Mt. St. Helens

Linda on the Tieton  River.

We met up with Steve and Jodi; they were sitting in their 5th wheel in the Super 1 parking lot. Once we filled up the rigs with fuel, we drove south on Canyon Road (821). Canyon Road follows the Yakima River and eventually connects with Highway 12 leading up and through Naches. Highway 12 splits and becomes 410, but at that junction, we remained on 12 and started following the Tieton River up to our night's campground called The Willows.

I have boated the Tieton River four times. It's a great day trip!

There were no other camping rigs at The Willows when we arrived and we actually had the entire campground to ourselves for the night. We spent the evening exploring around the campground and surrounding area. Steve made a fire and we sat outside and took in the mountain air. After the sun was gone and darkness had shrouded camp, we played a few games of cards and then went to bed.

Rainbow over White Pass.

2:04 AM... "A MOUSE!!! THERE IS A F-ING MOUSE IN THE CAMPER AND IT JUST JUMPED ON ME!!!" Needless to say, I was awakened by Linda from a very deep sleep when a little mouse (Linda here - I still think it was close to a 10-pounder) decided to walk across her foot. Pandamonium took hold of our quiet night's sleep. The mouse made a hasty exit off the counter and down into the bowels of the oven.

Nothing I could do at this time, so I went back to sleep. Linda, on the other hand, stayed up most of the night making sure the mouse didn't return and climb in bed with her.

In the morning Linda went for her run and I checked my mouse traps in the hidden areas deep behind the drawers of the kitchen cabinets. When I pulled the drawer out from its place beneath the oven, I found our little guest stuck to the surface of the TomCat glue trap that I keep open and ready. Since Linda was out getting her exercise, I took the trap and the mouse out to the trash bin and disposed of the critter.  When Linda returned, she was relieved to know that our guest had decided, the hard way, to not stay in our mobile home.

The next day we drove over White Pass and dropped down Highway 12 where we connected various roads to the little town of Toutle, WA. Just past Toutle, we found our next campground at Harry Gardner Park. Set up was a breeze and as soon as we could, we loaded into Steve and Jodi's truck and drove the Spirit Lake Highway (504) up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory located at the very end of the road.

These elk were over 1000 yds. away. Good telephoto, I'd say!

Mt. St. Helens! What can you say? We arrived at the observatory just as the sun melted away most of the mountain fog and we were treated to warm sun and beautiful panoramas. We took in the information provided describing the events when the mountain exploded. It is so hard to visualize the damage caused by the eruption. The info center does a wonderful job of explaining the events of that May 18th day. Now the entire panorama is green with forest growth and many areas look as if nothing happened.  It is amazing how the earth healed itself and has returned to magnificent normalcy. However, the evidence of this cataclysmic episode is still visible. Once again we were in a place where pictures just can't do justice to the spectacle.

Back at camp Steve and Jodi fed us a great burrito bowl meal and we played cards once again.

The next day our exploration took us south and then out Highway 503, through the town of Cougar and up to the Lava Canyon hiking trail. We pulled in just as four school buses unloaded for a field trip. Just our luck.

We hiked the trails of the area and were able to, sort of, avoid all the loud chatter of the school kids. It was a very unique area and we really enjoyed the views created by the lava flows and the water that shaped them. It was too bad that we could not hike the suspension bridge due to it being closed. That would have given us some interesting views of the water and rock.

Our final stop was at the Trail of Two Forests hike. This is a wooden boardwalk that winds through an area where a lava flow moved through a wooded area leaving round holes in the rock surface where the trunks of large trees had been. The tree trunks either burned out of the lava flow or rotted after the lava had hardened. These holes were much bigger than the holes we visited in Craters of the Moon National Park, but they were created much the same. I climbed down into one and Linda said I looked very natural down there. Go figure.

Back at camp we started gathering weather information and found that there was a huge storm heading into the Idaho panhandle area. It looked like our home might get a bunch of snow and that we might be able to get home before the bulk of the weather hit if we left the next day. With this in mind, we got up the next morning, said goodbye to Steve and Jodi (they were planning to move on to the Portland area) and hit the road heading home, back over White Pass.

All went well on our long drive home. The wind was harsh and I was beat when we got home, but we really didn't have much snow until just outside Spokane so that worked out well.

Mt. St. Helens from the observatory.

Falls at Lava Canyon.

The bridge we couldn't cross.

Troll in da hole!

A Fun Three Days

What we do best!

Linda and I took the camper and drove through Spokane and followed Highway 2 northwest over to one of our favorite fall campgrounds at Steamboat Rock State Park. There we met Jacquie and Grant who drove down from Penticton BC.

Our campsites were next to each other and we both had great views of Banks Lake. We spent three days sitting in the sun, talking reading, hiking, and eating. It was such a great time and the weather was fantastic.

The climb up the first slope of Steamboat Rock.

On Monday we hiked/climbed up on to the top of Steamboat Rock and then walked around most of the trail leading around the edge of the rock. In total, we hiked over five miles and got a chance to see all the panoramas provided by this basalt butte. Our hike took us close to the edge of the 800-foot rock faces as we followed a trail paralleling the edge.

The skies started out clear, but as we hiked the clouds moved in and the skies were threatening rain by the time we got back to our campers.

Each year, Linda tries to roll rocks off the 800 ft. edge.

During our stay we had a nice time talking and playing cards each night. Catching up on all that has taken place since our last gathering back in Melaque, Mexico kept the conversations going.

On Wednesday we packed up and said our goodbyes. Jacquie and Grant headed back to Penticton and Linda and I drove southeast to Ellenburgh WA, where we met up with Steve and Jodi our neighbors.

Hiking the basalt rim.

Jerusalem Cricket, in the house! Well, you know.

Looking down at our campsite.

Fall colors of Steamboat Rock State Park.

We are not the only ones enjoying the sun!

Well, We Did More Than Eat!

It all starts with Linda looking at her calendar and seeing that there are no appointments, meetings, or shopping to do for a four-day stretch. Then we raid our freezer and scope out the food cupboard and we put together a food plan for the days we're going to be out. Linda then checks the reservation website for Huckleberry and reserves one of our favorite spots. Once this is complete, then we start packing the camper and preparing Linda's folks by telling them we are going to be gone for a few days and how we're going to keep in touch. Being gone requires letters and procedures to those that need them in case something happens while we're gone and we touch base with Linda's sister so she can ramp up some phone calls to check up on things in the evenings. We have a window starting Wednesday afternoon and ending Saturday.

Our trip up is uneventful. We have to stop for road construction three times, but that has been normal up the Joe this summer. The camper is set up by 4:00 PM and our next activity is the cooking of the Dutch oven "Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie!". (Follow the link to understand the pie joke.) I had prepared the pie filling the night before and all we had to do was unfold the crust into the Dutch and then build the pie. Cooking was the big unknown for this meal. How much time? How many briquets? Will it burn? How will we tell when it is done?  It's enough to send a guy to the looney bin.

We endeavored to persevere, placing the crust into the Dutch. It took three pie crusts. My tip of the day would be to let the crusts set out and warm up a bit. Having Linda sit on the crust to warm it was helpful but probably not the best solution. The crust was wrapped in a towel by the way. They need to be flexible and from the refrigerator, they tend to crack and pull apart. Success came after much pushing and stretching, a big victory in my book.

The filling is not for the weak at heart. It contains heavy cream, carrots, chicken,  peas, celery, and onions. You put 4 Tbsp. butter in a pan and saute the celery and onions. Then you add one cup of chicken broth, your chicken chunks (I used the world-famous Costco rotisserie chicken!) and stir in one-half cup of flour, the carrots, and the peas. This should be cooked until it thickens up. Add some garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme and that about covers it.

Fresh raspberries from the Anderson's farm.

We put the filling in the crust creating the "Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie!" and then placed it in the coals to cook. I placed quite a few briquets on the top to try and brown the crust. On top of all this, I made a raspberry cobbler out of some fresh raspberries given to us by Rayelle Anderson. This cobbler came from a cobbler kit, but I changed things up by adding heavy cream in place of milk. I did this to use up the cream. Neither Linda nor myself actually use milk products very often and I didn't want the cream to go bad (can cream go bad?)

Enough for a small army.

Cooking the meal took about 40 to 50 minutes. I was freaked out about the "Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie!", but Linda forced me to wait the 40 minutes before I looked at it. Oh my gosh, everything was perfect! The flavor was amazing and the crust was golden brown. The top of the crust cooked and was moist and heavenly! We had to force ourselves to not eat too much!

This was a big Cutthroat caught on a hopper pattern.

We went to bed after all the dishes were cleaned up. I had beaten Linda in cribbage and our first night of camping was a huge success.

On Thursday I went fishing and Linda stayed around the camper and read. As you know, Linda runs every morning, even when we are camping. She runs in the campground in and out of all the small side roads. By the end of our stay, everyone knows her and she is waving to everyone.

I make breakfast once each trip!

I caught about three fish when I was out. One big one (see photo.)  Taking pictures of the fish I catch is so very hard on the fish and not the easiest on myself. I worry about the fish and worry that I will drop my phone in the drink. I have to get everything prepared prior to going into the water so that I can quickly get the phone and the photo without damaging the fish. I don't even pick up the fish when I catch them, I just grab the hook and give it a flip and they swim away.

Linda beat me in cribbage tieing the tournament. We ate dinner of Flautas and cheese, read and then went to bed.

Friday we spent the day taking walks and reading. There were so many fly flippers on the hunt that I didn't even go out. The wind was a bit gusty which also took away some of my desire to fish.

We heated up leftovers and then played Mexican Train. Linda kicked my butt in the games of the evening and then we crawled into bed where I finished my Dean Koontz book.

Camp takedown was smooth. We were up and loaded by 10:30 AM  The drive home was nice. We are rejuvenated and ready for a new week.

Hike into History

There was a bit of deja vu this weekend when we drove up to the Pulaski Tunnel Trail located up Placer Creek near Wallace, Idaho. In June of 2016, we hiked the trail with our friends, the Edwards, and had a great time. This past Saturday Rayelle, Mike and Julia Anderson picked us up at our house and we drove to the trailhead where we met Kristin and her daughter Taylor (friends of the Andersons).

We hiked the trail and read the historic markers as we went. The forest was green and beautiful. Mike, Rayelle, and Linda identified trees and as many plants as they could. We spotted caterpillars and snakes, but no larger wildlife presented its self.

At the Pulaski Tunnel, Mike and Taylor hiked down to the tunnel while the rest of us watched a chipmunk climbing around eating some dropped nuts.

We also sat and talked about how steep the trail had been hiking in. Neither Linda nor myself remembered that it was such an uphill grind, and we were very glad that we would be hiking downhill the entire way back out from the tunnel.

The entire round trip took us about two hours and when we were finished we loaded into the cars and drove to the center of Wallace. Right in the middle of the street intersection is a sewer cover that states that this exact spot is the Center of the Universe. We stood and got photos. Drivers of vehicles were very patient about allowing everyone to get their photo of the Center of the Universe. It was a fun diversion.

We ate lunch at the 1313 Club while we rested from our hike. The food was good, Linda said her sandwich was delicious, my burger was good but a bit greasy. There was quite a bit of food and everyone left the place stuffed!

Mike drove us home as we taked about the day. Back at the house Linda and I both took naps. It was a wonderful day with good friends.