About the camp site

This land was logged a few years ago, so there isn't much shade. The exception is the creek, which was not logged and is covered by a mature forest canopy. The camp site is near the forest, but is very sunny. In the image below, you can see the light-colored wood chip covered camp site on the far left. On the far right is the Columbia river.

Because of the lack of tree canopy at the camp site, we tend to spend the sunny hours down by the creek. It's a 3 minute walk from the camp site. The creek's level depends on how much it's been raining recently. In June it can be calf-high, with some higher speed chutes and other sections that are more of a gentle flow.

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We've seen small fish and crawfish, both 2 -- 3 inches long.

There is a lot of amazing wildlife on the land surrounding the camp site. White-tailed deer, bald eagles, western osprey, owls, turkey vultures, ravens, giant Pacific salamanders, and black bears. (Black bears are fairly skittish and run away from people -- these are not the type of bear that attack.)

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Our trail cams have also picked up images of a cougar. Cougars can sometimes be aggressive toward humans, though we've never had any direct interactions with them.

The property is bare bones. There aren't any amenities. Bathroom usage is some combination of "find a private spot in the trees" and an outhouse that Caitlin built. There is no plumbing in the outhouse: it's a small building with a toilet seat on top of a 5-gallon bucket. Although this is might seem like strange information to include in what is essentially an elaborate birthday party invitation, we wanted to make sure everyone knows what they're getting into.

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If you find yourself in need of a bathroom with all the modern conveniences (plumbing, electricity) for any reason, the lobby of the Skamania Lodge has bathrooms and is a 10 minute drive away.

There are two waterfalls in the creek -- one 20 feet, one 40 feet. At the base of the 20-foot falls is an abandoned mine shaft. There's a lot to explore.