Grand Coulee Dam, Steamboat Rock State Park, Geocaching and a Dam Laser Show

We got up around 7:45 because it started to get warm inside the tent and I was getting hungry.  I managed to get Ben motivated to get up and moving around.  By 8:30 we had all of our breakfast supplies out and making eggs and sausage to go with our cereal.

After eating some food, cleaning up and getting our hiking gear on, we were finally ready to tackle the upcoming adventure for the day.  We first drove into Grand Coulee Dam to get some information from the visitors center.  We took some pictures of the dam.  I haven't been here since September 2011 when I came out here for the Methow Cache Machine...before that was during a family trip back in 1997 or so.

We looked around, I got my postcards and Ben inquired about kayaks.  Meanwhile, I noticed the D3 geocaching challenge.  I knew about it when it came out but out of sight out of mind since I do not frequent this area a lot.  The tour took to you the three major dams on the Columbia River, The Grand Coulee, Rocky Reach and the Chief Joseph.  I've been to all three in the past but that was before geocaching even existed.  We only had time for the Grand Coulee during this trip.  We may have time to get the others maybe this summer so we could finish the tour.  Ben really didn't get his questions answered but they did give us some information on places we could ask along Banks Lake.

We got onto the main highway and headed down the road in search of a place that rents kayaks.  We went to three different places and no one rents kayaks.  The closest we came was a canoe.  We didn't want a canoe.  I told Ben when we come here next time we will bring out own kayak. 

We drove the 12 miles southwest to Steamboat Rock State Park to do some hiking and caching.  We parked the Escape and discussed getting the state park cache first then the rest or just get them as we walk by them.  I turned on the GPS and the state park cache was no where to be seen and we didn't have cell phone service.  Ughhh!!  We gotta go back into town to get the coords.  I was upset because now we had to drive back to town and then back to the state park!!  When we did get into cell service, I had Ben jot down a few of the caches especially the state park one, while I got gas.  We drove back to the state park but took a side road for a letterbox.  I try to grab as many of these as I can to finish a puzzle back in Rainier.  There is a series of eight letterboxes from Coulee City to Electric City and I wanted to find them all.

Broken Road #5 (GC59D2M) was down an old road that lead to the lake...most likely a good fishing spot just outside the entrance to the state park.  I wanted to grab this one before we started our hike.  We parked the Escape as close as we could, got out and started searching.  The hint was a little weird and we definitely started looking in the wrong areas.  We both managed to shorten our search near the vehicle and Ben saw it literally right next to the passenger rear tire hidden in some grass.  We signed the log book with our stamps, let it dry a bit, took a few pictures and put it back.

Again we entered the park, found a picnic table and ate lunch before the hike up the butte.  I made a bunch of grilled chicken, boiled some noodles and Ben bought some pesto to mix in with it.  He mentioned that it was better than eating sandwiches all the time.  So we had some of that, grapes, watermelon and fruit snacks.  The pesto's seal leaked so we thought it might have gone bad.  I guess we would see on our hike.

Our food was put away and we got our hiking stuff on, our cameras ready, slathered Ben with sunscreen, got our water and anything else we needed and crammed it in our bag.   We made our way to one of the many trailheads and followed the trail to the mesa.  There were a lot of ups and downs and a lot of sand to shuffle through.  When we got to the part of the trail that led up I was like wow, we gotta climb up that way?  Bring it on!

We passed a few hikers with their tiny dogs on the first level of the climb.  The second level we encountered a guy and his son and a family with their dog and kids.  Other than that, we really didn't come across very many people.  It was pretty steep the first part of the mesa.  The second part wasn't as steep but it was long.  Once you got onto the flat part it was pretty straight forward.  I can't imagine doing this in the heat.  We were lucky and chose a pretty mild day of low 70's and the views were spectacular!

We continued towards WaStatePks100:  Steamboat Rock (GC4AZRY) and it seemed like we were not getting any closer.  I think I really have to calibrate it because it looked like we were going to it on the map but the map didn't look right.  Plus, I have to spend the $80 on the updated maps and street view.  It took us a while to get there.  We went to the wrong area but ended up seeing views we wouldn't have gotten to see if we went the right way.  There was this really cool rock we spent some time at.

I looked at the map again and decided that we needed to go more southwest.  There was a small valley with a trail and we ended up following that to another level of the mesa.  We took some "living on the edge" pictures before we found the correct route to the cache.

Finally we found the rock cairn that contained our blankety blank cache so far for this geotour.  We signed the log book with our stamp, Ben ruined it with Husky garbage, I added a pathtag and we took some pictures from this vantage point.

We started our walk back and found out there was another cache not too far from us near the trail that would take us back down the hill to the main trail.  We took a short side trail to Blowin' Off Steam (GCRRYN) and tried not to be seen from the nearby muggles playing with a kite.  Ben found the ammo box hidden among the sage brush.  We open it up to find the log book, trinkets and a creepy doll head.  We signed the log book and had fun being creeped out by the doll head.  Haha!

We put everything back and went to Steam Boat Rocker (GCQC4N) just further down.  We wanted to get both of these caches on the way back down.  We were within 20 feet of it and had to use the hint because there were so many rocks that fit the hint.  We could be searching for a while or a few seconds.  Ben searched the most obvious place first...of course we kept an eye and an ear out for rattlesnakes.  We weren't finding anything so we searched the next obvious spot and the ammo can showed itself.  We set it on a nearby rock, signed the log book, looked at the toys inside and I tried to get my picture and a rock moved from underneath my foot, made me fall backwards so I grabbed Ben and he stopped me from possibly breaking an ankle.  It did stretch it an uncomfortable amount and my knee got a scrap on it but nothing too horrible.  We hiked back to the Escape.

Getting down didn't take long at all.  We got back to the Escape fairly quickly.  We took off our socks and shoes, put some flip flops on and used the restroom before heading back towards Electric City.  The last time I was here we had dam burgers from a café but I couldn't remember what it was called so we went to a place called Pepper Jack's Bar and Grill back in Electric City.  I had a French dip and fries and Ben had a burger.  Both were tasty and hit the spot after hiking for four or more hours.

We stopped by the Safeway for a few things including soap, some more cereal, eggs and looked for some aloe Vera and some drinks.  We didn't need ice quite yet but it was on the list for tomorrow.

The shower was calling our names.  We really needed to get out of our sweaty clothes and wash the dirt and sand off of us.  We spent a half hour or so getting clean and into some fresh clothes.  For the next hour or two we just chilled waiting for opening night of the 2016 dam laser show.  When the owner of the RV park came by to get our payment for the weekend, he had said that this year they changed the laser show.  This time it features a grandmother sharing the story of the Columbia River with her granddaughter.  We thanked him and continued on with our day.

We left way to late trying to find parking and a spot to sit to watch the laser show.  I told Ben I knew of a place and we hustled before it had a chance to start.  I remembered that the Crown Point State Park had a viewing area and you can listen to the commentary from your radio with the correct station.  We got there just in time and Ben wondered how I knew to come here.  I told him I know everything!  Haha, I just pay attention and remember things.

It ran for about a half hour and then we went back to our camp site.  We brushed our teeth and got ready for bed.  That night was actually warmer than the previous night.  I didn't have to wear so many warm clothes.

Next Adventure:  A Dam Tour, Geocaching, Dry Falls, State Park Caching and Home