The Last Day

I wandered down to the beach one last time yesterday.  The wind was blowing up small waves.  I picked up litter that gets blown across the beach to the side hill and is caught in the bushes.  

Rock totem

More totems near the rock pool

We're hooked on and ready to start for Port Orchard on October 1

Campers like to leave rocks on the tables.  We left a pine cone flower.

At home, the garden hasn't been hit with frost yet.  The dahlias are still blooming
madly. The birds ate the grapes on the vine but there are apples
to pick tomorrow, plus the mowing.  

The trip home takes about 4 hours
including a stop on Snoqualmie Pass
for coffee and rest stop.  Bob and
Theo were waiting on the lawn.

Stay tuned for next year, when we will be volunteer hosts in May and in August.

The Last Weekend of the Season

Friday, we picked up my friend Beverly and her friend, Jerry, who were in Plain for a John Wayne Trail Ride weekend campout with their horses.  They visited with us over dinner at our place.  When we returned to the campout, Sedona, Beverly's horse, was outside the corral. She had rolled under the electric fence, not once, but twice!  She did stay close by but Beverly had to convince her to get up and get back inside the fence.

Bear scat? Coyote?  Seen in the campground while picking up litter.

Stage coach leaving the school in Plain. (John Wayne Trail group)

Happy hour at our campsite. The wood pile is what has been left in
campsites during the burn ban.  It gets stored in our site.

Friday afternoon, we looked out across the campground and saw 7
deer on their way back apparently from the lake.  With fewer campers,
we have seen more deer but not typically in the afternoon.

The deer blend in pretty well with the surroundings.

Mule deer-the ears give them away.

When there aren't any campers coming in, we prune the vine maples.  Over the
Summer, they grow rapidly squeezing in on the tent sites and driveways.

In Plain, there is the town donkey who is stabled across from the Plain
Hardware Store and Espresso bar.  We hear he is at least 30 years old
and then some.

A rare afternoon when the lake is flat calm.

Beverly and Sedona.

The covered wagon by the road to greet the John Wayne riders.  Mom
and Dad in the seat.

Potluck dinner with good friends on Saturday night.

We loaned out an old hatchet to a group of guys who didn't bring one to
cut kindling. They made good use of it to the point of snapping the handle right
off when they hit a huge knot.

On Sunday, I had a couple of hours to spend paddling on the lake.  Next
year, I'm going to put in at Glacier View campground, 5 miles up the lake,
and paddle back to the Park.

Sunday evening was a perfect time for a beach fire.

Ahhhhhh.  When we arrived in August, the sun set directly over
Sonny's head.  Now, it is behind the mountains on the left.

Sunset.  The night sky was clear with thousands of stars.

Art work on a stump in #12.

Can't resist capturing the bright colors.

One last trip to Leavenworth for coffee and to donate all the change and
toys left behind in campsites.

59er Diner front door.  Our eggbeaters were still frozen so we drove
out to Cole's Corner for breakfast on Tuesday

My kayak is staying at a friend's house till we get back over
there to pick it up in a few weeks. 

Exploring the Nason Creek Trail

Last year, one of the Rangers passed away from a rare form of cancer.  A bench had been built in his honor so we walked along the trail to find it.

Bright yellow tree fungus

It was a little drizzely so we had our rain gear on.

"Bruce's Bench" over looking the confluence of the Wenatchee River and
Nason Creek

Hard to see the detail but this tree appeared to be a fir that had been
chewed down by a beaver. Surprising since I didn't think beavers
were fond of fir trees.

This was a much LARGER tree that the beavers had attempted some
time ago.

More Fungus with bright colors.

Wenatchee River view along the trail.

The trail passes by Group Camp where a private high school from
Skagit County was spending the weekend.

Sonny is headed for the amphitheater stage. There was only one
event there this year during our stay.  The Eclectic Cloggers from
Seattle put on a show one Saturday evening.  Budget cuts
eliminated the position in charge of scheduling Saturday night talks.

We've seen a few mushrooms, but not as many as last year when September
had several rainy days.

The ghost town of Trinity is 25 miles up into the mountains along the
Chiwawa River behind Dirty Face Peak. We had our work caught
up so we took a ride to see the sights.  

The road began as two lanes paved, then changed to 1.5 lanes of gravel
 and then a single lane.  We saw 4 deer.

Second year of bridge work.  It's an $8 M  project that 2 families, hunters
and campers can only use during the warmer months.

Headwaters of the Chewawa River

One of the 11 campsites along the road. We met the camp hosts
who travel this road every day to check the campsites, pick up litter
and garbage, clean the toilets.  Their position is a contract job
 so they are paid by Thousand Trails.

The Fall colors were beautiful even on a gray, overcast day.

Chewawa River

The barn that houses the power plant for the town.

One of the homes in the town of Trinity which once housed
300 people who were mining nickel in the 30s.

Mill pond with a paddle boat. Our friends, the caretakers, weren't home
so we only stayed a few minutes. Would liked to have learned more
about the town and its inhabitants. Such a different life to be so
isolated, especially in winter, when travel is only by
snowmobile and dog sled.

Back at the beach, the mist was heavy over the mountains.