Lake Wenatchee Musings, Continued

Wednesday, July 2

KD is letting us sleep a little longer now. She is content to lie on my bed and let me scratch her as we both fall asleep again and again. I wake up when she dreams that she is chasing squirrels and starts whimpering and flexing her legs. She snores, too.

We had our normal breakfast. I am beginning to understand the nuances of our pressed coffee pot. We still get some grounds in our cups, but it's not as bad as the first few tries.

I lazed around and read while Ann continued to organize the beach and trail to the beach. She took KD to Windy Point to make some phone calls while I watched the clothes washer. As soon as I put the clothes in the drier, I took the car to Plain to get some groceries. I bought a few things on our list, but I wasn't able to find any fresh fruit or vegetables in Plain or at the Parkside Grocery. I discovered that the Plain Grocery has free wireless internet. We could even park outside at night and connect to email. It was too hot today to do that so I joined another shopper at a table inside and did all of my internet duties.

I got back to the cabin in time to eat lunch. Then a friend of Ann's arrived. While they were having a chat, I changed into my cycling clothes and went for a ride. My route was up the main road on the north shore to the site of the old Cougar Inn, back along the old north shore road, out the Chiwawa Loop Road to Plain and back to the cabin along the main roads. A lot of the rode was in the shade, but the parts of it that weren't were very hot. There was some construction going on on the Chiwawa Loop with flaggers stopping traffic. That gave me some time to rest and drink water.

Back at the cabin, I showered and rested for a while while Ann and her friend continued to chat. For dinner, I made spaghetti. I used some Paul Newman tomato and garlic sauce with some ground beef and onions that I sauteed beforehand. We also had toasted hamburger buns and avocados with cherry tomatoes. I did this while Ann and her friend continued to chat.

It was nice not having to do the dishes tonight. Because I cooked, it was Ann's turn to do the dishes. It worked out well, because she and her friend washed and dried as they continued to chat.

After Ann's friend left, we had some down-time to relax and read. I finished my third book of the trip and began the fourth. It was bedtime before 10:00.

Thursday, July 3

Lots of lightning woke us up this morning. The storm rolled through quickly and we were able to sleep until nearly 7:00. The wind had picked up, cooling the temperature and raising the humidity. After breakfast, we took KD up to Hidden Lake again. This time I used my GPS to get some statistics. The loop up the lake trail, up the old Hidden Lake trail, down the new Hidden Lake trail and back to the cabin along the road was 3 1/3 miles with total elevation gain of 450 feet.

Ann made several cell phone calls to her sibs to plan the Fourth of July weekend. Calls were more reliable from Windy Point. AT&T and its affiliates are very weak at the cabin. After her calls, we drove into Leavenworth. While Ann shopped at Safeway, I sat with Ruth. Then we took her up to the cabin for the afternoon. There was a mild down-lake breeze  and a slight overcast which kept the temperature down and most of the mosquitos at bay. Ann made applesauce cake which Ruth and I lazed. After a simple dinner of leftover spaghetti, Cheryl came by, picked of Ruth  and drove her home.

John and June arrived at the cabin after 8:00 with a trove of food including salmon that John had just caught in Alaska. We had a good chat with them until 10:00 when we all retired for the night.

Friday, July 4

We all were up around 7:00 this morning. Ann talked John into starting a fire in the stove even though the temperature was in the 60's. It was the first fire that we've had since we have been here. I was the breakfast cook this morning. We had blueberry pancakes and fried spam. (It's better than it sounds). After the rest of the crew finished the dishes, we walked up to Hidden Lake via the main road and the new trail. When we got to the top, we continued around the lake to the water fall which was flowing very fast. Then it was down the old trail and back to the cabin via the lake trail. June decided to continue on to what she called the cabin loop. John took a nap. Ann started cooking. I sat and read.

For lunch, John and I had leftover spaghetti and cherry pie that Shu Min had made and sent up with John and June. Cheryl arrived with Ruth and dropped her off for the holiday with her family.

Bruce and Dawn arrived a little later and we all sat around and chatted for awhile. Ann and John got restless and decided to go down to the lake for some trail maintenance. Soon after, Bruce and Dawn went for a walk. June was writing a paper on her laptop while Ruth and I were sitting around and gazing at the lake.  Ruth started to get anxious and was worried about how she would get home. June recognized a potential problem with this a began to read "Sex, Death and Fly Fishing" out loud to her. We did this as a relay until Ann and John came back.

We got a real laugh when Bruce and Dawn came back. They said that they met some people up the trail who asked them if they had seen the Tree Mover. After thinking about it for awhile, Bruce realized that they were talking about John who had taken pivy pole to clear logs from the trail. The people were amazed that one person could move trees and "what was that tool"? John is now known as the Tree Mover.

For dinner, John grilled salmon that he just caught in Alaska. We also had a green salad, rice pilaf and coleslaw. Dessert was applesauce cake that Ann had baked the day before. Of course, we also had several bottles of wine.

As we were getting ready to do the dishes, the lights started to blink. Then they went off. We got a phone call from Cheryl who was coming to pick up Ruth. She was stopped near Camp Zanika by the firemen because a tree had fallen over the power line and started a small fire. The road was blocked so she couldn't get through. We sat around in the cabin playing recall games in the candlelight until 10:00 when Cheryl finally arrived and picked up Ruth for the ride home. Power still wasn't restored so we all went to bed leaving the dirty dishes in the sink.

Around 11:00, power came up and all of the lights turned on. Ann and I scurried around, turned them all off and went back to bed.

Saturday, July 5

It was blueberry pancakes and fried spam for six this morning, although Dawn slept in - she had trouble sleeping last night. She was probably dreaming about the tree mover.

Ann, June, John and I took KD to Hidden Lake - up the new trail and down the old one. When we got home, Ann and John took the canoe uplake and up the Little Wenatchee River. Bruce and Dawn went for a spin in the Kayaks. June worked on an article that she is going to publish while I read and dog sat.

Bruce and Dawn left mid-afternoon.The rest of us did our own cabin things until dinner time. I cooked some teriyaki-marinated pork loins on the grill. We also had a green salad, garlic bread, rice pilaf, applesauce cake and wine.

It was early to bed after a nice relaxing day.

Lake Wenatchee Musings

Friday, June 27

We got up early at the Bend Shilo Inn so that we could get on the road and be at Lake Wenatchee at a reasonable hour. We ate in shifts because someone had to stay with the dog. The continental breakfast was pretty basic, but we got enough to eat to get us to lunch. We packed up, gassed up ($4.33/gal.) and got on the road at 8:30. Nuvi said that we would be in Leavenworth at 2:30, so we had plenty of time. Traffic was light but we did run into some slowpokes and had to wait in line to pass them.

The bridge at Biggs is now open. A sign says that it will be closed again after Labor Day. We got there around 11:00. Our first stop was at the Subway at Goldendale where we got a large sandwich to go. Our next stop was at the Greek Monastery where we bought baklava and Greek cookies for our dessert. We ate lunch in the shade in the Monastery's parking lot. Before we left, Ann went into the store and bought some frozen Greek pasta called pasticcio for our dinner.

The rest of our drive was uneventful. We got to Leavenworth around 3:00. While Ann visited with her mother and Scotty, I went into town to buy some water bottles for my bicycle. I left my old ones at home. I am getting into a habit of doing this. I think that my subconscious is telling me to buy new water bottles after 5 or 6 years. I also filled up with gas ($4.33/gal.) and bought a bunch of food at Safeway to take to the cabin.

We got to the cabin around dinner time. We were swarmed by mosquitos as soon as we opened the car doors. It was as though they were alerted that we were coming. We managed to unload the car without too many bites. The weather outside was fairly warm, but it was cool enough to turn on the furnace when we got inside.

The cabin looks the same. The old outhouse is being converted into a bunkhouse. It has a long way to go and I will be surprised if it is ready for the Morton clan in mid-July. There is a new shed between the bunkhouse and the cabin near the creek. It is open on one side and has a locked door on another side. I don't know the logic behind this except that the open side might be closed off later.

We had the Greek pasticcio for dinner along with sauteed zucchini and fochaccio bread. It was bedtime at 10:00.

Saturday, June 28

KD was ready to get up with the sun. It starts getting light a little after 4:00. We settled her down a got a little more sleep between the upstairs clock radio turning on at 5:27 and the cell phone making static noises on the radio downstairs. We were sleeping downstairs because it is easier to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It was cold enough so that we turned on the furnace to get a heat burst that would last us the rest of the day.

Our plan was to fuss around the cabin today and then go down to Leavenworth to spend the night. I was going to ride my bicycle while Ann would drive the car. We were to meet at the Leavenworth house at 5:00. I decided not to ride because the temperature was forecasted to be near 100. So, after breakfast (I cooked French toast to try to put a dent on the 3 dozen eggs in the refrigerator) we smeared on Jungle Juice and went for a walk up to Hidden Lake. We couldn't find the trail head for the new trail, so we walked up the old trail. When we got to the top, I threw a few sticks into the lake for KD so that she could cool off. Then we walked down the new trail to try to waypoint it for the next hike.

I spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading while the energizer bunny kept busy doing her lake chores. We left the cabin at 4:25 and drove down to Leavenworth. The weather prediction was right. It was in the upper 90's when we got there. Ruth's air conditioning was a real pleasure.

We had leftover pasticcio and zucchini for dinner along with angel food cake with strawberries and ice cream for dessert. I did some more Safeway shopping after dinner while Ann got Ruth ready for bed. Bedtime for us was before 10:00.

Sunday, June 29

KD and I got a solid night's sleep. She was tired from so much exercise at the lake the day before.  I found some old Peet's coffee in the cupboard and brewed it. Along with some good cantaloupe from Safeway, I found some granola and toast for a good, normal breakfast. Ann was also up and was puttering around until her mother would be ready to get up. Her wake-up time is after 10:00 so there was plenty of time to putter.

I loaded the car and then hopped onto my bicycle at about 8:30 for a ride up the Chumstick to the cabin. My route was through Plain and then onto the Chiwawa loop. Most of the ride was in the shade, so I kept cool. I stopped at the Midway Village on the Chiwawa at its cafe. I talked briefly to another cyclist who was just leaving. He was staying on the north shore and was doing loops along the Chiwawa to Plain and back on the main road. I went into the store and ordered some iced coffee. I had to wait until they brewed more of their Seattle Best blend. I went outside to drink it. I talked to one of the owners, a grandmotherly type who was holding her very young great granddaughter. She said that her daughter (or granddaughter - I can't remember which) had moved there from Fairfax, CA. All of the women were running the Village enterprises. I also met a realtor from Leavenworth who was taking his first day off in a couple of months. He was riding his motorcycle on a loop from Plain where he lives. He started our conversation by asking me how presta valves work. He had been given a nice mountain bicycle that had tubes with presta valves and couldn't understand how they worked. During our conversation, I found out that the condo market is oversold in Leavenworth, the Boulder condos in Leavenworth are very well built, waterfront homes on the north shore at Lake Wenatchee go for $13,000 per front foot while the south shore homes go for $11,000, etc.

The other important thing that I learned at Midway was that it has free wireless internet connection.

I got to the cabin at 11:30, took a shower and fixed a tuna fish sandwich. It was warming up at the lake, so I lazed inside, reading and napping until Ann showed up with her mother. It was an uneventful afternoon. We spent a lot of time watching the lake and remarking about the lack of wind and the abundance of mosquitos. We drove Ruth back to Leavenworth via Tumwater Canyon. The river is very high because of the snow melt precipitated by the hot weather. It was in the high 90's in Leavenworth.

Cheryl was not due until 7:30, so we dropped KD off at the house and went over to Krystal's for dinner. While munching on our deluxe hamburgers, we had a nice chat with Gary Phippen who had stopped in to get take-out dinner. (Gary and Linda own Krystal's and are old school friends of Ann and Ellen). We got back to the house just in time to meet Cheryl. Then Ann, KD and I drove back to the lake via the Chumstick. It was bedtime at 10:00, just after sunset.

Monday, June 30

KD tried to get us up again at sunrise. We resisted. When the sun got a little higher, we saw an ominous sight on the window screens - hundreds of mosquitos hanging on the mesh. It was a scene from Alfred Hitchcock or Steven King. Very creepy.

After breakfast, we covered up and doused ourselves with deet and took off up the lake trail to Hidden Lake.  We noticed that the lake had risen quite a bit in the past two days. We were still looking for the trail head for the new trail. We cut up the hill near the last cabins and eventually found the main road. We must have turned the wrong direction, though, because the trail head did not appear. We decided to take an unmarked trail in order to intercept the new trail. After going for a couple of hundred yards, the unmarked trail disappeared and the hoards of mosquitos appeared. We turned around, found the lake trail and walked back to the cabin. No Hidden Lake today.

I spent the rest of the day inside while the energized bunny did her thing outside - swimming, canoeing, maintaining trails, etc. I finished my second book of the trip. In the late afternoon we took a ride over to Midway to get some sour cream, eat some ice cream and to hook up to the internet. It is a strange experience to sit outside at a store in the woods where it's 90 degrees and read through 200 emails.

Fo dinner Ann made a delicious potato salad that had purslane (Google it) in it. We got it from Full Belly Farms. She also opened some canned salmon (Tom's?) to go with it. After dinner, we read for a while watching thunderheads roll by. We saw some lightning and heard thunder. No fires, though, and the wind didn't pick up much.

We then took KD out for her evening constitutional. This was a mistake. The mosquito swarm was waiting for us. I got about a dozen bites before I sprinted back into the cabin. It was suggested that I ignore the itching and it would go away by the next morning. I was willing to be more proactive and escape to places that have no bugs. I didn't express this out loud, though.

I didn't touch the bites and was able to get to sleep before 10:00.

Tuesday, July 1

I was told that mosquitos are gone from the lake after June. Well, it's July today and they are still here. I have to admit, though, that the quantity is less.

We decided to bundle up with long sleeves and pants, smear on the deet and take the garbage up the road to the dumpster this morning and walk down the main road to find the new Hidden Lake trail head. It worked. We found it and walked up to the lake. KD chased a few sticks in the water and we met a lady with three young boys who are staying in one of the cabins nearer to Glacier View than we are. We have been walking past the cabin each day. They have a couple of Seadoos and a bunch of other water toys.

Ann called Scotty from Windy Point and asked her to bring Ruth up to the cabin for a late lunch. We spent most of the afternoon chatting with them.

Dinner tonight was potato salad and apple sausages. After dinner the wind picked up a little and we heard thunder in the far distance. This time when I took KD out before bedtime, I put on long pants, long sleeves, a hat and a towel wrapped around my neck and head. I survived the mosquitos.