Some, Some, Summertime

With the school year winding down and a soggy spring on the wane, it was time to think about fun, frolic, fruit and fireworks. And so it was on Saturday, June 30, Paul Turcott (aka “Raoul”) and I departed for Owl Farm on the Wenatchee River (above) near Plain, Washington.

After celebrating with the Enders family in their new home in Brownsville, we proceeded to Portland to spend the night with our old friends, the Donnerbergs, in an effort to break up the 400-mile trip.

Little more than a week after celebrating the summer solstice, the weather remained miserable –- warm, but grey and wet. La Nina still held the Willamette Valley in her clutches, so the next day, we struck out due east up the Columbia Gorge on Interstate 84 in search of the elusive solar orb. As expected, we were rewarded just east of Hood River as the sun joined us for the remainder of our trip.

Continuing on, we stopped once again at a fruit stand north of Yakima for a bag of fresh cherries. Most who have traveled north on U.S. 97 in Washington will recognize the place; you can’t miss the gigantic “FRUIT/WINE” sign with 20-foot-tall lettering.

We stopped at several makeshift fireworks stands staffed by members of the Yakama Nation, who are always delighted to chat. We asked why a few stands were located just outside the reservation boundary. We were informed that these were known as “vancouvers,” or little islands of Yakama territory separated from the main plot after some Native Americans had sold their land.

In addition to organizing the place for the summer, Raoul and I drove up the Chiwawa River to the old mining community of Trinity for a bit of reconnaissance on trails into the backcountry. Thanks to a wet spring, conditions remained difficult in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, with high water creating treacherous creek crossings (above).

The upside to a wet spring, however, is a flower festival extraordinaire, as witnessed by the "lupine-palooza" (below) on display near Owl Farm at the entry to Shugart Flats.