Hmmm…was it Sept 6? Why do we need a calendar when we’re retired?
Carl and Anita's ranch outside Brewster, WA
We kinda sorta decided at the last minute to go camping with Marilyn, Gene, Jeff and Mary. Because it was Labor Day weekend, everything was full, of course, so we left on Monday. We were hoping for better weather on the east side of the mountains. Jeff has a new (to him) boat he wanted to take, so we all headed for Lake Chelan.
Their Living Room...
Good friends from Lake Stevens, Carl and Anita Johnson, were visiting their property near Brewster. We have been invited over many times, and thought we’d better show up before they cross us off their list. Getting to their property was an interesting experience. Leaving Brewster, we went up and up the hill on a paved road that eventually turned into a dirt road.
Their bedroom and kitchen...
OK. But our little Tom-Tom navigator, which we know darn well lies to us just to have some fun, took us too far up the hill. Then it told us we had another 90 minutes to go, when we knew darn well we were close. So, back down the hill, up a driveway that was heavily marked with various “no trespassing” signs, looking for help. Luckily, the man behind all the signs was friendly and helpful and pointed us to the right driveway. (hard to see, overgrown, back from the road, what other excuse can we use?) Then bump and bump, we finally arrived.
Harris and Judy getting comfortable on the couch...
They have a beautiful piece of property up on a ridge, surrounded by trees and silence. Such peace! We had a great visit with them, a great dinner of barbequed ribs, and the quietest night’s sleep since leaving Alaska.
Unfortunately the weather has not been cooperating. It rained a lot on Monday and Tuesday. It’s raining on Wednesday. What’s with this?
Lowering the flags to indicate that the royal couple is no longer in residence.
Dropping down about 1000 feet from the Johnson ranch...
On Tuesday, we left “the ranch” and headed down the highway to Chelan. We found Marilyn and company at 25 Mile Creek State Park. They had arrived on Monday and set up camp. Finding a campsite was no problem, of course, since the park is almost deserted. Everyone went home on Monday. In fact, when we started over Stevens Pass, we commented on the heavy, almost bumper to bumper traffic coming west. Best part of being retired is not having to vacation when everyone else does!
Rocky Reach Dam...
One of the old hydro powerplant turbine props...
25 Mile Creek State Park is beautiful and quiet and a good place to launch boats. We had a break in the weather yesterday afternoon, and Jeff took everyone out for another test run. His boat goes fast! Trix, Gene’s dog, especially liked being in the bow, ears flapping in the wind. We also did a little wine tasting at a few local places, an activity we enjoy even if we don’t buy much.
Wine tasting in Lake Chelan...
Wednesday morning, we went for a walk along the highway and found 3 geocaches. One was by the ranger’s station, one along a guardrail, and one was hard to find…even though it was rated a “1”. Judy finally found it in the bottom of a rock that had been drilled to make a hole, then covered with another piece of rock.
An interesting house on the other side of Lake Chelan...
When we left home, we packed food for ourselves….really….because we didn’t know exactly where we’d be and when. But Anita fed us dinner. Marilyn, of course (as she says) always has enough for us. So, Tuesday night was lasagna. (real camping food, what?) Wednesday night was roast beef! (the joys of having an oven in her trailer!) We finally cooked our own steak on Thursday, when we returned home!
The Olson crew enjoying the new boat...
Jeff loves to make fires when we’re camping, and we love to watch him do it, and enjoy the fruits of his labors. Many hours are spent sitting around the fire, sipping hot drinks and just enjoying each other’s company. We did play a little “Bananagrams” one afternoon. Marilyn, Mary and Judy went into town on Wednesday afternoon to look around the unfortunately very expensive shops while Harris and Jeff tinkered on the boat and Gene supervised while reading a book.
Harris also enjoying the ride...
Marilyn and Gene are great hikers. They took us on a “walk” Thursday morning up by a forest service camp further up the road that was totally deserted. Great place for Trix to get off leash and really run and run. It was going to be a short, 2 and a half mile walk up a road for a view of Lake Chelan. BUT. Of course. Harris had loaded some geocaches.
The cache that was "only" 1/3 mile away...
“There’s one just .3 miles away!” (That’s point 3, in case you missed it.) BUT. Of course. He doesn’t mention that the .3 is “how the crow flies”, or how the GPS measures. So, we start out. About 3 miles later, after many switchbacks up and up and up the mountain, we finally find the cache. It was a good day for walking, sunny, not too warm, shady spots, etc., but Judy still found things to complain about. Going back was of course much easier. We got our exercise in this day!
Marilyn and Judy coming back down the mountain.
We had to head back home after lunch, and arrived in time to cook our steak dinner. Along highway 97A we had a little excitement. Just past the town of Entiat, we saw something in the road, up ahead of us, in our lane. Slowing down, we watched some rocks and debris slide down the hill and block our lane. There were several large rocks, and one that was about 3 or 4 feet high. We had to stop, wait for traffic to clear, then go around it into the other lane, which fortunately wasn’t blocked.
Mary and Jeff working on the boat.
We waited until we saw a mile marker, then called 911 to report the rocks. The dispatcher sounded as though he’d heard a lot of such reports. “Are there any rocks in the road? Are they bigger than a softball? Bigger than a microwave? Oh! As big as that! OK! We’ll get right on it!” Do people call 911 when there are little rocks in the road?
Taking it out for a spin...
The weather had turned nice on Thursday, of course, the day we had to leave. It stayed nice all the way to Stevens Pass….then dark clouds and rain all the way home. Oh well, at least we got out a bit. It’s always good to go, and always good to come home.
Modern day hieroglyphics outside Entiat, WA
