatures has not worn off!
Sean and I spent the next four days lazing around the campsite, moving out of our camp chairs only to chase the shade of the trees. We didn't put the tent down for 4 days - our current record! We read books, wrote blog posts, did crosswords, listened to podcasts, I painted and started a new crocheting project. Bliss!
A lady staying in the campsite came to say hello and ask us about our roof tent. Through the chat we found out that she hauled RVs for a living! She spent her time, moving from pick up to drop off location, in her behemoth of a pick up truck. She was interested in a tent like ours, for herself as an alternative to sleeping in the back of the truck. As the RVs were brand new and belonged to someone else, she wasn't allowed to use them! She was a really interesting person and gave us a good recommendation for an app to find campsites and camping facilities. People are so friendly!
On our final day in Emigrant Springs, we left the campsite to explore the rest of the Heritage Area. This site is located along the Oregon Trail, a 3,490km wagon route from Missouri to Oregon which was used by 400,000 settlers moving West between 1830 - 1869 (1869 marked the completion of the first transcontinental railroad). At the entrance to the park, there were several interpretive boards, providing information and sharing stories of the time.
We also discovered a horse camping area where there were campsites with places to hitch your horses!
Although our stop in Emigrant Springs began as just another stop en route to somewhere else amazing, it ended up being a really enjoyable, relaxed break.