Northern Meeting of Southern Friends

Our Site at Lake Wenatchee.

Melaque, Mexico is a small farming/fishing community south of PV and north of Manzanillo. This town has been our winter retreat for 25 years. We started spending 2 weeks over Christmas vacation. The stays were extended to over three months after our retirement. Many posts to this blog took place in this quaint little hideaway.

Traveling south also allowed us to meet many people we now consider friends. We are part of their lives while in Melaque, but when winter passes we go our separate ways until the next migration south. 

Lake Wenatchee views.

Over the past spring one of our friends put together a gathering for all the folks connected by this winter community.  Annie and Mac invited anyone who wanted to join the gathering, to meet at their farm in Ferndale WA, for three days of food and fun. All they had to do was show up with their tent or RV and they were welcome to join the fun and get reacquainted with all their winter friends.

To join the group Linda and I loaded up the camper and made our way west on I-90 to George, WA where we then took Highway 28 northwest through Wenatchee, Leavenworth, and on to Lake Wenatchee State Park where we stayed the night. The drive was good and we only had traffic coming into Leavenworth which made our day very nice.

Once we were all set up for the evening, we walked some trails and enjoyed a nice dinner. We were tired so we went to bed just after sundown.

Our drive the next day took us over Stevens Pass on Highway 2 dropping down to follow the  Skykonish River. The smaller highway was narrow and very curvy. We took our time and only had one seat-grabbing moment. We connected with I5 North at Everett and proceeded to our destination in Ferndale.

When we arrived at the farm, Mac pointed us around the back of the old barn and we found a spot to level the camper and settle in for our visit.

Over the next few days, the group of Melaque friends grew. At one point I estimated our group of people who got to know one another via Melaque to be about 35. With friends and families the total was over fifty guests.

Everyone mingled around the farm setting and found out what was happening in each other's lives beyond Mexico.  Food was in abundance and the entire group explored culinary delights at each meal. Annmarie and Mack were wonderful hosts. None of this would have happened without their hard work.

The Melaque Mob!

Wednesday morning Linda and I quietly packed up, said goodbyes and headed down the road.  We had a couple state parks in mind for our night stay, but no reservations. The drive was all freeway. We hit some traffic slowdowns but in most respects, it was an easy drive. At 2:30 PM we drove into Wanapum Dam State Park where we spent the final night of our adventure.

Annie and Mac's home.

The next morning we got up and drove the rest of the way home. We did have a minor problem at one of the final rest areas we stopped at. Our passenger side window rolled down but refused to roll back up into the closed position. Linda was forced to ride with the window open which was a bit noisy, but she was comfortable with the wind blowing on her the final miles home.

PS  As Linda and I greeted the numerous Melaque friends, the folks with RVs were very interested in our truck and camper.  They inquired about our travels and asked how many times we used the camper.  I looked back in the blog and found that I have documented taking 335 trips in our rig. A trip can be overnight, or multiple nights. These numbers come from the posts I make in the blog only. They don't represent the number of nights we have stayed in the camper. I thought this was a fun little fact to share.

Wanapum Dam State Park.

Back In The Camper

A sure sign that you will have a good time when you hit the road to go camping is how much food you have packed into the refrigerator and cupboards. We were busting the seams at the start of this adventure, and all was well. Our four-night adventure connected us with the Andersons once again. This time we were heading up the St. Joe River to one of our favorite Forest Service Campgrounds, Huckleberry.

The drive up to this area took us East on US-90 over 4th of July Pass and then south through the chain lakes area winding along to just outside of St. Maries. We then turned and started following the St. Joe River up to our campsite. 

We set up our camper and enjoyed the sun while waiting for Rayelle, Mike, Julia, and her boyfriend, Joel, to arrive. 

We chatted and had snacks once Mike and Rayelle arrived (Julia and Joel were coming on Friday). I noticed robins scouring the grounds around camp picking up worms and bugs. They would run under our truck and disappear so I followed them and discovered a nest. In the nest were four hungry baby robins. We watched the parents gather insects the entire time we were camped. Those adult birds were busy all day making trip after trip to feed the growing babies. They never stopped collecting. It was amazing to watch.

Linda and I played shuttle driver on Friday and Saturday for the thrill seekers who floated several miles of the river on innertubes.

On the trail from Anderson's campsite to the river, Mike spotted a Yellow Jacket nest hanging above the trail. The nest was in the perfect spot attached to a branch just above your head as you descended to the beach level. It was not noticeable because to get to the beach you had to walk down a small step or two. Your attention was on the ground because of the incline and thus we didn't see the danger the first several times we walked the trail.

As usual, we had a really fun time. We talked and laughed a lot. We played cards and made s'mores over a campfire. We read, cooled off in the river, ate yummy food, and enjoyed some happy hours (it's always 5 o'clock somewhere). Thanks, Andersons, for another fun adventure.