From Walla Walla, it was on to Lake Chelan, where the drive on the east side of the state afforded our dear friends Brian and Andrea (aka: B & A) to see yet another aspect of the great state of Washington! We meandered through sweeping wheat fields, hills, and valleys until we ended up at our campsite right on the lake at the Lake Chelan State Park. We scored a sweet spot with awesome views, and docks that gave us the opportunity for near perfect summer bliss. Here I am enjoying such a moment, basking in the sun... Ahhhhhhh....The only interruption to our lazing about was the discovery of a beaver!! (sorry Brian, I couldn't resist). Wait. Make that a marmot. Lots of marmots. Cute little buggers until they start edging closer and closer to your campsite, lured in by the scent of delicious camp snacks wafting through the air. Or when they wake you up at 4:30 am because they are all over your picnic table, cooler, and bags you left out over night. (Thankfully all free of accessible food items -- we learned our lesson well in Zion. Beware of squirrels?? AHahahahah. Then they eat through your backpacking pack to get to the PB&J you left in it. Whoops.)
After enjoying some evening time out on the dock we chilled 'round the campfire and enjoyed a beautiful sunset...
Lone behold, a late trip to the bathroom presented a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with an adorable frog! (or is that a toad?) Anyway.... strange or not, I just thought it was the cutest thing ever and was so happy it let me hold it! (and smoother it in kisses). Just kidding, I promise. :)
And if we thought the sunset was pretty, the sunrise was probably the most spectacular thing I saw all summer! (Or at least top 5). Thank you marmots for rooting through our stuff! I zipped open the tent lickity-split and sprinted to the car to retrieve the camera. I was not going to miss this! And the picture I think, does do it justice. Drink it in..... *sigh*
We were up an' at 'em early to catch The Lady of the Lake Ferry, which would take us all 55 miles up the length of the lake to Stehekin. I would only say this: In hindsight, we should've taken the faster boat for more $$ (2 hours compared to 4). But it was still fun (and cheaper), and provided us gorgeous views; such as the shot below:
YippeeEE! We reached the top! Hello Stehekin, thank you Lady of the Lake! So we strapped up, made a short jaunt to the Ranger Station to get our backpacking permit, and looked around for the bus that would take us to our jumping off point to begin our hike (I was a bit scared thinking about what kind of contraption we would be riding on for an hour plus up a dirt/gravel road).
I am pleasantly surprised! The buses are new, roomy, and the driver gives us a free history lesson as we make our way up to the last stop.
Welcome to the North Cascades Natl' Park!
We followed an old gravel road that had been washed part of the way out by a major flood several years prior and hooked up with the Bridge Creek Trail... It was beautiful! Views of the Stehekin River, towering mountains, and meadows were a treat for the senses.
We were up an' at 'em early to catch The Lady of the Lake Ferry, which would take us all 55 miles up the length of the lake to Stehekin. I would only say this: In hindsight, we should've taken the faster boat for more $$ (2 hours compared to 4). But it was still fun (and cheaper), and provided us gorgeous views; such as the shot below:
YippeeEE! We reached the top! Hello Stehekin, thank you Lady of the Lake! So we strapped up, made a short jaunt to the Ranger Station to get our backpacking permit, and looked around for the bus that would take us to our jumping off point to begin our hike (I was a bit scared thinking about what kind of contraption we would be riding on for an hour plus up a dirt/gravel road).
I am pleasantly surprised! The buses are new, roomy, and the driver gives us a free history lesson as we make our way up to the last stop.
Welcome to the North Cascades Natl' Park!
We followed an old gravel road that had been washed part of the way out by a major flood several years prior and hooked up with the Bridge Creek Trail... It was beautiful! Views of the Stehekin River, towering mountains, and meadows were a treat for the senses.
Once we made it up to the Bridge Creek Campground, we set up shop and then explored our surroundings. The Stehekin River was really close by, so we headed over to hang out and cool off. More like freeze your butt off. It was COLD! Here's Curt and Brian contemplating a quick dip, which turned in to jumping in, and jumping out even faster. BURRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Potential Christmas card shot.... if only my hat weren't covering half my face....
We most fortuitously found an old rusty tractor, which was super exciting for some, as detailed in the picture below:
Man vs. Wild had us on the lookout for old man's beard (great fire starter according to adventure extraordinaire and survivalist Bear Grylls) -- and find it we did, and then promptly turned it in to old man's mustache:
Meanwhile, Andrea worked on her killer shank.
Which worked! (The gobs of old man's beard [aka: explosive fire starter] hanging in the branches right above the tiki torch did make me a little nervous.)
We took a different route on the way out the following day, which gave us even more great views and pretty mountain scenery to take in... such as this little lake below!
More glorious mountains...
Here we are waiting for the bus back.... Along the way we made a quick stop at a waterfall and got a tasty bakery treat at a bomb cafe on the ride down; Curt back on the ferry, as we settle in for the return trip down the lake.
Once we made it off the lake, we made our way up to Twisp to camp river-side on some family friend's property. (Thanks to all Anderson's!!) :)
Potential Christmas card shot.... if only my hat weren't covering half my face....
We most fortuitously found an old rusty tractor, which was super exciting for some, as detailed in the picture below:
Man vs. Wild had us on the lookout for old man's beard (great fire starter according to adventure extraordinaire and survivalist Bear Grylls) -- and find it we did, and then promptly turned it in to old man's mustache:
Meanwhile, Andrea worked on her killer shank.
And Curt tried his hand at making an all-natural-tiki torch:
Which worked! (The gobs of old man's beard [aka: explosive fire starter] hanging in the branches right above the tiki torch did make me a little nervous.)
We took a different route on the way out the following day, which gave us even more great views and pretty mountain scenery to take in... such as this little lake below!
More glorious mountains...
Here we are waiting for the bus back.... Along the way we made a quick stop at a waterfall and got a tasty bakery treat at a bomb cafe on the ride down; Curt back on the ferry, as we settle in for the return trip down the lake.
Once we made it off the lake, we made our way up to Twisp to camp river-side on some family friend's property. (Thanks to all Anderson's!!) :)
In more recent news, I thought I would update a little fish catching action! Curt landed a 30 inch, 10 pound Willamette River steelhead outside of Springfield, OR, on his 6 weight St. Croix fly rod thanks to his fishing guide/buddy Simon. Curt was so pumped because he hadn't landed a steelhead since our move to Cali. Yay!
More updates to come..... We have been enjoying our time in Bend at my parents new place, and spent the last week painting and helping them get organized. Happy summer adventures everyone! :)
2 comments:
great photos cousin!!!!! miss and love you.
What an adventure you two have had this summer! It is so much fun to read about all of your experiences. Way to get out there!
Love you both
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