Camping inWashington
"Follow the road less travelled....", well that's what the camp books suggested, but I don't think there can be such a thing in the middle of summer, on this vast continent. Setting out Sunday morning, we followed the Okanagan Lake passed Kelowna, Peachland, Summerland and finally to Penticton (over 90 miles!)....this is stone fruit season, and the orchards are brimming with produce sold by the roadside in fruit markets or available as "pick-your-own"......cherries, plums, peaches, apricots and apples (the kids were starting to look like fruit!).
We stopped for a break at Skaha Lake, just the other side of Penticton. A very picturesque lake packed full of campers enjoying every water sport (short of surfing, that is). A large canal joins the two lakes through Penticton and adventurous souls jump on a tube and float for several miles downstream where a bus will pick them up and take them back to the beginning!! There's no shade, so sunscreen, hats and shirts are a must, as the journey is slow and very laid back...
Crossing the U.S. /Canadian border, we purchased visas from some very, um.... er, (shall we politely say) official-looking customs officers, then stopped at the nearest lake (Osoyoos Lake at the town of Oroville) for a picnic lunch and for the boys to have a swim. The lake was cool but the air temp. by now was around 28C. Right about now you have to start thinking Fahrenheit not Celsius, miles not kilometers, and pounds and ounces not kilos and grams....not to mention doing a bit of arithmetic to see that you can't buy much with an Aussie dollar!
Our first day's journey ended at Coulee Dam. As the greater area of eastern Washington is quite arid, much of the Columbia Basin is irrigated from the waters of Lakes Roosevelt and Banks. Consequently it also supplies hydroelectricity and a fabulous recreation playground for those who enjoy water sports (and who doesn't?). Grand Coulee Dam has the largest laser light show in the world. Our campsite was called Spring Canyon; as we were in the middle of the Fourth of July long weekend it was well,... packed. We squeezed in between an RV and another tent, thanks to the generosity of "Jim" and his dachshund. ...and were promptly given the sage advice of our neighbour "there be rattlesnakes in them bushes, got a snake-bite kit in the car if you need it".....the snakes weren't to be seen or heard, but the prickly cactus has four inch spikes that imbed themselves nice and smoothly, but pulling them out is quite a different story...("here, I'll pull it out for you Mum, promise you wont feel a thing").

We awoke to a light sprinkling of rain, packed our gear after a hasty breakfast, and headed south along 155. The terrain is mostly semi-arid, tree-less plateaux dotted with prickly brush, plunging into vast canyons and water carved gorges....the various rock formations are a geologists dream. We stood on the edge of waterfall 3.5 miles wide and plunging 400 feet .....well, it was a few thousand years ago...now they call it the Dry Falls and the terrain is still spectacular minus the water. We passed by Soap lake, reputed by Indians to have wonderful healing properties....it is heavily laden with minerals, tourists from all over the world swear by it. We drove through Moses Lakes, a comparatively tiny town with a population of 11,000 but with its own international airport!!

We stopped at Vantage on the Columbia River. A town that is apparently known for its petrified Gingko Forest. The only known one in existence, the wood was entombed in lava ,over 15 million years ago. Vantage, seemingly miles from anywhere, also plays host to rock concerts (that's rock as in music, not as in geology)....the concerts are held in a natural amphitheater, a gorge...the night we were there, Motley Crue were playing, in the following days they were being entertained by k.d.Lang, Sting, The Who, Counting Crows, Bob Dylan and the Red Hot Chili Peppers...it was really bizarre if you could see the setting....the mighty Columbia River makes an awesome backdrop. Riverstone campgrounds were quite picturesque (and with a heated indoor pool we weren't exactly roughing it yet) but the ceaseless wind was rather trying...even the local restaurant is called "Blustery".

Next day we had breakfast on the banks of the Columbia river (Fourth of July...people selling fireworks in stalls all along the roadside). We passed through many towns on our way to the Oregon border, but missed every parade!! (It was rather hot, and parades weren't on our list of priorities). Plains and prairies soon opened out into vast agricultural valleys....Yakima (yack-ee-ma) has 82 wineries in the surrounding area, not to mention orchards and crops. Looking down over the town, the valley is a giant patchwork quilt of fertile farmland, and in the distance the snow-capped peaks of Mount St.Helens and Mount Adams rise above the valley floor. Driving through the Klickitat (say it fast!) both sides of the highway are Indian Nation Reserve, covering an area of more than a million acres.
As we approached the Columbia River again (on its meandering course) which also signifies the border, the vegetation abruptly changes from arid to pine forests. Our day's end is at Maryhill campground. Like many State parks, this one is well maintained, with irrigated lawns. We had a campfire next to the river, watched a paddle steamer pass, and waited for the fourth of July hoopla, but it never eventuated...had a restful night's sleep...next day we watched the wind surfers speeding along the river (the wind was several knots) but the current was way too swift for swimming...we drove up to Stonehenge built as a war memorial by Sam Hill in the '20s...the view of the river was spectacular.

                            Maryhill Museum on the Columbia River

The next day we crossed into Oregon.....and that's another page of the story......

A month later we were on our way home travelling west of the Cascade Ranges. We left Seaside(Oregon) after a wander along the boardwalk and a peek at various galleries and shops....unique sculptures, local art and delicious homemade chocolate fudge...the boys had a ride on the carousel and a play on the beach(very wide, clean sand, despite picnickers being allowed to light fires right on the beach). We thought the Columbia river was wide in Maryhill; when it finally reaches the sea, it is several miles wide....the bridge at Astoria was the longest and probably the tallest we had ever traversed...the kids were momentarily awestruck (alas,it was a very fleeting moment)
                              
                                       Astoria Bridge

We then headed north-east through Olympia, Tacoma and around the outskirts of Seattle along Puget Sound...it is whale watching season here, and pods of orcas can be seen around Anacortes in the warmer months...(we didn't get time to travel that part of the coast, but I hear the Olympia National Park is spectacular). We diverted from the I5 about dinner-time to avoid the peak hour traffic and grab a bite to eat.....we were feeling less inclined to pitching the tent and more inclined to finding a motel for the night.....but it was Friday night and what on earth were we thinking....no room at the inn...thats for sure!! Camp grounds all full, even the luxury ones....night fell and we were still driving east, and were fast approaching the National Cascades Park when Richard spied a camp ground. The gracious host found us the last spot vacant and then kindly offered us a tepee....the kids were ecstatic about sleeping in a real Indian Teepee, Mum and Dad were ecstatic about not having to put up the tent at 10 o'clock at night....zzzzzzzzzzzblissssssssss. (Teepees, cabins, yurts, houseboats and even covered wagons, are available all over Washington and Oregon if you don't feel like pitching the tent....the teepees even have carpet on the floor!!)
Early to rise the next day, we followed the picturesque Skagit River...a vibrant peppermint green colour from the minerals washed down from the Cascades. We stopped at the Visitors centre to the park which had an excellent interpretive display, complete with audio-visual shows and hands-on activities for the kids, trails through the forest were boardwalks with hand-rails.....like this one, and most State and National Park facilities, there is a great emphasis on wheel-chair friendly accessibility.
From here we had an excellent birds eye view of the Cascade Range.

Cascade Mountains

We stopped at Diablo Dam with that astonishing green colour (much like the green in the background of this page) and just further north, Ross Dam, which was deep blue. When Ross Dam was built it flooded an old gold mining city....the ruins lie fathoms beneath the cold blue waves.


 
            Ross   Dam
We picnicked in a sandy cove of one of the feeder streams for the Dam. The boys stripped off and paddled in the icy mountain water...the air temp. was mid 20s
As soon as we crossed the Washington pass to the east side the terrain and temp. abruptly changed. Before long we were in the mid 30s and once again all the camp grounds were full (and hot and dusty). We passed through the quaint town of Winthrop, an authentic Wild West town, the little town of Twisp and then after much indecision by mum, we decide upon a very quiet camp-ground called Loup Loup...there were no other children, but the hosts had two huge Irish wolfhounds and our nearest neighbours had dachshunds, so the boys were happy. No bears in this camp, but we did see a beautiful doe in the early evening and again in the morning. The hosts said cougars often wander around the camp at night but they don't usually bother anyone....thats so reassuring......it was the quietest, mostly relaxing camp we had been in...we toasted marshmallows after dinner, watching the moon come up over the horizon...I could hardly keep my eyes open...zzzzzzzzzzzz

That was our very last camp site...we were back in Vernon by noon!! The landscape had browned a bit in the summer sun, and the little township of Tonasket (south of the border) had suffered bush fires, the few pines scattered on the hills were charred. We have since heard just how devastating the fires have been, and saddened to know that some of the pristine forests and breath-taking panoramas we witnessed just weeks ago, are now in ashes. According to the Forestry department, campers are not responsible for the majority of the fires this year, most have been from lightning strikes...and in some way it is some compensation to know it is a natural process, and re-generation is inevitable.
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