Saturday, August 20, 2011

Washington State, and a Couple More RV Camps.

We left Lake Pend Oreille, pulling west toward Anacortes. Made a couple of short hauls. Not really in any hurry.

Just to the west and in to Washington State, not too far is Kettle Falls. It sits in a location where the indians historically came to fish for Salmon at the falls... 'course, you can't do that any more, since we built a dam across the Columbia and the Salmon haven't been able to get up here, ever since...

Seems like all those do gooders would have pushed for some sort of fish ladders to restore the Salmon fishery... so they'd have something to eat... BEFORE they pushed to replace the Bears and such... wouldn't you? yeah well... just sayin'... it'd be a whole lot easier to feed those stinkin' bears... with less conflict... if their natural food stock was there first... just sayin...

So... anyhoo... spent a pair of nights in a no communication camp, nice as it was, called Canyon Creek...

*Canyon Creek near Kettle Falls, Washington*
Probably would have stayed there longer... but... what can I say... I'm needful of signal for my "work" :)

We did do a little prowling around the Roosevelt National Recreation area along the Columbia River...

*Above the Columbia River, where it flows through Roosevelt Nat. Rec. Area*


This NW country is a Boaters paradise. Huge lakes... Rivers that are backed up for 150 miles and more of navigable water... If you're a boater, Washington and Idaho seem like the place to be.

But... I don't have a boat... 'leastways not now! ;) so we rolled on...

Stopped for lunch in a campground called Bonaparte Recreation area, just west of Wauconda.

Now, the only reason we could stop there, is 'cause we knew it was there, from a previous trip. What the hell is the deal with the State map makers? Not ONE state map I've picked up in the last few years, has ANY National Forest Camps on it any more. What Gives?

Are they that mercenary, they're just trying to push everyone into the State Park systems they do publish? Makes me do just the opposite from pure obstinacy. I know that there's NF camps... so I go through the gymnastics of finding 'em... doin' NF searches on the computer etc...

My bet is, if they'd just put 'em on the stinkin' maps... we'd STILL be spending our dollars in their gas stations, their grocery, hardware, restaurants etc... just pretty short sighted on the map makers part, from where I sit.

So... after lunch I rolled the rig west a bit further. I was looking for a quiet place to set up and just work for several days, so I kept lookin' till we were passin' a sign for Loup Loup Campground on top of Loup Loup Summit.... and whipped it in here, since the phone said 3G! HooYa! ... Pathetic, huh?

*Loup Loup Campground Near Twisp Washington*

'course, as soon as we left the pavement and dropped into the campground... it went to "No Service".... arrrrgggghhhh! :) turns out there is... but weak and pretty unstable... only works 'cause I've got that cellular amplifier... and that would work better if that tree hadn't ripped the antennae off the roof back down in Idaho a few months ago...

I'm really gonna have to replace that! The lil' magnetic 'back up' just don't do a very good job. :)

This is such a quiet and nice looking camp, and still dry camp, so I'm thinkin' at $6 bucks a night for me, I'm unlikely to spend much effort hunting up a full boondock camp. Seems pretty fine right here.


 Good sun, workable signal, not too far to a lil' town for fresh beer... It'll do.

Maybe if I dig some discipline out of where ever I got it stored at, I can get that big new suspense Novel finished up here! :) That'd make for a fine Fall!

The thing I've found about a lot of this NW country, is, it's gonna take a guy a bit more scouting to find a good Boondock camp, of the sort I prefer. Open views, good sun and reasonable access back to the pavement for my Motorcycle! :)

It seems that the only "Open" stuff around here is the private land where the owner has thinned out the trees. If it be Federal Land... it's just thick.

The National Forest, since they shut off logging, and maintained their attempts at fire prohibition, has just gone to dark, closed canopy, overgrown thickets. Hard to set anything larger than a pup tent in a lot of it.

Kinda sad when you roll through a town that used to be a prosperous logging town... and they're now trying to make a living off of a couple of gas stations and a casino... from the travelers rolling through...

... and when you look up at the mountains, that sierra club and wilderness soh-sigh-uh-tee squal that the loggers destroyed... you can't SEE the mountain... it's covered with trees!... hmmmm.... curiouser and curiouser.

Kinda like politics I guess... It just swings from one crazy extreme... straight on over to the other... with little time in the makes-a-bit-of-sense, middle.

I'll sit here in this sunny lil' park, where somebody with a brain has opened it up, and  let the sun in... and write my stories... and just enjoy the day... with few of those extremists around to muck it up! :)

Sittin' in the Washington Sun
Brian

Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Brian...You are now in my neck of the woods..If you are heading W. over 20 stop at Klipchuck NFS C.G..It's off the highway..noise.has a sky view, plenty of sites and I've found to be a nice place to stop.Also the C.G. @ Newhelem is nice. You have to hang a "u" and dump your tanks and get water, but plenty of sites and the info site up the road is very nice. I may be telling you something you already know, but what the heck. Welcome to our area!!!
Upriverdavid

Cindy Kingma said...

Hey Brian, howdy from a happy Washingtonian. I got a kick out of your mentioning Kettle Falls; that's 24 miles from my home in Orient. And Loup Loup Hwy area we've camped and hunted in. Love the Methow Valley. Black Pine Lake is our honeymoon campground. Its a tiny lake but beautiful. Have a great time in WA! Oh, and Happy Birthday!!

Brian said...

Thanks David, Not sure if we're going to stop twixt here and Anacortes or not... but I've got those spots noted to check out :)

Cindy. Glad you got a "kick". sometimes I Wonder if... I ... am gonna get "kicked" ;) when I grouse about how "Some things are done with the forests"... just makes me grumpy... when "do gooders", with ignorant "perceptions", based on faulty and partial, Information, which they then twist to fit their agendas, force things to be kept "Natural" in the VERY Un-Natural way they are ;) ... oops... there I go again... guess I got my own faults! :)