RV Dreamers

Scott and I took a trip to the town of Mosier to try to find this new, swanky RV resort that I read about online.  You might remember that I wrote a post about this a couple of weeks ago.

We stopped in town first so I could go to the bathroom - and to ask for directions to “Sunshine Ridge,” the name of this place.  We found it odd that there were no signs in Mosier leading you to this supposedly wonderful new RV resort with deeded lots and fancy things like an executive golf course, a clubhouse and many more amenities. 

But we were determined to find it (and I was determined to go pee), so we stopped at Route 30 Classics & Roadside Refreshments (which seemed to be the hub of all activity in tiny Mosier, population 430). 

When I walked into Route 30, I must have had that “I have to go bad” look because a guy took one look at me and said “there’s no restrooms in here… but there’s a Porta-Potty across the street.”

Sure enough, there was a Porta-Potty across the street.  And sandwiched in-between said toilet and a dirt parking lot was a giant totem pole with a sign that read “Mosier Totem by Sculptor Jeff Stewart, Dufur Oregon.”  I couldn’t help but wonder if the sculptor knew his work of art was being displayed in such surroundings, although the Columbia River was visible in the background… so it wasn’t all bad. And there was a picnic table next to it as well.

After very carefully going pee in the Porta-Potty, (it was filled almost to the top… gross!), I headed back across the street and asked the same guy where we could find Sunshine Ridge.  He was quite perplexed and neither of the other two guys he asked had ever heard of it.  “There was an old RV resort up the road a ways, but it’s in pretty bad shape,” he told me.  I said I had read that the owners of this new RV resort were taking over an old one in Mosier and I thought that must be it.  So he gave me directions and we headed on up the road to try to find this place.

We ended up driving a long, but very scenic road that led us all the way to The Dalles and we never saw Sunshine Ridge.  We gave up on the idea, stopped and had lunch and then headed back toward Portland on I-84.  As we neared Mosier again, Scott thought we should try one more time to try to find it.  We had passed a sign for an RV resort called Columbia River Gorge Resort but hadn’t turned off because we didn’t think that was it.  But maybe it was?  So off we went.

The road was paved for a bit, but then turned to a dusty, gravel lane that wound up to the top of a mountain above Mosier.  We couldn’t imagine someone trying to drive their motorcoach up this road, but we kept on going.  And eventually we found Western Horizons Columbia River Gorge Resort.  The “Western Horizons” part sounded familiar so I pulled up the article on my cell phone and sure enough, Sunshine Ridge was supposed to be built where the Western Horizons Columbia River Gorge Resort used to be.

What we found was nothing like what the article described.  This place was a ghost resort and it was obvious that no renovation or construction of any sort had been going on up there, despite the fact that the article said Sunshine Ridge was supposed to open May 1. 

You could tell this place had once been an RV resort (in fact a sign on a dilapidated shack claimed it was a “Five Star Resort.”)  There were signs the place had once been something - a putt-putt golf course, a tennis court off in the distance, spots to park RVs, a beautiful view… but not anymore.  Everything was overgrown, dilapidated and falling apart. 

The place was quite spooky too.  We felt like we had walked into a horror movie where some ax-murderer was waiting to jump out of the trees and chase us down the mountain.  I think Scott was more scared than I was.  I wanted to walk up a road to see another part of the park, but he would have no part of it.  “Let’s get out of here… I don’t like this place,” he said.  Thankfully, our car was still there when we got back.

Back at work I decided to make a phone call to the folks who had sent out the press release saying the resort was opening on May 1.  I actually got through to someone and got the skinny on the deal.  Turns out the RV resort is opening on May 1, but the spots will be temporarily slated for overnight camping while the company renovates the property for the next year. 

The guy told me that eventually there will actually be everything that was listed on the press release - executive golf course, vineyard, etc. - and the pads will be sold at that point.  That all makes sense, so why wasn’t that explained in the press release?  I should have asked, but the guy on the phone was so nice and I wasn’t in the mood to ruffle feathers.  Besides, I was calling on behalf of my work and was angling for an article.  I’ll be going back in a year and doing a story then… once the resort is finished. 

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Tags: Mosier, rv, RV resort