Sunday, September 13, 2020 – Wanapum State Park (S.P.), Vantage Washington (site 17)
Once upon a time, there was an older couple who lived in a nice home with an expansive view of salt water, mountains, trees, and sky. That is until wild fires starting burning all up and down the Western part of the West coast. While we could still see the trees planted in our own yard, we couldn’t have proven to anyone that there was water, mountains or even sky visible from our home. We could see the sun however as we were backing down our driveway shortly before noon. It was bright orange. This was how life was at our place just before we went to hook up our trailer and start on our journey.
Our hope was that once we left Western Washington, the smoke would lift a bit and we could once again enjoy this beautiful state park on the banks of the Columbia River. Well good luck with that idea. When we arrived at the campground, and our well-chosen site next to the river, there was no river to be seen. After all, it was a good 80 feet to the river edge. (I know, sarcasm and cynicism don’t become me, but I have to tell it like it is!) Hopefully before the three days are up, we will at least catch a glimpse.
The drive over had been OK, but everywhere the hazy smoke filled the air. It was a bit better at the top of Snoqualmie pass, but not enough to make a never mind.
Anyway, to quote one of my favorite radio characters from my childhood, Chester A. Riley, what a revoltin’ development this is! Here we are in one of our favorite parks and it’s still smoky. Not a little bit smoky, but really smoky. So much so, that we can’t even open a window smoky. But all is not lost. We are here with Andy’s sister Katie and her husband Rick. And it is really great to see them. So social distancing, and staying outside, we enjoyed a before dinner drink, great conversation, and then a lovely dinner prepared by Katie. Then an early to bed. Still no windows open, which is very different for us. We usually have at least 3 windows open in our trailer even on the coldest of days. OK, not wide open, but at least cracked a bit. Perhaps the smoke will have lifted a bit with the start of a new day.
Monday, September 14, 2020 – Wanapum S.P.
Nope! Still smoky and still no sign of the river.
After a leisurely breakfast we moseyed over to Rick and Katie’s Airstream trailer (site 8) for a bit of a visit and to discuss plans for the day. As it turned out, we unanimously decided that the plan for the day was to do pretty much nothing but read, relax, and try to not breathe in too much of the local atmosphere. So that meant no hiking or fast walking (as if we could do that anyway!), but at least for me it was a good excuse not to do any real exercise. (I never turn down an excuse to be lazy.)
So after a comfort-food dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and salad at our trailer, it was each couple to their respective trailer for quiet time.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 – Still at Wanapum S.P.
Yep – Still smoky
Ate breakfast, read our books. Ate lunch, read our books and took a walk around our loop. Ate a wonderful salmon dinner at Rick and Katie’s trailer, came home at about 8:00 pm and read our books till lights out.
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 – Entiat City Park, Entiat, Washington – site 34
Took our time getting ready to depart Wanapum. No hurry because our destination was only about 80 miles away. So after a leisurely breakfast, and hooking up, we walked over to say goodbye to Katie and Rick. We really wished we would be spending more time traveling with them, but hopefully we can make that happen next year. If all works out as planned, we will be visiting them at their home in Winthrop while camped at Chelan State Park. But who knows? It all depends on the wildfire situation.
When we arrived at Entiat, the whole campground was practically deserted. And very, very smoky. Our campsite was right on the river, and at least we could see the river and the far shore.
Spent the day reading and being extremely lazy. After a nice dinner of leftover meatloaf, spaghetti in a light Parmesan sauce, and green salad, we read until we could no longer keep our eyes open. After a peaceful night’s sleep, we awoke to (you guessed it) another smoky day. (I was really tired of smoke at this point.) But at least we weren’t dealing directly with a fire. Or trying to save our home from being destroyed. Or worried about the ravages of yet another hurricane. So in the long run, we were doing OK. And still glad to be seeing another part of our fine state.
Thursday, September 17, 2020 – Entiat City Park
Woke up to, yes indeed, still smoke. So a quiet day reading, eating, drinking fine adult beverages, and enjoying each-others company. We’ve been in love now for almost 30 years. How Andy puts up with me I will never fully understand. But for whatever reason, he still builds my coffee in the morning, and graciously accepts the fact that some time during any given day, I am probably going to ask him the same question more than once. It’s all part of being partners as well as best friends. How truly lucky I am to have him as a partner.
So nothing remarkable to report today. Found a nice fruit stand less than a mile from our camp site. Always wonderful to buy fresh produce. Lots of enjoyment just watching the river run through.
At one point during the day, Andy took a short walk towards where the Entiat River flows into the Columbia. This darling troll was standing guard in an underpass.
Friday, September 18, 2020 – Entiat City Park
Again, smoke is the theme for the day. But today, we got to spend time with our dear friend Linda who lives in Leavenworth. She arrived around 1:00 pm and we spent the afternoon and evening catching up on our kids, our friends, our hobbies, and all the fun and life we have shared for the last 39 years. Linda reminded me that we have now been the best of friends for almost 40 years. So we decided, that in honor of our lasting friendship, the three of us were going to celebrate by traveling somewhere together next year. I’m already thinking about the destination.
The kind of friendship I share with Linda, is one of the greatest blessings in my life. She has helped me through good times and hard times without ever condemning me, or making me feel stupid or inadequate. She just cares for me. And she lets me feel bad and recover at my own pace. Just there when I need her. No one could ask for a better friend. So anytime I get to spend time with Linda is a blessing.
Saturday, September 19, 2020 – Entiat City Park
Still smoky but getting better. So we decided to take a driving trip up the Entiat River Valley. First few miles were full of orchards. You absolutely can’t tell from the main road (alt. 97) what you are going to find when you proceed up the river road. From alt. 97 it looks like the river valley is going to remain very narrow. Not the case. However, it never gets really wide either. But it’s certainly wide enough to allow good sized orchards on both sides of the road. As you progress up the valley, more and more trees start to appear. At least what’s left of the trees, that is!
In July 2014, lightning sparked a fire in the pines, firs and hemlocks of the upper Entiat River drainage. The Duncan Fire began on a ridge between the Entiat River and the North Fork Entiat River, spreading east, burning 12,000 acres. Almost exactly one year later, lightning caused a fire on the south shore of Lake Chelan. The Wolverine Fire moved south, slowly at first, but eventually reached the burned area of the Duncan Fire, scorching a total of 65,000 acres.
Those fires prompted the closure of several campgrounds and recreation areas in Entiat Valley forest lands.
As we drove along it was interesting to see new cottonwood trees springing up everywhere. Some were at least 6 feet tall. So the forest was beginning to re-seed itself. But there were still masses of trees with no green and lots of black, sooty bark.
It was an interesting drive, and I’m glad to have seen it. But it was hard to witness all that devastation. I was glad to get back to our camp site. And to skies beginning to get cloudy and stormy looking. I don’t think we had any hard rain, but there was enough breeze to clear the skies.
Sunday, September 20, 2020 – Chelan State Park, Chelan, Washington – site 10
Woke to sunshine and a clear day. After a lovely, lazy breakfast, we left our campsite at about 12:15 pm under a mostly blue sky. A few puffy clouds here and there, but warm and pleasant. And – clear air. What a treat.
I’m not sure we have ever in almost 30 years of pulling a travel trailer, had 2 campsites with so few miles in-between. I think our whole time in the truck was under 40 minutes. So maybe 30 miles. Now that was a treat too. Usually we try to keep the miles to under 250 a day. But even at that, which is a short travel day when you are in a car, 250 miles is a whole different matter when you are towing a trailer. It’s not like just jumping in your car and blasting your way from point A to point B at 70 miles an hour. First of all, you can’t use cruise control. So your right leg can start to get pretty tired especially if your drive is up and down mountainous roads. Luckily we both feel comfortable puling a trailer, so we take turns. And we change drivers often. Also, pulling a trailer is like riding a motorcycle. It’s truly defensive driving at its finest. Full on complete attention to the road. And no letting your mind drift at any time when you are behind the wheel. But today, we felt like we had arrived before we had even gotten started. It was a delightful change of pace. And one that we plan to emulate in the future.
So after getting all set up, resting a bit, enjoying a bite of lunch, we drove into Chelan for some re-provisioning. We were out of peanut butter! An unacceptable circumstance. And one that needed our immediate attention.
Then the rest of the day we read and enjoyed the beautiful weather. I had actually been contemplating baking a small loaf of sourdough bread in my toy oven. It’s not really a toy oven, but I’ve seen bigger play ovens in the kid’s corner of a doctor’s office. But I had baked cornbread the day before with reasonable results, so I thought – why not a tiny sourdough loaf? (And yes, I brought my sourdough starter with me.) But then reality hit me like a 4 day old baguette. What was I thinking? Our trailer is not equipped with a KitchenAid mixer. And kneading even the tiniest amount of bread dough on my kitchen counter would be like trying to turn a 10 egg omelet in a 4-inch frying pan. Not bloody likely and more mess than I care to even imagine. So – no homemade sourdough bread until we get home.
Monday, September 21, 2020 – Chelan S.P.
Lovely morning with almost no smoke. At least we couldn’t see or smell what smoke still lingered in the area. So we decided a drive up into the hills to the East of Lake Chelan would be fun. And it was fun, until we got onto a road (and I use the term “road” very loosely) that was unpaved, un-marked, narrow, steep, and “fall off the side of the mountain” scary. When we got to a junction at the top of the world, there were 2 “roads” from which to choose. Our choice was to turn around. And God help us if we had met a car or truck on that road. The soil was very sandy, so therefore slippery and unstable. Had we met another vehicle, one of the vehicles would have had to back up. I was very relieved when we were back on pavement. Andy decided maybe we should try and find a different route for the next part of our Chelan Butte exploration. Yah think!?!?
You know how T. S. Elliot wrote – “this is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper”, well that’s how our next try at getting to the top of the butte ended. OK, Andy really couldn’t hear me whimpering, but inside I was in full “whimper” mode! Because, as our first route took us, so did this one. Oh it started out just fine. Paved road, a curve sign here and there, and a nice house or two to trick me into feeling safe. But slowly the road began to disintegrate under our very tires. And of course – no place to turn around. By the time we got to a semi-wide spot in the road so that Andy could actually talk again, I was almost comatose with fear. That bloody path (no way I’m going to dignify it by calling it a road) had an incline of at least 12 degrees. And with each bump my back was screaming at me to abandon all hope and get out and walk! The only saving grace on this stretch of “road” was that there was no ledge to fall over. So plunging to the bottom of a canyon was not happening at least in the foreseeable future. Had we continued further up this double grooved “path from Hell”, perhaps we would have found that undesirable condition a part of this delightful little side trip as well. Thank God I will never have to know.
Anyway, Andy managed to turn the truck around. And ever so skillfully and slowly dropped us back down to the safety of pavement. I almost asked him to stop the truck while I got out and kissed the tarmac. But I wanted away from this area of the world in as short a time as possible. Either I’ve become a wuss in my old age, or we are finding roads that years ago were not open to the public. I’ve chosen to believe it’s not me. I think it’s the environmentalists who have decided that signs don’t keep people out. And that a few good scares will do the job much more effectively. And they are right. All I wanted at this point was to get the hell back to camp. So that’s exactly what we did. While I started dinner, Andy went into Chelan and took a short walk along the river front. (And yes, the walk was paved and flat.) I think both of us had been on enough up and down for the day.
One really great thing about today – we saw three big horn sheep up close and personal.
After dinner a quiet read and an early to bed.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 – Chelan S.P.
Woke to a beautiful day. Blue sky with just a hint of a breeze and a few clouds just starting to think about becoming anything at all.
Andy took off for a hike and I’ll let him tell you all about it. Presenting Mr. Andy Carr. (Drum roll please……)
Crow Hill
Took advantage of being camped at Lake Chelan State Park to take a rare hike in the Chelan Mountains, far to the east from home base. The smoke from Oregon/California wildfires had only cleared out from Eastern Washington a few days previously, and a wet weather system was due to arrive the next day; so all in all a fortuitous day for an early Fall high-country outing.
And high country it is, with a trailhead elevation of 6500 feet (one of the highest in the state). Departed camp 9:30 AM under clear skies, drove back down to Entiat and up the Entiat River Road 29 miles (with a pause at Lake Creek CG), then up forest service road 59 (well graded) for 8½ miles to Shady Pass; then a final 2½ miles on spur roads to the Pyramid Mountain trailhead, arriving 11:15 AM. No other vehicles on the roads nor at the trailhead. The alternate approach, starting from 25 Mile Creek on Lake Chelan, is shorter in distance but is 20 miles of unpaved (dusty) road and is reputed to be a white-knuckler.
Skies has clouded up all morning over the mountains, mostly heavy cumulus, making for a nice walking temperature but poor lighting for photography; regrettable since the trail passes through groves of larch trees that were beginning to transition into their autumn phase of golden needles. I doddered on the downslopes due to knee soreness (the left has been slowly recovering from a strained muscle sustained at the start of the trip), but no problems on the up-slopes despite the elevation. After dropping to a saddle, the trail climbs gently while contouring around a knoll on the ridge, heading first west then north, occasionally on the track of an old fire break road. Another saddle is reached at 1½ miles, whereupon the hiker’s route leaves the trail and climbs open grassy slopes to the summit of Crow Hill, 7366 feet. Arrived at the superb viewpoint and lunch spot 1:15 PM.
There is a small window view of Lake Chelan, 5000 feet below at the base of a silver-forest drainage. Beyond to the northeast lies the Sawtooth Wilderness, a sea of granite. Rain shrouded the upper Lake basin towards Stehekin. To the north, Pyramid Mountain shone in a shaft of sunlight, surrounded by the 8000-foot peaks of the North Fork Entiat headwaters (Cardinal, Saska and Emerald). Panning left, the approach ridge to Duncan Hill was decimated by the 2015 Wolverine fire. Unfortunately, westward views to the higher peaks of the Entiat Mountains, and beyond towards Glacier Peak, were completely cloud-obscured.
Retraced route at a leisurely pace, amid more frequent appearances of sunshine. Back to truck 3:15 PM; to camp 5:00 PM.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 – Chelan S.P.
Well they said it would rain, and they were right! Nice enough morning, but by 11:00 am I was inside changing into long pants, socks and real shoes. It was getting mighty chilly reading outside under our canopy. But another layer helped and it was back to reading, writing, and relaxing. The three Rs of a great vacation.
At 3:00 pm Mr. C. went on a wine tasting adventure to Fielding Hills. Since my body no longer tolerates wine, he went by himself. And for him, he showed great restraint. Only 7 bottles. (I was impressed!)
Then back to camp for afternoon reading, dinner, and lights out.
FYI: I love to hear the rain at night when we are in the trailer. It’s like listening to a lovely lullaby as we drift off to sleep. And because it’s a trailer rather than a tent – no leaks. And no getting wet during a night call. So no having to get dressed and put on shoes. And grabbing a flashlight so you won’t get lost on your way to the outhouse or camp bathroom. Because at our age, “night calls” come quite regularly. If you are still young, see what you have to look forward to! If you are over 50, then you know of what I speak. Pleasant dreams to all.
Thursday, September 24, 2020 – Chelan S.P.
What a grand day. Woke to no smoke and a fair amount of nice weather. Had plans to drive to Winthrop to spend the afternoon and early evening with Rick and Katie. So that’s just what we did. Nice drive and always a pleasure to spend time with these lovely people. Even if they are relatives. Just kidding. Well not about the relatives part. They are relatives, but we would want to spend time with them even if we weren’t related. I hope that makes sense. Sometimes you just get lucky. And you end up with a sister (Andy’s sister Katie) and brother-in-law (Rick) who are delightful people even if they are relatives. (I better stop now while I’m ahead. If I actually am ahead that is!) Anyway – we had a great time with them and love them dearly. Plus Katie served us a great dinner! Who could ask for anything more?
Then back in our truck and back to camp.
Friday, September 25, 2020 – home again, home again, rain shadow and all.
Not only did it rain all the damn day, to the point where we looked and felt like drowned rats when we broke camp and left Chelan S.P. at 11:30 am, but it poured buckets all the way home. Well at least until we hit Smokey Point at which point we could see blue skies to the West.
Now I don’t know if you know about or believe in the rain shadow that the Olympic peninsula provides for some of us in the north sound area, but by the time we got to our trailer storage space on Camano Island, the sun was shining and it was dry. So very nice to un-hook, grab a few of the essentials we would need to keep body and soul together for our first night at home, and arrive at Chez Carr at a decent hour.
Of course, nothing ever goes exactly as planned. Our old kitty girl Squeeky, who was my late father-in-law’s cat whom we adopted when he died, was not well. To the point that she was curled up in her cat cave unwilling to even venture out to chew us up one side and down the other for leaving her, albeit in the capable and loving hands of our dear friend Peggy. So I left a message on our vet’s phone to see if we could get her in the next morning.
Plus our septic system was yammering it’s little head off that it was un-happy about something or other and was not going to shut up until we called in someone with more expertise than we had to fix whatever the problem was that was causing the system to rebel. (Never again will I end a trip on a Friday. Getting help on a weekend is really difficult.)
But we were home. And we had a great break, despite wildfire smoke, rain, Covid-19, and the ever present concern regarding the outcome of the November 3rd election.
I truly find it almost impossible to understand how anyone in their right mind could think Trump was worthy of their trust. He cares not one iota for any person other than himself. He doesn’t value honesty, or integrity, or honor. In fact he thinks anyone with these attributes are losers or suckers. What he respects (if you can even call it respect), are people who cater to his every whim, and uneducated white people, especially women, who tunnel vision onto one thing, like abortion, and look no farther. It’s sad. And truly scary. Our country has never been, and will never be perfect. Democrats aren’t perfect, and never will be. Can’t happen. But if we as a nation don’t take immediate action, democracy as we know it will be a thing of the past. And the only thing that will truly help make America great again, is if Trump is defeated.
So now that I’m home, I’m going to preach, beg, plead, and do everything in my power to help my grandchildren and everyone else’s offspring have the same quality of life I have always enjoyed. I’m going to preach the brotherhood of man, I’m going to beg people to vote for a future where science and education are valued, get down on my knees and plead with people not to narrow their scope to one issue, but rather look at the full picture. And then I am going to vote. I’m going to use my voice to let the current politicians in Washington D.C. know that not everyone cares just about themselves. That there are people like myself who want a better world for everyone. Who don’t care what color someone’s skin is, or who they choose to send their prayers to, or what their sexual persuasion happens to be. I want Washington to know I’m too busy living my life to worry about someone who happens to be different than me. I simply want someone in office that cares about justice for all. So I’m going to be busy. But until then, I’m going to bed.
As always, peace and love to all.