Cascades to Grand Coulee

We spent two nights in the Cascades. Taking the advice of our guidebook, we stopped at the park information center in one of the little towns and got the lowdown and maps. This ended up being very good advice, because there isn’t a formal entrance station or kiosk to the park. This park, much like Olympic National Park, is mostly wilderness. Lots of trails, and only one road that bisects the park into a big chunk and a small one. The road actually doesn’t go through the park per se at all. It follows the Skagit River, passes three dams, and is designated “recreation area”. We stayed in Colonial Creek Campground. It sits right on Diablo Lake, and our campsite had the lake in front and Thunder Creek running alongside. It was easy walk to the gravel beach to launch the kayaks. The lake is very scenic, vivid green, lined with pine trees, rocky cliffs, and snow-topped mountains looming above it all. Yesterday morning when we went out, there was still fog on the lake and in the valleys between the mountains. Very cool to paddle in. There was only about 25 yards visibility—you went from smooth, dark water into the mist—paddling behind Steve, it looked like he was going to drop off the edge of the earth. It would have made a perfect cover for Kayak magazine. There is a lot to explore in this area—some great-looking trails, and lots more paddling; but Steve did something to his back so we weren’t able to do all the things we wanted to. Yet another place to come back to! Yesterday, we took a very short paddle, then loaded up the kayaks and headed east on Highway 20 over the Cascades. We camped near the summit on the eastern slope, about 12 miles from the town of Twisp, where we stopped to do laundry and grocery shop. Then, this morning, we drove to Grand Coulee, and found one of the few spots left in the Spring Canyon NFS Campground on Roosevelt Lake, about three miles east of the dam on the south side of the lake. Steve’s back is much better today; the kayaks are off the RV and ready to go.

The scenery and temperatures are very different from where we’ve been. No more rain, fog, moss, or damp. The terrain and vegetation looks very similar to Utah’s mountains—quite dry, lots of sage, not many trees. In fact, looking out the RV window I am reminded of Jordanelle or Rockport reservoirs. There is a nice sandy beach here, and the water is quite warm, also very different from where we’ve been—the ocean and all the lakes we’ve paddled so far have only been about 48 degrees—not at all appealing for swimming. While paddling yesterday on Diablo Lake, I got grounded on a sand bar and had to get out of my kayak and pull it to deeper water. My feet were aching and numb, even though I only waded ankle-deep for less than 10 yards!

We plan to stay here for two or three days, then move on. Our tentative next stop is the state park on Moses Lake. I hope to meet up with my friend and fellow quilter, Jo Roman, who lives in the town of Moses Lake. We met through Quilts of Valor—she machine quilts all the quilts I piece for servicemen and women wounded in Iraq, and has also quilted some of my “keeper” quilts. We’ve gotten to know each other through email; it will be fun to meet face-to-face.