Lincoln Rock – Fun in the Sun and We’re Not Going Home!

First, a shout out and thank you to our friends, Bob & Carole, for the Lincoln Rock recommendation. Lincoln Rock State Park is an oasis of green about 8 miles outside of Wenatchee, WA on Lake Entiat (an impoundment on the Columbia River). It’s a very popular state park, especially with boaters, and was full almost every day of our stay. The campground has three loops, one with full hook-ups, another with water and electricity, and a third with no hook-ups. We stayed in the dry camping loop, so no air-conditioned splendor for Riley in spite of the 90° days, but the upside was we were just steps away from the water! We’re hoping this will be Riley’s kayaking debut.

Lake Entiat (Columbia River).

We can kayak almost to our doorstep!

The rock formation the park is named for.
It really does resemble Abraham Lincoln in profile.

We arrived on Sunday, 7/12, after setting up camp we explored the campground and reveled in 4-bars of Verizon 4G. There are lots of recreational options here so we decided to bike the 11-mile Apple Capital Loop Trail on Monday. There is a 5.5 mile spur (Rocky Reach Trail) that connects it to the campground, but I didn’t think my butt could handle 22 miles in the saddle. Gotta know your limitations! The Loop Trail parallels the east and west sides of the Columbia and winds through the very beautiful downtown Wenatchee Waterfront Park. I loved all the outdoor sculptures! We did the Rock Reach Trail on Thursday after my butt bones and I had a serious discussion, but it was a fun ride with a great view of the dam.

On the Apple Capitol Loop Trail.

Loved the sculptures in the Wenatchee Waterfront Park.

A grass fire on the outskirts of town.
Luckily, not near the campground.

Rocky Reach Dam viewed from the Rocky Reach Trail.

Monday evening we were treated to a good deal of unnecessary drama as domestic bliss imploded in the space adjacent to ours. It is really hard to know at what point it’s necessary to get into someone else’s business. The tipping point came when the parents sitting in the car started hitting each other and the 10 year old daughter was trying to intervene. Rog and I and campers from other nearby sites converged. I took the girl into our RV while Rog and the others talked to the parents. While the parents calmed down and settled their differences, I got an earful from the daughter. This certainly wasn’t their first rodeo. No matter how lovely the setting, people still are who they are. Sigh.

On Tuesday we broke out the kayak and started Riley’s training. Step #1, sit with mom on the bouncy rubber couch on dry land. We didn’t make it into the water since we got side-tracked with travel planning (more on that in a minute).

Step#1 - Get Riley comfortable in the kayak on solid ground.

Wednesday, Step#2 of Riley’s kayak training: sit on the bouncy rubber couch in the water. He did a great job getting in and then glued himself to me. We just had him sit there for a few minutes in the shallows. We want him to like the kayak so no “sink or swim” scenario for the boy. Especially since we’d likely be the ones swimming! Lol. When Rog and I took the kayak out for a paddle, Riley wasn’t invited. We’re all about those baby steps. Lol. If things work out, we might get a chance to try Step#3 (actually paddling!) before our trip is over.

Step#2 - Try Riley in the kayak in the shallows,
so nobody goes swimming if this turns out to be a bad idea. Lol. 

I must confess there was some serious spoiling going on this week. Hey that kayak was scary and brave boys must be rewarded (and mom isn’t above bribery!), so we made a few sojourns to the camp store for treats. An ice cream cone, shave ice (hold the syrup), playtime in the sprinklers, lots of water time with dad. This has been a great spot for Riley.

Whole lotta spoiling going on. 

Post-ice cream bonding. 

Ball time is the water is best!

Considering how busy the park was we had some fun, unexpected wildlife encounters. The resident Marmots took their job as the camp alarm clocks seriously. About 6am they would start a high-pitched trill that was guaranteed to bring you right out of a sound sleep. The locals are yellow-bellied marmots, the largest member of the squirrel family reaching 2 feet in length. Speaking of sleep, we also had a nighttime visitor. Before Riley’s tummy trouble finally resolved itself, I was taking him out for a 2am potty walk. As I groggily stepped out of the RV, a huge owl perched directly overhead loudly questioned my identity. The deep WWWHHOOOOO, WWWHHOOOOO nearly made me jump out of my skin. But the coolest thing we saw was on the Rocky Reach Trail. Rog spotted something near the bridge, so we paused to look. He thought it might have been a bobcat. We didn’t see anything in the brush and were about to leave when I looked down. There sat an adult bobcat about 3 feet away from me still under the bridge and looking up right at me. As soon as I saw him and made eye contact he ran off. He (or she) was beautiful, so bummed I didn’t get a picture!

Meet our furry alarm clock. Lol.

Early light on the water.
These three shots were all taken at 6am - thank the marmot. :) 

On Thursday we made a run to buy produce from the local farm stands. They ranged from a tweenager selling peaches in his front yard to the well-established year-round commercial endeavors. The fancy stands had fun displays, but you know who got our business. 😊 We also had a visit from friends, Jim and Kim May, who both retired from the Tacoma Fire Department several years before Rog. They are avid and adventurous travelers and it was great to catchup and exchange stories.

Gorgeous floral displays at the commercial farm stands, but we preferred the kid with the card table. 

We were supposed to head home on Friday, 7/17, but that has changed. Rog’s 96-year old Grandma Ardys is moving from her home in St. Helena, CA to an assisted living residence near his Mom’s in Redding, CA on July 27^th. Once Grandma moves in, the Covid rules restrict any in-person visits. Since it certainly doesn’t seem like the pandemic will be under control any time in the near future, we didn’t want to miss a chance to see her before she moves. Hence, several hours of internet research, maps, phone calls and texting to extend our travels. Our revised travel plan will have us trying out some new boondocking spots since any place that takes reservations was pretty much booked solid. We lucked out and have one night with hookups after we leave Lincoln Rock to get everything charged, filled, emptied, and fluffed and then we rough it. Lol.

A Quiet Week at Johnny Creek

It’s so nice when Plan A works out. Johnny Creek Campground is located about 13 miles from Leavenworth, WA in the Wenatchee National Forest. The campground is all first come/first serve with two sections, the 15-site Lower Johnny Creek, situated along Icicle Creek and the 49-site Upper Johnny Creek which is across the road. Coming in on Monday, 7/6, we were pretty confident we’d find a spot but we were really hoping to score one of the waterside sites. We pulled over at the pay station in Lower Johnny Creek and walked the campground. There were only 3 or 4 sites large enough for the Short Bus, but the best of those just happened to be open. Score!! It was especially nice since we have 6 nights here before our reservation at Lincoln Rock State Park near Wenatchee.

Icicle Creek.

Plan A is awesome!

The sites are huge and it’s just a short walk along the river to spot where Riley can wade in the shallows. Icicle “Creek” is really a good-sized river with lots of rapids and boulders. Oh, and it’s absolutely gorgeous too. The much smaller namesake Johnny Creek also runs through the campground, and Riley made sure to explore both. Another unexpected treat – there are ripe huckleberries all around the campground! A few minutes of picking and we had plenty for a huckleberry pancake breakfast. Delicious!!

Good thing Riley loves cold, Icicle Creek is aptly named!

Huckleberries! Huckleberry Pancakes! Huckleberry Heaven!

Tuesday we spent a lazy day in camp, Rog did a little RV maintenance and I worked on organizing my pictures and drafting a blog post. Getting anything uploaded though required a trip into town. So Wednesday we loaded up Riley and headed for Leavenworth – a fun, picturesque Bavarian-themed tourist town. We had lunch at Icicle Creek Brewery and found a shady spot in Waterfront Park to catch up on email, the blog, and all things internet. Of course, we made time for a stop at the Whistlepunk Ice Cream Company, but neither Rog nor Riley were interested in checking out the shops – so I was outvoted two to one. Dang, and here I was committed to doing my part to stimulate the local economy. Lol.

Hey Dad, whatcha got? Wanna share?
Riley is the eternal optimist. 

Leavenworth in all its Bavarian-themed splendor. Lol.

Wednesday we packed a light lunch and took Riley on the Icicle Gorge River Loop Trail. It’s a little under 4 ½ miles and one of the few trails in the area that isn’t straight up and then straight down. The trail is a shady walk through the woods with several creek crossings. The day was cool and overcast, we even had a bit of rain – perfect hiking weather for Riley. The scenery was stunning, so put this hike on your to-do list when you’re in the area.

Gorgeous views of Icicle Creek.

White water!!

On the trail.

Brave Riley!
He wasn't too sure about this narrow log bridge, but he did great. 

I don't think we'll do any kayaking here. Lol.

A delicate wild rose and intricate bark patterns on a Ponderosa Pine.

Under the log, across the bridge, and we're almost home. 

We had planned to do some more hiking over the weekend, but Riley ended up with tummy troubles. Not sure quite what set him off, but Thursday and Friday nights he woke us up every couple hours to take him outside. We certainly weren’t going to leave him in the RV with a case of the runs, so we opted to hang out in camp. I picked more huckleberries and we all played in the creek. Rog put up the hammock, it was the first time he’d tried it out. Riley wasn’t too sure what the monkeys were up to though. Our initial attempts at entering and exiting the tree taco were hilarious. Once settled, we found it comfy enough for an afternoon nap together. We also were delighted to have a hummingbird visit our site, so Rog put up the window feeder. Another accessory we’d never used before. It’s been nice to have the time in camp to play with some of the stuff we carry but rarely use.

Camp day!

Dad! What are you doing??

Double trouble. :) 

Lots of butterflies along the river.

A welcome visitor.

While I don’t particularly like being out of touch with friends and family (I missed my virtual happy hour on Friday ☹!), the total lack of cell service also meant a welcome respite from the daily deluge of doom and gloom. It’s a slower, calmer life and, you know, all my ranting and raving has not and will not change the insanity one bit. We left our bubble of serenity on Sunday, 7/12, heading closer to civilization. Ahhh…internet connectivity, both a blessing and a curse. But without it, I can’t post the blog! Lol.

2020 – Baby Steps in a “Hold my Beer” Kinda Year

Wow. This has certainly been an…ahem…adventurous year. (There may be better adjectives, but most aren’t G-rated.) Fires, floods, global pandemic, murder hornets, all against a backdrop of political and social unrest…and we’re only halfway through it. Let’s hope the remainder is a bit more chill. Just to clarify 2020 in case you’re listening, I don’t mean as in a meteor induced ice age!

Like everyone else in the world, our travel plans for 2020 were totally upended. The good news, we have (so far) stayed safe, sane, and healthy. I hope you all can say the same. Even with the stay-at-home orders in effect, we’ve managed to stay busy. We enjoyed a couple of snowshoe trips to Gold Creek, WA at the Snoqualmie summit. Anyone familiar with Riley knows how much he loves his snow!

Rog and Riley power up the slope.

Gold Creek is a favorite for winter walkies.

Hugs for Mom and catching snowballs with Dad.

Another silver lining in the travel-ban cloud, we were home this spring to see our rhododendrons bloom! We’ve been on the road the last three years and it was something I really did miss.

Springtime in the Pacific Northwest.
We have rhoddies everywhere!

In addition to Riley’s weekly playdates and many virtual and social distanced fireside happy hours we undertook a fairly major DIY home improvement project. We replaced our old 10x10 patio cover with a 16x22 timber-frame Panabode cedar cover. We’re very happy with how it turned out! We still have work to do refinishing the deck, adding landscape lighting and a small water feature (can you say snowball effect?) but the project kept us busy during most of the lock-down.

The new cover is done! 

When we completed our travels in 2019, the last blog post mentioned our plans for this year included a river rafting trip on the Colorado through the Grand Canyon in June and camping at Lake Easton, WA over the 4^th of July. Well the rafting trip has been rescheduled to September, but we did manage to hang onto the camping trip to Lake Easton. It’s our first outing of the year and only 66 miles from home….baby steps are better than no steps at all! We’ll add a few stops to stretch our trip to a couple weeks, but we won’t stray far from home.    

Lake Easton.

We arrived at Lake Easton State Park on Thursday, 7/2 and met up with my brother Tim, his friend Mike, and our friends Mikey and Glen. Lake Easton has a lot going for it. A lovely campground with spacious sites under the trees, a beautiful lake for kayaking, and a nearby rail-to-trail for hiking and biking. The downside – we were literally a stones throw away from Interstate 90 and just in case the constant rumbling of the semi-trucks wasn’t enough, cue the train. We had to raise our voices to be heard sitting 6-feet apart around the campfire. Lol.

Even though it wasn’t quite what we’d call peaceful and quiet, we had a delightful time. We ate too much and spent many hours just relaxing by the campfire. It felt great to ease from project mode back into travel-mode. The 4^th of July we stayed close to camp since Riley is not a fireworks fan. While fireworks aren’t allowed in the state park, there was enough private property nearby that it was popping until late into the night. Mikey does some amazing dutch oven cooking and we were treated to a delicious chicken and dumpling stew and spiced baked apples that were to die for. Cooking duties rotated and we ate verrrrry well all weekend. Riley had a long woods walk and several opportunities to wade in the lake.

Miley toils over his dutch oven deliciousness.
The baked apples were amazing!

Riley in his natural habitat.

Rog and I biked part of the John Wayne Pioneer trail which follows the historic Milwaukee Road (railway), the section covered by Ironhorse State Park is over 100 miles long. I’ve mentioned before that while Rog loves his mountain bike adventures, I’m a rails-to-trails kinda girl so I was thrilled for a chance to get back on the bike without risking life and limb. Even so, my butt needed time to get reacquainted with the bike seat, so we only did a short 11-mile ride. (Note: I inherited Rog’s old bike and I swear the seat on it was designed by the Spanish Inquisition. I will be upgrading soon!)

On the trail.

Lake Easton from the old rail bridge.

View of the Alpine Lake Wilderness area. Stunning!

On Sunday, Rog and I took the kayak out for a bit. The weather was perfect and it was fun to paddle under the interstate and then part way around the lake and under the old railroad bridge.

Rog paddles while I take pictures.
Seems like a good division of labor to me! Lol.

Kayaking under Interstate 90, not something you get to do every day.

A train passes the old railway bridge.

Our four days at Lake Easton passed quickly. Our next baby step is another short drive to a National Forest campground near Leavenworth, WA. It’s far out into the boonies so there will be no road noise, alas there will also be absolutely no cell service. Always a compromise. Lol.