Day 3

Scooteney Reservoir Campground

Waking up to a beautiful, sunny day at Potholes State Park, we weren't even sure where we were going to end up for night three. We (OK, I...) had 3 big goals for the day; check out Scooteney Lake, see Palouse Falls, and revisit a childhood memory at Ayer Boat Basin on the Snake River. We figured we'd do them in that order and just stay wherever we ended up. That is the beauty of the RTT, after all...just pop up that tent where ever we land.

First Stop: Scooteney Reservoir Campground, right off Hwy. 17, a little south of Othello, WA, was a place I've been curious about for awhile now. When Jeff and I were doing some research beforehand, we saw that the campground (no reservations allowed) looked nice and the lake interesting. We made a quick stop, and agreed that this would be the place to return to after our other adventures that day. We even picked a spot...#36, and hoped that it would still be available when we came back.

Connell

We got back on the road to get some groceries (ice, firewood, dinner to cook for the night), fill up on gas, and get a bite to eat before the hour-long drive to Palouse Falls. Connell, WA was the perfect stop. In all my travels through this area growing up and my road trips as an adult, I'm not sure if I have ever stopped in the town of Connell, or even driven through it, for that matter.

We made a short stop downtown to take a couple pictures of the artwork sculptures (all on tables and chairs spread out around town...so cute!) and the buildings. I loved this one of Kaffrin's Coffee Shop, and then another historic building across the street. But...we ended up heading back to the other end of town to go to the first place that Jeff had spotted, Michael Jays. The owners were so friendly and greeted us as their first customers of the day by asking about where we were from and letting us choose the sports event on TV. We talked tennis, school sports, and then FJ Cruisers...because, they had one too! We saw it when we parked outside (maybe that is why Jeff wanted to go there). It is always so nice to meet people in other towns with connections, similar interests, and interesting stories.

And here is a poker game we caught in mid action right on a main corner of town. Jeff tried to give some of his expertise in making bets.

Palouse Falls

With a satisfied belly, we were off on the road again, with a one hour trek to Palouse Falls State Park. I am sure I went here, at least once as a kid, but I don't remember it like this. It was a little drive off the main road, and quite a few visitors were there, despite the heat, and it was toasty by noon.

Palouse Falls State Park was Awe-some! It was also hot as an oven out there...not sure the exact temp, but probably in the high 90s, in this dry heat...not something we are used to...yet. And, I didn't wear very good walking shoes (yeah, I was in my Birks...surprise, surprise), so we opted to just walk to the viewpoint and not out around the falls. If you look closely, you'll see brave (and sweaty, I'm sure) people out there near those rock pinnacles at the top left of the falls. Did you know that Palouse Falls is the Washington State Waterfall? You can camp up there, if you don't mind hundreds of tourists walking around you all day and the extreme heat. I can imagine the views at sunset are amazing!

Ha ha! Yep, that picture set up was Jeff's idea.

Ayer Boat Basin

When I was growing up, one place that we went, what seemed like all the time, was Ayer Boat Basin on the Snake River. The thing I remember most is the rocks; rock beach, rocky hillside, rock parking area. Usually we'd just park the truck and camper right on the edge of the lake and fish and swim all day. It was always super hot. I recall spending lots of time there with my friend Gretchen and her family. We'd swim waaaay out to the other side of the basin. I was scared to venture out that far, I remember, because I couldn't see the bottom (there could be anything down there!!) and we'd swim right up against the steep rock cliff so far away from everyone. I felt brave out there. I wondered if the basin was as vast and huge as I remembered, so that is was sparked our visit.

WARNING: Google Maps isn't always the best source of directions. I should have known when my phone told us to take that right, almost directly after crossing the Snake River at Lyon's Ferry (another fond childhood spot). It sure didn't look familiar to be driving on a gravel one lane road. It was called "Ayer Road" though, so it must get there, eventually. Eventually was correct. We kept plodding along, stopping to open the gated off roadway (four gates, actually), meandering past grassy fields and a dozen or so cows, and then ended up on the other side in the small town of Ayer, WA. Not sure that anyone actually lives there or that the road we were on had been driven in awhile, but we made it...about 45 minutes later. I'm sure we were less than 5 miles away when we began that trek.

If you look closely in this next one, you can see one of the make-shift gates that we had to open and close to get through the road. 

When I was young, I used to see these power lines all over. I always thought of them as giant robotic cat-like creatures. We saw plenty this day.

And...finally, we arrived.

There are still a lot of rocks at Ayer Boat Basin, and the hills are still rocky too, but the edge of the lake and the lake itself are so different than I remember. I guess 40 years of time can change a thing or two. There's lots of vegetation around the edge of the lake, and the basin is filled with dark, murky water, and a lot of river weeds. It would be fantastic with a canoe! In fact, instead of kids jumping and splashing in the lake and parents stuck to lawn chairs and holding their trusty fishing poles, all we saw were a couple kayaks and a pelican. There were people camping at one end, and we did see a boat leave the basin through the tunnel to the Snake when we first arrived. My Grandpa had a boat, and my dad had a boat, and we would launch from the basin and go out on the river through a little tunnel on occasion. I remember being super excited when we would escape the basin for a little extra adventure and go find a sandy beach somewhere on the river to fish and swim.

And...no, not nearly as big as I remember it. But, I guess I was little back then. Glad I got to fulfill my curiosity about this place.

Me at Ayer Boat Basin

Scooteney Lake

It was early afternoon at this point, and super steamy. We began the journey back to Scooteney hoping our coveted #36 was still available. It was. It wasn't long before camp was set and we were in the water cooling off. The spot was pretty perfect, right on the water, and we could moor the boat at a dock just in front of our campsite.We timed our boat exploring for dusk so that we could enjoy the evening water birds and the sunset. Jeff caught a Walleye, which he later let go (Thank you, darling husband), and we just tootled around and enjoyed the lake. Breathtaking!!!

We had a late dinner (Al Pastor from the Connell Market). YUM!! We made a fire and roasted more marshmallows. This time we had coconut, chocolate cookies to sandwich them between (think Girl Scout Samoas), and then fell asleep under the stars, listening to bullfrogs croak like cows and crickets chirping. I slept like a baby.

The next morning, things took a turn away from perfection. Jeff must have woken up quite early because he was already out in the middle of the lake. First, the sprinklers came on...right on top of all our stuff we had piled in the grass. I should have known better, after all, the grass has to stay green somehow. I moved everything to a new spot and then those sprinklers turned on next. :)

Then, I discovered that the bathrooms, which WERE conveniently right across the road from us, had a lovely sign taped to the door; "Closed for Repairs," except the word "repairs" was crossed off and "theft" was written in. What? What was there to steal out of this tiny little room with just a sink and a toilet? Toilet paper? Considering there were only 5 of us staying in the entire park, and we were one of only two groups without an RV (hence, using the facilities) I felt like I was either being blamed or being punished for something I didn't do. Anyway, we decided to pack it up (the RTT) before heading out on the lake one last time so that we could use the vehicle to drive to the day use area and use their bathroom...which was disgusting and needed cleaned, by the way.

Another twisted event happened to Jeff early that morning. While out on the lake on his solo fishing venture, he ran into a small island. Yes, an island of rocks...totally unmarked, other than the birds we later saw sitting on them. The lake was shallow everywhere, but not 20 feet from this "island" it was 18 feet deep, according to the handy-dandy fish finder. It dinged his motor a bit, but we lucked out with no damage to the boat.

Rock Island

Luckily, we decided to stay on the lake a little longer and explore, because the day ended up being a gold mine, when it comes to birding. Turns out, there was a lot more to Scooteney Lake than we originally thought. We headed to the south end of the lake, which turned into a narrow channel of moving water, which opened up into another lake, and then another, and another. It was a chain of lakes, all deeper than the main lake and teeming with wildlife. We saw Cinnamon Teals, Mallards, Western Grebes, Sandpipers, Terns, Gulls, Coots, and two Pelicans, one of which let me take photo after photo, even after chasing him off into flight a couple times.

Sandpiper

American Great White Pelican

Quick Recap of Day 3

Scooteney Reservoir Campground: Beautiful spot, fantastic birding, gorgeous sunset, nice and convenient boat mooring, not too crowded, even on Father's Day weekend. The downsides of this place: unmarked, random rock islands, shallow water, lots of goose poop (but the darling goose families with their goslings were worth dealing with it), and a cranky caretaker who only wanted to mow his lawn (2 times in 24 hours, not kidding) instead of cleaning bathrooms.

Lessons Learned: Check out the bathometric (did I say that right, Jeff?) maps of lakes before venturing out in them so we know the depth layout. We also learned that we have to set up the RTT before the awning on the other side of the car. Did that first this time and had to put it back to get the Velcro off of the tent cover.

I also have a mission for the next trip. We are pretty organized campers. We have a place for everything and everything in its place...but...I think we pack way more than we need. I am planning the next one using a "Minimalist's Camping List" that I have started on the kitchen chalkboard.
Until then...here is a gorgeous field of canola that we saw on our drive back home. Does anyone know why it looks like stripes? So cool, but confusing!