2008 Lake Chelan Camping Extravaganza

This year's LCCE had several firsts: first time we went this late in July, first time we only had three families, and first time we saw mice at LCSP (some closer than others, right Kelly?). We had great weather with high's in the 90's. Our new camp sites provided plenty of shade for relief from the blazing Eastern Washington sun. We had a great time as usual. Our time was spent playing at the beach, relaxing at camp, geocaching while getting firewood, and I even went out exploring a nearby Forest Service road. Not being real big on sitting and baking in the sun, I went on a drive up the lake and west across Shady Pass Road (narrow dirt/rock Forest Service Road connecting Lakeshore Drive and Entiat River Road). I stopped approximately 15 miles up the road at the site of a former forest fire lookout tower called Junior Point at an elevation of 6650 feet. Click on the picture below for more pictures from our camping trip.

2008 Lake Chelan Camping Extravaganza

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Listening to: Raconteurs - Old Enough
via FoxyTunes

Alta Lake Camping Trip

Garrett and I had so much fun camping with Kaelen and his dad, Mike, at Alta Lake State Park last June, that we decided to make it a family trip this year. We left Friday afternoon and got to the campground about 6pm. The Simpson's had arrived about an hour earlier and found a spot for us. After getting unpacked and set up, we had a nice relaxing evening.

Saturday morning after breakfast, we went for a hike to the top of the ridge overlooking the campground just like we did last year. This year it was a little warmer. After the hike we went to the swimming beach to cool off and keep cool in the afternoon with the daytime temperature approaching 100 degrees. While at the beach, I recognized someone that was a grade behind me in middle and high school that I haven't seen in over 10 years. After spending the afternoon at the beach we had a nice dinner and relaxing evening.

Sunday morning we packed up after breakfast. The Simpson's were going to stop and watch a movie in Leavenworth and we decided to take a different way home. We took Hwy 153 to Hwy 20, the North Cascades Highway. It was a beautiful drive through an area we had never been before. We saw lots of great sites that makes us eager to return and explore more. It was another fun camping trip with friends. Click on the picture below to see more pictures.

Alta Lake, June 2008

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Listening to: LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
via FoxyTunes

Olympic National Park

We spent the first week in August exploring the north and northwest area of Olympic National Park. We spent six nights camping at Fairholm Campground at the west end of Lake Crescent. Each day we drove to a different area and went hiking. We visited the Sol Duc River valley, Hurricane Ridge, the South Fork of the Hoh, the Elwha River valley, and the Lake Crescent area. We had a great time and were lucky to have great weather the whole week. Below are links to some pictures we took.

Olympic Peninsula trip

Lover's Lane Loop Trail - Sol Duc Valley

Hurricane Ridge / Hurricane Hill

South Fork of the Hoh Trail

Geyser Valley Loop - Elwha River Valley

Marymere Falls

Alta Lake Camping Trip

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I must not have done anything significant since I finished our master bathroom. Last weekend, Garrett and I went camping with Garrett's best friend, Kaelen, and his dad Mike at Alta Lake State Park (approx. 30 miles north of Chelan in central Washington). It was my first time visiting this park and I was pleasantly surprised. It is a very nice park and there was hardly anyone staying there last weekend. The highlight of the trip was hiking to the top of a bluff overlooking the lake. The top of the bluff is approximately 1000 feet above the campground. We capped off the weekend by watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3 in Leavenworth on the way home. We had so much fun, that we have decided to make it a yearly trip. Click on the picture below to see more photos.

Alta Lake, June 2007