Methow Valley

Here I sit in the shade of a variety of tall trees beside the bank of the Methow River in the nice little town of Twisp Washington. The morning is just great. I have already made friends of two old bikers from Point Townsend, Washington and a couple from Wenatche. The couple from Wenatche are heading home from the Rythym and Blues Concert held over the weekend in Twisp, or was it in Wintrop? I am not sure.
Last night I camped for free at Leader Lake. It was not free by virtue of my skipping out from paying. It is intended to be free. As I was looking at the map, I say this lake very near Okanagon, Washington, beside the road that I would travel. Little did I know that it was free and a very nice lake. It is manmade to supply water to the are apple growers.
As I pulled in to the lake, I spotted some people with a dog. I asked what the deal is with the lake. She said it is free and you can camp whereever you want. She recommended the other side from where we were. After more conversation about letterboxing and huckleberries, I set up camp where she suggested.
As I was pulling into the spot, a young lad showed interest in my kayaks. His mom came closer to prevent him from becoming a pest to me. I assured her that he was not a pest. I offered to take him kayaking. It seemed his dad was ready to leave, and would not be able to. I suggested we all go kayaking since I had four boats. His dad said they could stay longer, but he declined to go. So. AJ, Diana, Bandit and myself went kayaking for about an hour. There were turtles, osprey, geese, ducks and much more.
When I returned to my camping spot, a Mexican couple were fishing right where I was camped. They spoke very little English. I got a beer and a lawn chair for myself and sat near them to watch. I sensed they were skeptical of me, but after I disarmed them by trying to remember all my Spanish, they accepted me. I said such things as cinco de mayo, senor, gracias and more. I think they were very impressed with my bilingual skill. It could have been that they liked when the wife caught a fish, I would take it from the hook. This allowed the husband to keep fishing and cast his line where his wife had hooked her fish. Men are still men in every culture.
Today, I plan to snoop around the rest of the Mehow. I wish I had much more time than the one day I set aside to spend here. It is a very nice place, indeed.
If I find another spot with reception, I will update you again later today. Bandit says hi.
Kayak Bandit