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Trebor_HI
Joined: 17 Aug 2008 Posts: 26
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Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 5:00 pm Post subject: Gorge Vacation Rentals |
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I'm a retired guy, traveling solo, looking to spend several weeks in the gorge. Any tips on lodging? Been checking Craigslist and AirBnB... |
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CUSalin
Joined: 11 Mar 2001 Posts: 405 Location: Hood River, OR
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Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 5:41 pm Post subject: Re: Gorge Vacation Rentals |
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Trebor_HI wrote: | I'm a retired guy, traveling solo, looking to spend several weeks in the gorge. Any tips on lodging? Been checking Craigslist and AirBnB... |
Maybe by end of Sept. Good Luck! _________________ CU Sailin' |
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Trebor_HI
Joined: 17 Aug 2008 Posts: 26
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 12:46 am Post subject: |
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Made it out the week before labor day. Sailed Tue, Wed & Thu nicely powered on a 5.0 sail. The wind died Friday and the forecast seemed grim so headed back. For lodging, I stayed at a Motel 6 in the Dalles and an airBnB in Carson.
To the folks who summer in the gorge: what options do you use for lodging? Buy a place, vacation rental, RV's...? Maybe list some of the pros and cons. Would really appreciate some feedback on this. |
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cgoudie1
Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 2599 Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 4:56 am Post subject: |
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Greetings Trebor,
It's always interesting how quickly people who come here go from
a few days vacation to "how do I stay here the whole summer" to "how do
I live here".
I know many who "bought a place" including myself, but this will depend
on your free cash, and these days both Hood River and White Salmon are
pretty pricey. Most others use a Van (or an RV), and there are a few
that do vacation rentals.
Speaking only for myself, the van camping is fancy free and inexpensive
(I did that for many years), There are advantages to traveling with
your home, like multiple days in a row where the wind doesn't shift location.
Age however, causes one to prefer an environment a little more "civilized",
and not traveling with your home allows you to be less "organized" which
in my psyche is less stressful.
Here are a few facts which might be useful to a retiree. There's
no sales tax on the Oregon side of the river, but property taxes in HR
are pretty high. There's no state income tax on the Washington side
of the river, but you do have to claim you spend 51% of your residency
in the state.
Here's an interesting tidbit my wife pointed out to me while we were
looking for a place here. No matter how you "feel" about religion, towns
with a church in them have reached a certain "evolutionary" stage that
tend to make them more stable with better amenities and organization.
If you are buying, it's just an interesting data point.
Oh, and recreational Green is legal on both sides of the river these days
(at least until the black helicopters show up ;*) )
I should also mention that it's pretty grey and drizzly up here between the
months of November and March, and you'd never know that just coming up
in the summer.
I am not retired (yet), but I do get 60-70 days planing up here per year.
-Craig
Trebor_HI wrote: | Made it out the week before labor day. Sailed Tue, Wed & Thu nicely powered on a 5.0 sail. The wind died Friday and the forecast seemed grim so headed back. For lodging, I stayed at a Motel 6 in the Dalles and an airBnB in Carson.
To the folks who summer in the gorge: what options do you use for lodging? Buy a place, vacation rental, RV's...? Maybe list some of the pros and cons. Would really appreciate some feedback on this. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:36 pm Post subject: |
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I bought a big Ford van just for WSing travel and converted it specifically for that purpose, especially in the Gorge (lived in NM then). It had virtually all the features of a full-fledged RV. (It was a LOT of work. Next time I just bought a small RV.) They gave me tremendous freedom to roam "the Gorge" ... all 400-500 miles or so of it if one includes the lower Columbia River from Port Kelley to Nuclear Alley plus the Oregon coast ... for up to 6 months per year. For the next 12+ years of that I never had to get off the water because I had to go somewhere else to sleep or eat; I could sail until dark and moved only when the wind or rules forced me to. That's way over a thousand nights in that van not even counting all those winters of sailing trips to Corpus Christi, Florida, and many other locations. Of those 1500? 2000? nights, maybe a dozen were in formal campgrounds, none in brick and mortar buildings. I have no need for either, MUCH preferring to chase the wind rather than burdening my fun with other constraints. I love sleeping outdoors in the breeze as long as it's west of the West Texas Dry Line; any further east is too damned hot, humid, buggy, and privately owned for my tastes.
Similarly, I spent years actively seeking a home from which I could do most of my sailing from my own back yard. I scouted maps, drove places, talked to people, read magazine articles, and sailed at many places in many states. My final choice became clear: a small motor home.
Oh, I've also always had a real home, but it's to live in, not to sail from. Besides, my wife of 48 years and I much prefer a house to a MH when not sailing.
It's disheartening enough to see people who have to stop sailing early, cook a meal, pack up, and drive 50 to 300 miles just to find a bed while I'm enjoying the best wind of the day and the wind will continue the next morning, but they've usually chosen their approach so I guess it satisfies them. As Guy T has shown us, maximizing sailing time in "the Gorge" requires flexibility at odds with motels and restaurants.
The major downside to me is hot nights, rare or frequent. I don't sleep for crap on warm nights, and it took me years of experimentation to find wild camping spots that were usually breezy to windy all night even in hot weather. The sound of wind is comforting, whereas the sounds of people in campgrounds -- talking, slamming doors, music, etc ... keep me awake. I thus maintain a log of wild sleeping sites all over the western U.S. into which I can just pull into, turn off the key, throw open the doors and windows, and go to sleep to only Mother Nature's sounds. I put up with some overnight camping at a couple of Gorge sailing spots, but it took a long time to reduce the noise impact. The rest of my Gorge camping was at a long list of wild sites before finding a bud with a home in the heart of a big orchard in Hood River, where I got power for my van and showers for me. THAT was a good deal for several years, and left me with complete freedom to roam. They didn't even object when I left well before 5 AM and got back at 11 PM, and probably appreciated it when I was gone for days or weeks to the far ends of "The gorge".
Have I made it clear that I value the freedom of self-contained wild camping over air conditioning and restaurants?
Two other factors affect much of the above, for better and for worse.
Better: most people tolerate nighttime heat and people noise much better than I do. They sleep just fine in environments I cannot tolerate.
Worse: the wild spots have diminished, for many reasons. Some new ones have appeared, however.
YMMV. |
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Trebor_HI
Joined: 17 Aug 2008 Posts: 26
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2017 11:02 am Post subject: |
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Thanks guys for describing your experiences. Really helped! Sounds like a small RV or camper is the way to go...at least for a few seasons. I lived Hawaii from age 30 to 60 so the mainland, the gorge and RV life are all new to me. I haven’t made the effort yet to window-shop RV’s or to checkout campgrounds. So, guess I need to start looking into that.
I too have troubles sleeping to the sounds of other people talking, music, doors opening & closing, etc. I like my windows & drapes open, fresh air and peace & quiet. I gather though, that formal campground do offer amenities, safety in numbers and the company of fellow travelers. Didn't you ever get spooked camping wild? |
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cgoudie1
Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 2599 Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2017 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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I've never been spooked in the Gorge camping, but people say I look dangerous.
-Craig
Trebor_HI wrote: | Didn't you ever get spooked camping wild? |
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EricaKevin1
Joined: 19 May 2016 Posts: 10 Location: Ellijay, Georgia
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Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 1:46 am Post subject: Gorge Vacation Rentals |
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I visit many time places to stay in gorge vacation rentals. completely the greatest perceptions and loveliest lodging. Also, the cost was shockingly inexpensive. |
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U2U2U2
Joined: 06 Jul 2001 Posts: 5467 Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado
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U2U2U2
Joined: 06 Jul 2001 Posts: 5467 Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado
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