Two weeks ago I had planned a trip south into the Blue Mountains area of WA/OR. This week I managed to stay healthy and made that trip. As I headed out of Dayton, I remarked at how small the mountains looked. It was not long, however, before I was reminded of the mountains in Montana and Idaho that I usually visit.

Continuing up the road, I found wildflowers, lots of area for dispersed camping, and a few campgrounds. The first campground encountered was Midway Campground. This campground seemed to have about 5 campsites with firepits, tables, and space for tents to be set up. There was also a vault toilet that was in decent shape. Camping is $8 a night plus $5 per additional vehicle. Here is the website for the campground if you are interested in more details: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/umatilla/recarea/?recid=56791

The next campground I reached was my destination point, Godman Campground. I was late to the party, however, and all the campsites were already taken. There are 8 campsites available on first come, first served basis. There is also a sheltered area as well as another vault toilet. Asides from the campground, there is also an old guard station that can be rented. I did not check that out, but if it is something that you might be interested in, here is a link with more information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/umatilla/recarea/?recid=56743

I traveled down the road a bit further and found a much better campsite with plenty of room to myself. I hiked up the mountain behind me, taking in the fields of wildflowers as I went. I saw some elk tracks, but asides from the groundhog in camp, wildlife was pretty sparse. I did see a deer the following day, as well as a turkey, neither of which I was able to get a photo of.

Another point of interest near here is the Bluewood Ski Resort. The road to the resort was gated, so I did not get to go up there and get photos. Maybe that can be a winter trip. Overall, it was a great time riding some gravel roads and looking at all the pretty nature that was on offer.
There are also quite a few trailheads around this area. I might try to add some hiking to the adventuring this year, and since this area is quite close to home, I might just explore around here when I get started. Sawtooth Trailhead and Godman Trailhead were both near my campsite.
As a side note, NF64, which can be used to get to Walla Walla, WA from here, is a much rougher road than the other graveled roads I rode on. It got pretty rocky, rutty, and rough at the junction with Kendal Skyline Road. Also, there was still a lot of snow and both me and the pickup truck behind me, had to turn back due to the enormous snow drift. While I think pretty much any car can take the Eckler Mountain/Kendal Skyline roads, I would not recommend NF64 much past the Bluewood Ski Resort for vehicles that do not have fairly decent ground clearance. This is just my opinion, of course, and you do you 🙂

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