BBQ Beach

Friday after I got all my appointments and business taken care of Otis and I jetted out of town for a paddle weekend on Lake Roosevelt.  We went to what we call BBQ beach, so named because last year we hauled out a smashed up gas BBQ grill that someone left.  It is on the Spokane Arm which does not see as much traffic as the main lake.  There were a lot of people fishing on Saturday and Sunday but few camped, at least on our side of the lake.

Short car, long boat.

When we got there I was eying that far distant line of clouds.  I watched it for about 30 minutes while I unloaded my boat.  It is probably 10-15 miles away in this photo.  I made sure I had my rain gear and a tarp on top so if I had to run for cover I could keep both of us dry.  It was slow moving so we were ok.

Otis in his normal spot.

BBQ beach with the lovely big trees, nice cover for the porta-potty (the law on the lake), and as we were to discover a very safe place in a storm with the tent pitched in just the right spot.

The water level is still low and the COE is planning to start raising it June 1st.  I was not going to take any chances though and hauled my canoe half way up the beach.

Otis was a mad man and just kept running and running.  For scale, my canoe is the white dot just above and to the left of Otis' tail midway up the beach.  Distances are very deceiving.

The clouds kept building

Swift nests in the cut-bank.

We were having weird animal things happen.  Right before this I was putting up my tarp and had the feeling that I was not alone.  I turned around and about 20 feet away was a huge wild turkey.  Then we kept getting buzzed by bald eagles.  I was sure there was at least one adult and two juveniles and they kept flying within about 30 feet of where I was standing (maybe they were cruising Otis).  Then I had just sat down to watch the clouds and heard a big ruckus in the woods and a huge splash in the lake.  I looked over and a deer had jumped in.

Then I saw why.  There were two coyotes that had chased her.  I swear they are in the picture somewhere.

Then I watched the clouds roll in some more.

Then I realized the deer had done a big arc and came up on the other side of our camp.  She stayed there through the storm.

  

And it got darker

And darker.  About five minutes later the wind started and we dove into the tent.  Evidently the wind was between 50 and 60 mph.  I had found an old fence post in the ground (remember this used to be farm and ranch land) and tied the bow of my canoe to it.  Then I carried a huge rock over and tied it to the stern line.  I was pretty sure while I listened to the wind that I would lose my boat but I was not going out to do anything about it.  The storm lasted for about an hour and we ventured out after the lightening moved far away.

And we were greeted by an amazing sunset; and a boat that only moved about a foot.

The moon was happy.  We did not see the eagles after the storm.  Right before it hit we watched one juvenile struggle to get to the top of a tree.  It was a beautiful night with some more rain and lightening but Otis slept right through it.

View from my toilet (pack it in, pack it out).

Saturday was spent paddling around the south shore.

A cool island during high water.

This is what he does the second he gets in the boat.

And this is what he did most of the time on land.

On the way back to the boat launch we ran into the eagles again.  There were two adults and 3 juveniles.  It looked like they were having a fishing lesson.  They were so amazing and a wonderful end to our weekend.

Coming up for Air

Not quite a month after my last post my father Earl passed away.  I made another trip back to Illinois.  For the second time in three months I was saying goodbye to another member of my inner circle.  Three are gone, three are left.  Too say it has been difficult has been an understatement.  My brain, the way it works, the chemicals that make it fire and the neuropathways have changed.  There was a short period of time around Christmas where I was certain that I was close to being hospitalized.  I couldn't think, concentrate, initiate, sleep, wake up, or stick to one task for more than about 2 seconds.  My life was consumed by just trying to keep from losing my job.  Then I finally got in to a good doctor who explained to me that stress and trauma literally cause damage to the brain.  Then he gave me the right medication and directed me to neuro rehab.  Then I needed a project.  I bought a van and named her Petal.

For years I have loved camping in the winter but I am turning into a sissy in my old age.  I would frequently take Nancy's suburban out in the winter but I could not cook in it when it was wicked out and I had to crawl or walk on my knees to get around in it.  So I found an old Spokane Transit van that had been donated to the Union Gospel Mission Motor sales.  She is 1991 GMC 15 passenger Rally Van with a grand total of 124,000 miles.  She is huge and she is just what I needed to help me get my mind back and actually have something to be interested in and help focus on the future.

The first thing was to get the seats and carpet out.  What a bitch.  Some of them came out ok with me under the van with a wrench and Nancy inside with a socket wrench and some of them were a bit more stubborn.  I learned how to use an angle grinder.  I had to use it on all but two seats.  The carpet was in good shape but I hate carpet so I pulled it out.  There was good insulation under the carpet so I left it.

The last seat was the hardest and I had to leave part of the seat frame because I would have had to drop the gas tank to get to the bolts.  I could not get the angle grinder in there to get them from the top.

Once I got the seats and carpet out and cleaned up the top of the insulation I started getting rid of the seat belts (there were a lot of them and they were not that easy to deal with).  I patched the bolt holes on the top and bottom with silicone.

Then I put in a new OSB sub floor.

I got a scrap of linoleum and made a template out of newspaper.  I was able to cut it out in the warmth of the house.

It fit almost perfectly,

Then I added furniture.  I still have to replace the dressers on the right with wooden ones like the left.  I have them ready to go but just have not had time.  I built the bed with storage underneath and there is a crate behind the driver's seat for my buddy Otis.

When we have shore power I use an electric heater and lamp.  When not, I have a propane heater made for indoors and candle lanterns and rechargeable lights.  I hook the heater to a bulk tank and run the hose out the window.  When it is really cold I can cover the windows with bubble foil insulation.  I can cook in it if I need to but usually cook outside.  I always leave windows open for ventilation when using propane.  The heater has a low oxygen sensor and I also use a CO2 and smoke detector.  I have a tarp set-up but am in the process of making it better.

Otis loves Petal.  Our first camping trip in the van was to Riverside State Park.  Totally cozy.  It was nice to have light and warmth when it got dark at 4:00pm.

We had very little snow this year so there was no skiing or snowshoeing for me.

We did have a lot of fog in January.  Our first "long drive" trip was to Steamboat Rock.  It was foggy.  We didn't care.

We had taken quite a few trips down to the river but the trip that really started to help the fog lift was taken in February on the eleventh anniversary of Morgan's death.  The sun was out and hot, the sky had just a few clouds (except for a 20 minute cloud burst), and we were out in the wide open spaces of the Columbia Basin at Dry Falls.  The night was clear and we saw quite a few shooting stars and Otis and I got in some good hiking.

Otis was very tired.

On the way home we drove through the rest of the Grand Coulee and checked out the Lenore Caves.  There are more across the river that I want to check out sometime too.  I counted six but I know there are more than that.  Some are hard to find and not really big.  They are really just deep rock shelters up on the cliffs above the river.  It was pretty amazing.

Looking down the Grand Coulee

Looking down on where we were just looking down the Grand Coulee.  The size of this place is mind blowing.

I have a couple of adventures planned for the summer but I think we are just going to go with the wind.  I have a friend with some great property on the top of a mountain that we have been to a few times this spring so I think we will do that again.  It is totally private, quiet and free.  I also hope to do some paddling and some backpacking if my knee can handle it.  The days have been dark and harsh but finally I feel like I am coming up for air.  And I am gulping it into my lungs.