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!