LAKE WENATCHEE

Our family enjoyed camping at Lake Wenatchee this past weekend, located in the Wenatchee National Forest approximately 25 minutes outside the quaint Bavarian/German town of Leavenworth. We arrived Thursday night after Dale returned from work and arrived about 8:00 p.m. I called earlier that day to find out if first come first serve spots continued to be available and the office told me 8 of the 12 were still open and we should be fine if we arrived by 8:00. Dale planned on driving back the two hours to work Friday morning and joining us Friday evening for the rest of the weekend. When we arrived it became apparent all the sites had been taken. A few reservable ones remained open for Thursday, but were all full beginning Friday night for the weekend. As we sat in the middle of the road deciding what we should do, a camper came over to speak with us to see if he could help. A park ranger soon drove by and stopped to talk with us and suggested we pull into an open spot for at least Thursday night and then get up early Friday morning to see if anyone might be leaving in the first come first serve areas. The only problem before us happened to be that Dale needed to take the car back at 5:00 a.m. and the kids and I had no way of moving the camper even if a spot did open up. The camper who stopped to talk with us said that he and his friend could pull the camper to the spot we could get if one opened up. But, what if one did not open up? We had no way of moving it until Friday night after whoever reserved the spot we took Thursday evening had arrived. Once again, the camper could be pulled down to the day area if need be. So we decided we would stay and take our chances. The park ranger decided to take it upon himself to walk to each of the first come spots and ask for us if anyone was planning on leaving Friday. Sure enough, two ladies were planning on leaving by 11:00 the next morning and mentioned that we could bring our things earlier to show a presence before they left. The next morning I rounded up five more men to help me drag our camper about 100 yards to our camping spot when the park host came over and said he had a hitch on his truck and could move us. This began our weekend at Lake Wenatchee.

Friday turned into a day of moving our weekend home, taking a short walk by the river that ran into the lake, swimming, and relaxing back at camp waiting for Dale to join us. I was fighting a cold the kids had generously shared, so it turned out to be a good day for doing a lot of nothing. I usually either make food ahead of time to take with us or cook from scratch, but this trip we went pre-cooked. Dale joined us Friday night and we spent the rest of the weekend hiking and swimming with a fetal attempt to fish.

Saturday we decided to take a hike, said to be beautiful, up to a waterfall on the mountain named Dirty Face. The trailhead began at 2100 feet and climbed to 4000 feet to the top in 4.5 miles. We began too late in the day for the heat of the sun was excruciatingly hot and most of the trail was exposed to the sun. We made it up 2 miles to the waterfall and found access to the falls allusive. They could have been beautiful, but they were extremely difficult to see. The trail did not offer restful spots or decent places to pull off for a water or food break. We decided to turn around due to the heat for we had been warned that the last 1.5 miles headed straight up and a lot of scrambling needed to be done to reach the top without one bit of shade. I am sorry we did not make it for the scenery sake, but not sorry in that someone could have been seriously sick or experienced heat exhaustion it was that hot. Upon our return we changed and hit the refreshing water at the lake. That evening we enjoyed relaxing to a campfire, contributing to a round robin story, and making plans for our big family vacation soon to arrive.

Sunday we packed up early after eating breakfast so that we could explore a 2 mile round trip hike back into Hidden Lake. The road that took us to the trailhead wound along the lake providing us with views of all the private property that surrounds the lake with vacation cabins. The trail was forested and very nicely groomed. An easy hike and pleasant after the grueling and strenuous sun exposed trail we took the day before. Hidden Lake sat at the base of a mountain and provided fishing opportunities if one had the right equipment. It looks like we need to restock the fishing supplies, especially for trout. The mountains were not rugged, but nothing to laugh at either. The water was cold, but we all had taken our swimsuits, and using nature as our changing room, for there were quite a few other people there, mostly families, we enjoyed a refreshing dip in this beautiful mountain lake. After drying out, changing back into our clothes, and having some snacks we hiked back out to head back home.

Overall we had a good time because we were away from the norms of life. The lake is beautiful, the park makes for great family camping, especially with young children, but for us it tended to be a bit crowded and noisy. For a quick weekend get away to escape the heat and get to some place scenic it makes for a nice place. However, we do enjoy the more primitive areas that take us away from people, crowds, and into more serene, quiet, and peaceful areas. I'm sure we will be back to visit at some time in the future, but for our next getaway we hope to be a little more secluded.

OKANOGAN NATIONAL FOREST

Camping in the Okanogan National Forest in Washington became a memorable experience for our family. it became especially memorable with the two additional children for the weekend through the opening our home to respite through the foster care agency with whom we are licensed. 50 miles or closer to the border of Canada, the national forest is filled with creeks, rivers, lakes, and plenty of wildlife. We found a camping spot right next to a bubbling creek to which we would wake in the morning and fall asleep to at night. The water was cold from the mountain run-off, but not so cold to prevent four kids and one adult man from playing in it. The crackling of campfires at night meant stories, songs, and games after roasting hot dogs for dinner and marshmallows for s'mores. A two mile hike found us enjoying lunch by a second creek and the fun of wading as close to a small water fall as possible. A tired three year old just about fell asleep riding piggy back carried by our fourteen year old son. Being able to experience a first for these two girls, 3 and 7 who had never been camping or hiking before made this weekend extra special for our family. The laughter and giggles of a three year old and the little screams because of bugs from a seven year old provided an extra element of enjoyment. Catching a catepillar, hoping to take it home, and then being sad when she had to let it go brought back so many memories of our two children at these ages. Blowing bubbles and coloring in great big coloring books, playing bean bag games, playing tag and hide-and-go seek, and playing with our dog presented much pleasure for the whole family. I realized how nice it was to have older children to help with the younger ones. We could not have been prouder parents this weekend than we were when we watched our two kids work and play with the younger ones. They both acquire a special and tender heart towards children and it clearly come through during our respite times. The Okanogan National Forest requires much exploration with trails high up in the mountains, something the Lance family will definitely be enjoying at various times. At one moment on our hike we thought we were in the "Man from Snowy River" movies. A large herd of cattle roamed the mountains. We heard branches snapping and knew something moved through the forest, and then we saw them, the herd of cattle. That was definitely a first! The next day, sure enough, a cattle truck with horse trailers following traveled up to gather in the herd the old fashioned way...by horseback. This area would be outstanding to do some trips with horses, or llamas, or both. We'll be back...soon!