A nephew’s adventures in state parks, part 3: Maryhill and Goldendale Observatory State Parks

By Holly Sproul (Parks Forms Manager & Web Specialist) & Nephew Evan (Age 9) 

The end of our week’s journey took us to Maryhill State Park, to enjoy the Columbia River Gorge and star gazing at Goldendale Observatory State Park. We were greeted with more wind, although this time, we were protected by trees and natural barriers in the campground.  

Tent sites are pie wedge-shaped and get larger on the backside, which Evan thought “were kinda nice.”  

With wide-open grass areas, make sure to bring a ball to toss or kick as there’s plenty of grass to play a game or 12. 

Evan said, “Yeah, I’d play a sport but not baseball. The ball will just go in the water.”  

If he could hit the ball to the water, he’d already be signed by the Mariners as there are multiple campsites and vegetation between the grass and the water.

A busy highway hill runs adjacent to the campground so the semi-truck noise can be loud. A few woke me during the night. Evan was oblivious to the traffic noise. He chose to car camp here, which helped muffle the traffic noise. 

All along the highway to the campground, kite surfers provided an unexpected form of entertainment for us. Evan said it was “kinda neat to see. I’d definitely try it.” 

Although we are not kite surfers, there are a ton of opportunities at Maryhill for the sport. All along the highway to the campground, kite surfers provided an unexpected form of entertainment for us.  

Evan said it was “kinda neat to see. I’d definitely try it.”  

We did not swim at Maryhill as we were tired from our other adventures. We will be coming back to this area to swim in the lower Columbia River, and maybe try kite surfing.  

Evan’s rating: Two thumbs up and a vigorous head nod to visit this area again.

Evening show at Goldendale Observatory 

Before the show started, Evan enjoyed the interactive activities. Specifically, the plasma lamps and pretending to be an alien invading Earth with the solar system model.  

We enjoyed an entertaining evening show at Goldendale Observatory, thanks to Parks Interpreter Troy Carpenter. Troy taught us about galaxies and the atmosphere.  

Although, “it was a really bad time that we went because of the solar time and the sun and light was out longer. It got dark at like 11:15 p.m.”  

Evan doesn’t usually stay up that late but said “it was pretty normal for summer. I rarely stay up late over 12, so it was a little bit hard but it was fine.” 

During the show, we were able to look through telescopes to view a star cluster, paired planets and a blue planet. Each of the telescopes required walking up a ladder, Evan wasn’t scared on either ladder, even in the dark.  

Evan’s rating: 9.9 out of 10 

Day show at Goldendale Observatory 

The day show taught us a lot about the sun. Throughout the day show, there was a live feed of the sun so we watched sunspots move and change while small flares would occur every so often.  

Evan learned, “The sun is plasma and literally trying to kill us. The reason is that there’s little particles coming out of the magnetic field and with the sun it’s like tiny solar flares. It’s attacking our magnetic field.” 

Evan’s rating: 10 out of 10.  

He said he “knew a lot of what the night stuff was, I learned more during the day show.” 

Adult tip 

The evening show does go very late so if you have littles (or adults) who have a hard time staying up past 9 p.m. (like me), then make sure to have a late afternoon coffee. Troy was very gracious to those that couldn’t last but if you’re able to last, it’s a very cool show.  

The ladders for the telescopes can be intimidating, especially for the larger telescope. During the evening show, there is a red light that allows for illumination without ruining your eyes being adjusted to the dark. 

Thank you for reading all about Holly and Evan’s adventures! If you haven’t read about their full trip, visit part 1 and part 2 of this blog series.