WOW! This river that I'm camped next to is really loud. Even inside of the closed motor home it sounds like a torrential rainstorm with high winds. But it is cool and I sure do sleep well. I must set my alarm or I would sleep til 9 am. In the canyon the sun doesn't hit the campground until about then. That is the latest that the dogs will let me rest. They want to pee and then eat - and they make sure I know that.
The river is fed by the Rimrock Lake. This was finish construction in 1925 and it has served the agriculture with irrigation water successfully since completion. The deepest part of the lake when full is over 200 feet. It hold nearly 200,000 acre feet of water. Each fall the water is released into the Tieton river which flows into the Naches river and ends up in the mighty Columbia minus what is drawn off for irrigation. The river I was next to at Soda Springs, the Bumping River also feeds into the Naches as does the American and a few other smaller rivers and creeks. In total there is a bunch of water flowing out to sea.
On Wednesday I drove up to Rimrock lake and took a few photos. There were no campers in the campground and no reservations until Friday evening. So I took advantage of the slow time to explore the area. I then leisurely drove down stream and shot photos of a couple of rafters in action. There will be many more on Saturday and Sunday. The river has has several areas of good rapids. I was told class 5 caliber. I didn't see any that looked that tough, but I'm no expert.
Thursday morning I had the first camper in the park. Two young women wanted to spend the night, but they hoped they could save the site for the day and go mountain climbing. I immediately thought of Karen and how she would like some of the areas around here. I've included some photos. That afternoon I went out to check my messages and email and saw their camper, same location I go to for the best signal. I looked at the cliffs and did not see them. The next morning I stopped at their camp site, with the girls of course, and asked if I was looking in the right spot, Yep. A couple of hours later that morning I drove back to the cliffs and did see them getting ready to ascend the steep basaltic rock face, called the Towers.
The weather has been comfortably warm with just a very light breeze. But then Friday afternoon around 5 pm the winds picked up and now I know why this place is called "Windy Point". Fortunately the location of the trees has kept the dusty road from blowing too much dirt into the motorhome.
The wind died done after sunset and the campground filled up. I made my rounds, collected monies and confirmed reservations and went home to the dogs and my dinner. The rest of the week was uneventful since there was no campers until Friday night. They came in for rafting on Saturday.
The woman who runs 'Rivers Inc', and reserved 2 sites here was previously a real pain with the previous hosts. I got things worked out with her first thing and we got along well after that. Actually she was pretty nice and she offered me a complimentary trip on Saturday the 20th. More about this adventure to come.
Sunday and Monday I did my normal cleaning and primping the campground for the next visitors, as well as some relaxing time to play with the kids and read my mystery novel. Yep, I've been reading real books. I have averaged about two a week. Some of you will not believe this but it's true.
Tuesday the girls and I went on a trip to Mount Rainier National Park. I had never been on this drive over White Pass on route 12. A very nice drive. The scenery is awesome as you can see from the photos. There were so many trees that you couldn't see the forest. The raged mountains were nearly breathtaking.
Below are a few photos of some of the sites we've enjoyed during our short stay at windy Point in the Wenatchee Forest.
One of my objectives for going to the mountain and park was to see the Paradise Inn and the facilities. The primary lodge was one of many facilities built during the Roosevelt administration under the CCC. I do not know all of the locations of similar projects, but I can think of this one, Crater Lake (which burned down in the 60's) and Mount Hood, both in Oregon, Yosemite, in California and a bunch more. I would like to visit each one at some time. The lodge and services are contracted to Guest Services Inc., a Virginia company that I did some consulting for shortly after I arrived in DC. This wasn't much of a company and they still exist, which I find surprising. Just ask Sandy, she knows.
This was a nice trip. On the way down from the mountain we picnicked in a nice secluded area. I shot a bunch of pics of the mountain and surrounding geology and forests. We left the campground at 10 and returned at 4 pm, in time to feed the girls. Which made them very happy. Yes, Sandy and Karen, we went for several walks, but no dogs allowed on the hiking trails, so we found spots to roam and sniff.
I have filled up my time here so I will send more photos and information of the area and our travels in the next episode.
Bye for now.
Bruce, Molly and Digit
Link back to my "Bruce The Nomad" page.