Saturday Sep 16, 2023 - A day on the Columbia River

Oh boy, Deb is excited for today. She grew up on Lake Ontario and now living in Arizona she has no water / beach / boating opportunities but today she gets it all.

Good sleeping in the van (as always) and Todd and April made a nice eggs and bacon breakfast. More catching up and then we all hopped in the truck with their boat in tow (and their dog Brandy who was the most excited to chase tennis balls at the lake).

We stopped for salt water taffy on the way (local tradition) and went the short drive to the Hunter Boat Launch on the Columbia River behind the Grand Coulee Dam. This reservoir is huge and there were lots of other trucks and boat trailers in the parking lot. Todd was thinking it was the open day of sturgeon fishing. We did not see that many boats on the water so he thought they may all be north in the lake which goes up another 30-40 miles. After getting the boat with our lunch and beach stuff and refreshments into the water, we headed south in the lake and Todd found a nice sandy beach with nobody nearby. We swam and tried to wear the dog out with the tennis balls. Brandy is a chocolate lab so loves loves loves to retrieve tennis balls. I think she swam a few miles today.

The water was actually very pleasant temperature wise and we spent a few hours in the sun on the beach on and in the water.

Then back to the launch, unload the boat and head back to their camp as the sun went down.

Todd and April’s friends, Alyssa, Riley, and their kids Mila, and Desmond (3rd & 5th grade) and dog Ranger came to spend the night and it was great to see their young family. They came for the weekend and were helping tomorrow cut and split wood for the upcoming ski season. They have a ski area just over the hill called 49 North that is a small local area and they all spend a tremendous amount of time up here in the winter. Todd said he skis about 40 days a season.

Alyssa and Riley brought Mexican food from Spokane where they live and we had a great night with the kids around the propane camp fire (they have fire restrictions due to the dry season). Great star gazing and getting to know our new friends.

We retired to the van and everyone else crashed inside the “ski dorm”. The three dogs were all tired as well so a good day was had by all.

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