Second Week at Camp

We went home to Port Orchard for appointments on Wed and Thurs.  The grass is returning to green after the rainy days.  The grapes are small but sweet.  There were a few raspberries, too.  We enjoyed the sauna after dinner at "Wicked Good Eats", a  new place owned and operated by a family from Maine.  They ship in Maine Lobster, crinkle fries and top split buns!  It was the real thing.

Art work on a log at the beach.

Not sure what the meaning is:  "Keep on Shinning"

Campsite artwork

Children's sorting collection.

The day after Labor Day in the campground. Very empty and quiet.

I got stung by something, probably a yellow jacket.  My left hand swelled up fat. I managed to get my wedding ring off before my finger was too large.

Too small to read the detail but the food was good!

Can you find the grasshopper in the fir tree? This is our newest fir in our meadow at home,
 though we don't know what kind it is for sure.  We bought it at an auction.

The garden at home still has some color.  One last purple lupine is
 even in bloom on the left.  Dahlias going strong.

Sweet green grapes on the arbor.

Half of the red velvet whoopie pie I bought to go with the lobster roll.

Campfire at Glacier View Campground, up at the head of the lake with
good friends.  Fires are allowed there but not here in the State Park.
Dinner of roasted corn, hamburgers, maple bacon chips and drinks
generously provided by the camp store hosts.

View from the campsite looking toward Dirty Face Peak to the East.

The men folk telling campfire stories of their youth.

The Park received funding to finish a paving job started years ago.  Big
equipment came for 2 days taking up the old pavement and laying down new.

The new circular drive.

Last evening, the lake was beautiful at sunset. The water line
is very low. In the spring, the edge is usually much closer
to the log Sonny is standing on.

Two stand up paddlers getting in one last ride.

Reflections at the boat launch.

Our friends found real Maine blueberry syrup in Quincy, a small town east of
here.  Sonny made pancakes for us to have with the syrup.

The campground has been pestered mercilessly with yellow jackets this
year.  If you are eating outside, it's hard to even get a bite without
getting a yellow jacket, too. This nest is about 15' off the ground.
Farmers Almanac says that's a forecast of deep snow when the
nests are so high.

The nest is attached to the end
of a dead branch and looks like
a gray brain.

Hammocks are allowed in the campground this year. There are rules
about where  you can hang one: no vegetation underneath, a certain
width of rope around the tree, etc. This one is so high, a ladder is needed
underneath.  I'd like to see the camper crawling into this sleeping cocoon and
getting down again!

Rock painting left on the table. For a reason
we can't understand, many campers leave rocks
on the tables when they leave.  What does
that mean?!

This afternoon, we rode up the East side of the lake to White River
Road.  The salmon run in the White River is at its tail end and
 I heard people talking about seeing schools of 50 red fish going up stream to
spawn.  We stopped at Napeequa Campsite to get down close to the river.
We only saw a few red bodies and a couple jumping the small rapids.

Along the White River.  Can you see the spring board cuts in the
 old cedar tree from logging days?

Nason Creek flows into the Wenatchee River just below the State Park.
That campground is a national park.  Look closely to see that the campers have built
 cairns with the rocks in the creek bed. I will try to get closer next time for a
better shot.

When the camp store is closed
during the week, we go to the
Plain Store for coffee and lunch on
their patio.  Pretty flowers decorate
the old ladder.

Labor Day Weekend

The campground was fully booked.  The burn ban is still on so no campfires.  The last few years, the ban has been lifted around 3 pm on Friday.  This year, there were way fewer fires and the weather has produced rain so all were surprised that the ban wasn't lifted here in Eastern Washington as it was in Western Washington.  Many campers brought their propane fire rings which are allowed.  A few didn't read the GIANT red signs that said no fires or briquettes so we had a couple of educational moments with those campers.  

Children and a few adults were seen actually swimming in the lake in spite of the chilly air.

The campground was sound asleep by 9 pm every night.  Very unusual!  We heard some gunshots on Saturday but there is a sand pit nearby so we didn't think much about it.  We did see one of the rangers race out of the park and later learned that campers from site 3 had be shooting at trees on State Park property.  For that little fun, they received a $1000 ticket, a summons to court and eviction from the park. 

Wish I was able to take a picture of a camper I saw yesterday but I wasn't fast enough.  On the rear window, it said "Cramalot Inn". Sounds like they have fun.

We had 86 campsites to clean today (Monday) after the mass exodus before lunch. All is quiet and the rain clouds are rolling in. The tips of the vine maples are beginning to turn red. There have been many yellow jackets buzzing around.  I usually ignore them but one got my little finger good.  Ouch!

.

Saturday night, it was warm enough to be outside next to our own
propane ring for a few hands of Kings in the Corner.

Someone probably got caught trying to light this.

On Sunday, the wind let up and the temp got to 65* in the sun.  The boat
rentals were very busy renting kayaks, SUP and canoes.

And now, it's Monday.  The garbage truck came early.  The park staff is moving
dumpsters around with the tractor since there will be fewer campers.

This wasps was trying to carry off a spider. It did get a leg or two.

Bird's nest with egg on the tent pad?

This camp robber is way too fond of the citronella candle.  He has
been pecking at it for a couple of days.  Maybe its the soy oil?

We're off to Lake Wenatchee State Park

We were packed and on the road 15 minutes earlier than planned, a rare event! Traveling through Tacoma was a breeze, on to I-5 and Highway 18 to I-90.  Coffee break at the top of Snoqualmi Pass and arrived at Site 46 by 3 PM. We got set up and checked in at the camp store.  Later, friends came by for a propane ring campfire. The burn ban remains in effect for State Parks on the East Side which upsets campers who are wedded to the campfire experience and those who didn't make any alternative plan for cooking.

Leaving the driveway in Port Orchard.

My driver at the wheel.

Eastern Washington coming down from Blewett Pass.  Smoke from the
latest forest fire.

Nearing the Leavenworth Safeway we could see burned hillsides from the
Suncrest Fire that started on Saturday, 4 days ago.

The fire has now been contained.  100 homes close to town were threatened
 and folks forced to evacuate. Fortunately, resources were
quickly available and by Thursday, the fire was contained. 

Our campsite is ready.  We brought our canopy this year to cover the
propane fire ring so we can sit outside if it rains.

On Thursday, we went into Leavenworth for groceries.  There
were 8 British cars from British Columbia in the parking lot.

Fins on this one.

As always, the flowers are beautiful.

We drove back to camp on the Chumstick Highway.  Someone is building
this large home in an area of cabins.  

The little town of Plain with its motel, grocery store, laundry mat, hardware
store, cafe and two wineries.

This couple is getting ready to greet visitors who are coming to 
trail ride in a few weeks. The field will be filled with campers, trailers 
and horses for the weekend.  We expect to see our friends, 
Beverly and Jerry, who come to this event annually.

We started our chores routine on Friday getting ready for Labor
Day Weekend.

Evening clouds at the head of the lake.

Dirty Face Mountain 

The weekend has arrived and we begin to see crazy things.  Due to the fact
that this campground was built in the 30s and the sites are small, there is a
length limit of 32' rigs. We're pretty sure this one is over but, after
several tries, they make it plus even managed to squeeze another
car in to park.

For the last 23 years, the fire department aux hosts a 2 day
garage sale on Labor Day Weekend.  It amazes me that the
community can come up with so much stuff year after year.
Sonny let me go for an hour.

Blurry drive by of setting up the sale.  It was a packed place.

The weather has been relatively dry but not
very warm.  This was the high on Friday.
It's been 45* when we wake up. We feel sorry
for the campers without a fire.

Somebody wasn't watching whatever burned through this plank.

A rock collection left behind.