Camping at McDonald Lake

My dad loved to fish. He would often spend the day working in the fields until just before sunset and head to the river to catch a walleye or northern. I never did enjoy the fishing as much as my dad. I suppose no one could. The mold was broken when he was born.
I said I did not enjoy fishing as much as my dad. That does not mean I had less fun on a fishing trip. Some of my antics probably disappointed my dad. I know he loved to tell the stories of his conquests to family and friends. I rarely stayed at my fishing post and caught as many as expected. Dad would flail the water until there was total darkness. Not me.
Nonetheless, I was often part of his fishing adventures. I would eagerly help load the car with our supplies. I would help get the boat into the water. One trip did not include the rest of our family. And, it was overnight. My dad and I were joined in our fishing camping trip by a family friend of my dad's. I think it was Leonard White.
This trip was really fun. Dad had made arrangements to camp next to McDonald Lake in a pasture. We were within walking distance of a regular campground about a quarter mile away. But, the campground probably cost more than we could afford. So, here we were, camped where you had to be careful where you stepped or your shoe would smell for a long time. The place had what I wanted. I could go for a stroll up into the trees and return with an armful of firewood. The lush green grass was a guarantee that a fire would not spread.
Dad went out fishing many times and left me at the campsite. Perfect with me be cause I could move about. Sitting in a boat was way to restrictive for me. I remember the pots and pans from moms kitchen. I remember the jars of produce from our pantry. This is the likely place that I learned to appreciate a personal fire. If you built a large fire, it was of little use for anything except warming one side of your body at a time. But, if you controlled your fire, you could move the fire aside enough to expose the coals. Then you could rest a pan on these coals.
I am sure dad caught many fish on this trip. I started figuring out some of life's important truths. The chief lesson was "More is not necessarily better".
KB

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