2014 Campground hosts: Camp Activities

(Apologies for the formatting issues with this blog)

On Wednesday, we drove into Leavenworth for lunch with our friends, the Sillanpaas. The air was clear of smoke so Leavenworth was a bustle of visitors. We walked along Front Street window shopping and did a wine tasting before heading back to camp. Thursday, we had to do the household chores like laundry and groceries. The Headwaters Tavern in Midway has half price pizza on special so with the Sillanpaas, we joined another couple from Plain there for dinner. The Tavern is the local gathering watering hole so the place was boisterous even though different teams were playing football this week. We adjourned to our campsite to visit around the citronella candle flame.

The campground was full for the weekend so the evening was noisy. Things settled down for the most part around 11 PM. At 2:30 AM, there was a pounding on the door. An upset camper came to alert us about the loud family in 41. Sonny donned his Volunteer vest and went to investigate. The campers responded that they would settle down but the next morning we learned that the raucous went on till 4 AM when the disruptive party finally drove away. The Ranger and the Park staff got an ear full from other campers so #41 was told to vacate by 11:30 AM. There were tears and promises that the offending party had left so could they please stay. Their desire was granted by the Ranger and we held our breath that there wouldn't be another sleepless night. However, at 4:30 in the afternoon, we noticed that, after spending the day on the beach, they had packed up and drove off. Sigh of relief. We have been fortunate that rarely is the camp peace disrupted.

But, the aura of #41 didn’t end there. A family arrived from Wyoming late that evening. It was dark and they missed the directional road signs so they went the wrong way and set up in #41 backwards, meaning their vehicle was on the tent pad and their camper was in the parking pad. Plus, they had come a day early and since their site was occupied, they just took #41. They told us this morning how different it is in Wyoming. “In the State Parks, there”, she said “campers can put up tents anywhere and dig a fire pit wherever they want it”. We were surprised at that and having been to Yellowstone many times, we weren’t allowed to camp just anywhere. The family is now settled into their site and hopefully, after some sleep, they will enjoy themselves.

Sonny and I were challenged by my niece, Kim Boyle, to do the Ice Bucket Challenge which we did on the beach early this evening while it was still warm. I’ll see if I can load the video.

We were up early Saturday morning to help with parking
fishing boats but very few showed up so we
went into Plain for breakfast at the Cafe.

Saturday night, we went to the "Moon Festival" in the Plain Hardware Store
parking lot. Two bands pumped out Bluegrass and Jamaican tunes. Here's the
"Uphill Both Ways Band".
I loved watching the dads dancing with their daughters. It was a great
people watching event and I even got in a couple of dances, too.

The festival was a fund raiser
for the Chelan County Fire
Department. Funds raised were to
be given to Fire fighters and
State Police who lost their homes
in the Pateros fire this summer. The owner
of the 59er Dinner donated milkshakes for
an auction. This little girl won one of the $100
shakes!

The truck turned on the sirens and lights for children
whose parents donated $20 each.

Sillanpaa's rig next door.

Sillanpaas getting ready to head back to Seattle

Local garden on the corner of Rt 2 and Rt 207. You can still buy
wood but the burn ban is still on.

We remember when this place was just a rock pile. Over the years, they
have created a beautiful landscape. This is a miner's cabin with
a brook running through the rocks.