Day 14

Long Lake Campground

OK, I'm sad to say that we may not reach our goal of 20 nights in the RTT. School begins in another week, and who knows how busy things will be once the new year begins. We're not giving up though. We've got until the snow falls, as far as I'm concerned. It was a pretty easy decision, however, to get out one more time before summer break is officially over, so we headed out for a night at Long Lake. This is the lake we visited back on July 1st, thinking we would want to go back. I'm so glad we did. With the addition of a couple new toys (we bought Stand-Up Paddle Boards a couple weeks ago with our National Boards money...special treat for hard-work), we knew that a little lake with exploring spots would be perfect, and this time of year, the campgrounds are pretty empty and quiet. Here's the photo I took at Long Lake (near Republic, by the way, as there are many Long Lakes in Washington) back on July 1.

Long Lake (at the very end) and 3 other small lakes that connect, one more behind me, so 5 small lakes in a row

It had been a couple weeks since our last RTT adventure. I sure was excited to see it up and ready for another slumber with the breezy windows open, shimmery lake view, and the stars overhead. Things are cooling off around here in the evenings, but it still feels fabulous! Here's our set-up for the night.

One of the main goals of this adventure was to get out on the water with our new Stand Up Paddle Boards (SUPs). I know, I know...another acronym. So we are traveling these days in the FJ, carrying our SUPs, and later we'll sleep in our RTT. 😊 One of the key elements that was missing from our little one-nighter excursions was a way to get out on the water. Jeff considered a float tube after the fly-fishing trip to Chopaka, and we always had our floaties, but we knew there must be a better solution.

That is when my good friend, Kiki, took me out on her SUPs. I love that it is a little physically challenging, you can stand, sit, kneel, lie down, jump in when you want to, get back on easily, carry all your stuff, and explore the shallows...all in one, perfectly designed watercraft. Jeff says, "It's the closest thing to walking on water." I agree. The one thing that was holding us back was the transport. So....we bought inflatable boards. Yep, that's right. These boards inflate to 15 PSI (think car tire rigidness), and they come in their own back-pack style bag with an paddle, keel, strap for carrying, and a pump. Don't get me wrong though...it is crazy, hard to pump them up. Jeff would say, "It's just an arm workout," but let's get real. I have small, weak arms. I can feel my muscles growing already.

Fish Lake...how many Fish Lakes are there in Washington? A lot! This one had loons!

We knew we wanted to do some more SUPing around, so there was no way we were deflating and inflating them again just to go a short distance. Instead, we carried the boards baja-style from one lake to another. It worked!

Can I just say how LUCKY...knocking on wood right now...we are to have a fire-free, smokeless summer this year. Also...campgrounds still allow burning. Aaaahhh!

So...I'm going to hit the "Lessons Learned" portion of the blog post now. Let's talk food! It has definitely been a change from the usual full family cookout to just Jeff and I needing a quick and delicious meal for two while camping. First of all, we have the awesome Coleman Camp Stove again, which is a huge plus. But, now we have discovered something else that works in perfect harmony with our needs and our equipment....meet the frozen meal. Yep! We've been eating this for breakfast the past 3 trips out.

One bag is perfect for the two of us with a couple added eggs. Add a croissant and you have plenty for 3 or 4 people. Add a little hot sauce and yummm!!! Here's breakfast, sizzling on the stove while Jeff packs up the tent on this morning.

This time, we tried something similar for dinner. It was perfect. I'm excited to try the other combinations. A little deli broccoli salad and we've got a delicious super. The added bonus to packing meals like this is that they start out frozen, help keep the other food in our soft-pack cooler cold, and then thaw out just in time for cooking.

Next Day

This wouldn't be a complete journal entry unless I mentioned the interesting elderly couple we had the pleasure of meeting at Lost Lake. We actually drove past them on our July 1 visit; he pushing a wheeled cart towards the lake, and her, walking slowly and persistently behind him. At the time we thought, "How sweet, they are going to walk down to the lake to spend the day," thinking that the cart might contain a picnic lunch or fishing supplies. We also noticed that these two flotation contraptions were cable-locked to the waterside sign. Here's the photo I took back in July.

Fast forward to this morning. They showed up around 7 a.m., her verbally helping him park the RV in their home away from home; the spot at the end and closest to the water. They woke us up, actually. At first I was annoyed by the overly loud and ignorant behavior as they continued to park that vehicle just perfectly, with the tires all level, dogs barking the entire time, which took way too long. 

Then, I watched the day unfold for these two perfectly matched love-birds. He helped her get all set up for the day, made sure she had her "rain jacket," despite the warming weather, and continued to get the cart all packed up. We watched them walk to the lake then, her behind him as he propelled the cart, and realized they were the same couple we saw in July. They must go there all the time. And guess what? Those pontoon boats tied to the sign...they were theirs! We caught up with them later in the morning when we went out on the water for a float. The two were each floating in their own territory on the lake...fly-fishing, even...which we now know, is no easy task. These two are high-tech too. They had continuously beeping fish finders in search of the day's catch, and walkie-talkies to share their data with each other. It was both totally annoying, and the cutest thing I've ever seen, all in one. Someone has got to recognize these two. I want to know their story. I wonder for how long and how often they do this routine.

Homeward Bound

We had the SUPs and were ready to explore, so we went back to Swan Lake, a campground that we had checked out in July. I'm so glad we went back here, as our first impression the last time was not that great. It was crowded, busy, full of boats, and campsites full. This time, was a totally different experience. There must have maybe been 3 or 4 campsites occupied and the lake was completely empty - Just us...and three loons. That mama loon was pretty tolerant of my taking pictures too. There's also a nice group site here that we'd like to look into in the future.

Yes, I SEEK a JOURNEY!

Jeff has mastered his "J" stroke

And, of course a one-nighter camping experience would not be complete without a satisfying and delicious meal on the way home. We split a bacon-avocado burger at Steve O's in Republic. It was the first time there, and it was awesome! Look at this burger! And the cute little heart-shaped food pick was an added touch to another successful and memorable camping adventure.

Day 13

Curlew State Park

Just got back from another one-nighter, however, this one was special because Max came with us. He's been so busy working at Dairy Queen, house-sitting for people, and doing yard work jobs, it feels like we've hardly seen him this summer (and he goes back to school in a couple weeks). Although we had planned to take him up to Hart's Pass for some mountain time, we had to change plans, last minute, once we saw the weather report. We still want to go, but I'll take a sunny day with warmish temperatures over rain and cold. Instead, we decided to pull along the boat and headed in the other direction to Curlew Lake in Ferry County. We had been once, years ago, so it was time to check out this lake again.

It is a good thing that Jeff checked the online reservations for the campsites the day before because we ended up reserving one of the very last sites (out of 80) available at Curlew State Park. That place was hoppin' and packed. We ended up at the quiet end of the campground, with only a handful of neighbors. Again, it was so nice to have the RTT. The site we had was super tiny with a decent place to park (all we needed), and it was right next to a mooring dock so that we could keep an eye on the boat.

The wind was blowing pretty good when we arrived and set up camp, so we stayed pretty close to camp that evening. We played games and made a fire to roast hot dogs. We did take Stella (the boat) out for a loop around the lake. Max is working hard on completing his boat safety course this summer, so he got a little practice behind the wheel.

Look Zoe...I got my Coleman! I lucked out because Dad forgot to pack the stove and we didn't realize it until we were out of town, so we stopped to get a new one. I'm a happy camper now!

Houston Kraft's face on Lay's BBQ chips (He is the founder of a new program we are using at school this year called Character Strong, which is all about spreading kindness and building social skills. Super excited to integrate the program into my teaching this year. And... I was pretty tickled to see this bag of chips at the store!)

getting driving tips from Dad

As always, sleeping in the RTT was comfy and entertaining. All three of us fit, no problem. The boys fell asleep pretty quickly (as did our snoring neighbors). I must be the light sleeper in the family, because every little nature sound wakes me instantly. I love laying in the tent with the window open and knowing that all those little noises are out there, but can't reach me. 😁 I heard an owl, some rustling grass critters (we smelled a skunk a couple times), and an unusually loud frog (just one).

Then, this morning, right as the sky began to lighten, I heard hoofing sounds all around us. I spent about 30 minutes just watching the deer walk through the campsites and nibbling on grass until our neighbors got up to see what all the commotion was and scared them off. It was humorous laying up there with my eyes adjusted to the darkness, watching the deer so carefully, when the neighbor got up to see what the noise was. He was using his cell phone flashlight to look around the front of his tent, and the deer were scampering past (behind his tent) about 5 feet away from him. I felt like a secret, nature spy. Love it!

I also had to share this photo of Max getting ready for bed in the RTT for the first time.

Next Day

After the deer waking, I nudged Jeff and told him he better get out on the lake and fish. We always seem to find ourselves out on the water in the heat of the day, when the fish are not interested in eating anything. Success! He caught a few fish, and was even able to catch a couple using his downrigger (a first). Best part...he let them all go afterwards. Thanks sweetie!

The boys went out again to catch a couple more while I made a little Coleman Stove breakfast. Max also caught one of the many painted turtles hanging around the dock. The turtle was not thrilled to be held, so we snapped a couple pictures and set him free to go complain to his friends.Then, we packed up all our gear and headed out in the boat for one last time. Max got to drive, and now that the wind had calmed down, we were able to venture under the bridge at the north end of the lake.

See the wind sock? That's right...this dock is also an airport! In fact, we were told we couldn't park our boat on the outside of the dock because it is reserved for float planes only. The ranger told us that there have been 3 boats land here in 5 years.

Bodie

The boys let me choose the driving path home, so I directed them up through the cute, little town of Curlew (population: 768), and then the two mining ghost towns of Toroda and Bodie. We had been to Bodie once before with our friends Kendra, Mike, and Advaya, so I wanted to stop again for some pictures. Such a cool spot, with so much history, I'm sure. We actually met a family there who were traveling around the state of Washington on a Ghost Town Tour they found online. I'm going to have to check that out.

Quick Recap of Day 13

Curlew State Park: Nice lake (way more populated than we thought with dozens of houses, resorts, rentals, etc.), clean campground (nice restrooms, water, tables, etc.), but super cramped and crowded. This would be a fun place to come with a group of people. You'd want to reserve several sites in a row so that you could build your compound.

Lessons Learned: Hmmmm....I think we are getting pretty good at this. Let's see... I guess we knew it all along, but fishing is better in the early morning, the Coleman Camp Stove is the best, and it sure is nice to spend time with our son. He is a fantastic kid, and I'm going to miss him so badly when he goes back to college very soon. More memories were made on this trip!

Days 11 and 12

Chopaka Lake Campground and Crawfish Lake Campground

PCT Backpacking Ladies Trip

I know it has been awhile since my last blog post. We took a little break from RTT camping so that I could go on a ladies adventure with some of my girlfriends last weekend. Jeff and I had backpacked once before, but this was just me and the girls, all on our own, on the Pacific Crest Trail, for 3 days and 19 miles. I'm pretty proud of us all, as three of us were totally unexperienced. Thank goodness we had our fearless leader, Kiki to share all her knowledge. Oh, and we also met up with two bears on the trail. That was exciting! Check out the perfect campsite we had on night two. I had creek front property right outside my tent door, and we slept under giant cedar trees. Can't get much better than that.

I wasn't home for more than two or three days when I started getting the itch to get outside again. It MIGHT have had something to do with the painting of the kitchen, which is turning out to be a slow and tedious summer chore. Jeff had the next spot already picked out...Chopaka Lake Campground, about an hour and a half northwest of us, close to the Canadian border. We have been to Palmer Lake several times, and every time we go, I see this steep dirt road that leads to Chopaka Lake. Today was the day to drive it in 4-wheel drive. If you look closely, you'll see the road up on the hillside. Quite the climb.

The road in on the hillside ahead leads to Chopaka Lake.

Once we arrived at the lake, we were quite surprised to see so many trailers and RVs were up there. That was not an easy drive. The lake was serene and calm, and the campground was dotted with campers from one end to the other, but one perfect spot was calling our name. We chose a small area with water access, and just enough room to park and pop the tent for the night.

Our home for the night, with lots of tall grass and trees around the lake (lots of birds too)!

We discovered on this trip that we LOVE having our rain fly off and the window open to the lake view.

Chopaka Lake - named after the legend of a hunter by the name of Chopaka who was turned to stone by Coyote

Quick and easy cleanup dinner tonight - haystacks (chips, turkey chili, heirloom tomatoes, feta cheese, and cabbage)

For my birthday this year, my thoughtful daughter got me a travel journal and an incredible set of gel pens and carry case for me to sketch and write in on our adventures. It was fun to sit in the sun and doodle about the day. I also kept track of birds this day. We saw some good ones, including a mystery bird which sat on top of a tree the entire time "fitz bew"ing at us non stop. I FINALLY figured out what it was by clicking through sounds on my bird app (iBird, highly recommended). He was a Willow Flycatcher. I wish I had a picture, but I failed to bring my zoom camera on this trip, and the phone just wouldn't do. Darn it. ALWAYS BRING THE CAMERA! Here's his annoying call that taunted me for hours.

One aspect of going to Chopaka that intrigued Jeff was that it is a fly-fishing only lake. Jeff is not a fly-fisherman, but he sure wanted to try it out. He even has a fly pole that our good friend Baran once gave him. We stopped at North 40 on the way out of town and picked out a few fun flies to use. It was like shopping for candy in a candy store...so many colors and choices.

Jeff giving fly-fishing a go. He had to wade out to have room. We watched other fishermen in their float tubes way out in the middle of the lake, and I think I may know what Jeff wants for Christmas this year. 

The temperature at night was perfect! We slept well, listening to the various nature sounds all around us. I heard hoofing around, right outside our tent a couple times. It could have been cows, as Chopaka is a free-range area and there were lots of cows around. I am also quite sure I heard a rattle snake at one point during the day, and there were many rodents and critters around. It is so comforting to know that we are up off the ground and safe from intruders in the night. I love it!

Next Day

We had planned on making our way home, and, if we felt like it, stopping one more night at a favorite little mountain lake of ours - Crawfish Lake. Jeff had planned our driving route to bring us up to the border to go through the little mining town of Nighthawk. I've been living in Okanogan County for 24 years, and had never been. Well...Nighthawk is pretty small; about 3 houses and an old, decrepit, but cool building on the corner of the one intersection. I had Jeff drop me off at one end of town so I could take pictures, and then he picked me up on the other end of town, about 100 yards down the road. I did a little research when we got home and discovered that the house on the corner was actually a bordello, house of ill repute, whatever you want to call it. Apparently, at one time, there was a tent boom town with up to 3,000 people staying in Nighthawk hoping to become rich off of silver and gold. I bet this place has a lot of stories to tell. Here are more pictures of the old ghost town along with a little history.

Similkameen River and Enloe Dam

Continuing east on the Loomis-Oroville road, we meandered along the beautiful Similkameen River towards a favorite spot, Enloe Dam. Across the river is an old railroad bed (rails to trails) walking path which leads past the dam and up to an old tunnel through the side of the mountain. We've walked the Similkameen Trail before, and remembered that it ends with "WARNING" and "KEEP OUT!" signs at the west entrance of the tunnel. We wondered if we could see the tunnel entrance and exit from this side of the river. We found it! Next, we drove the more difficult road down to Enloe Dam, which has quite a history itself. One year when we visited, we saw dozens of red-headed, beat up salmon trying to make way up the river. After the dam and power plant were built in the early 1900s, this is as far as the determined fish can go on the Similkameen.

Parking to look at the tunnel across the river

The west entrance of the tunnel up on the hillside (surrounded in trees) and someone camping along the river looking for the elusive gold flakes that are rumored to still be around (we saw lots of people trying with their dredging machines)

Enloe Dam and the Similkameen Trail on the other side of the river

The Enloe Power Plant

McLoughlin Canyon

After stopping for a quick lunch and restock of the cooler in Oroville, we headed up McLoughlin Canyon, another historical spot that we had never visited. The canyon is near the Tonasket caves that everyone always talks about. In fact, Max and his buddies had just been out crawling through the caves the day before. The history of the deep canyon is an interesting, but sad story that involves Native American loss of land, ambush, and death. Nonetheless, it was a captivating and scorching hot drive through the canyon. We stopped to take a couple pictures. 

Crawfish Lake

It had been a long, hot day, so when we arrived at Crawfish Lake, we pretty much just set up camp and chilled out the rest of the evening. This is a favorite spot that we have been to several times before. It never disappoints with the loons on the lake and the calm water (no motor boats allowed). I didn't take many pictures, but here is one of our evening ambiance. Lovely!

Quick Recap of Days 11 and 12

Chopaka Lake Campground: This is definitely a different kind of camping for us. Rather than forested lake, the area is grassy and open. I can imagine the mosquitoes are bad most years, but this summer we've been lucky. Fly fishing was fun for Jeff to try out, but he needs some more equipment. The camping was free, which was a nice surprise.

Crawfish Lake Campground: Also free camping, but the sites were filling up quick. We will be going back here at least once this fall when things cool off a bit and the popularity of camping wears off a little. We have spent nights here in the past where it was pretty much just us and the loons in the campground and no one else.

Lessons Learned: We love sleeping with the rainfly off and the window facing the lake. Jeff would love to borrow a float tube to try fly fishing again (anyone have one?). We also used our leveling blocks under the FJ to level the tent both nights, which was a first (you can see them in the picture above). One big revelation for me on this trip is that I want my old camping stove back. Zoe and Nick? Just kidding, but I will probably buy another Coleman some day because our new stove stinks! Until next time...