Kayaking Pattison Lake and Two Caches

I wanted to go kayaking at least one more time before the hot weather went away.  I've been looking through the geocaching map to find out if I qualified for some of the paddle caches since they've been sitting for a while because I've been ignoring them for one reason or another. Over the past couple years, I've been reading the qualifications for some of Ohjoy's caches and going through my finds to see if I indeed qualified for them.  I had a couple Word documents and screen shots of lists I put together. I found out that I qualified for most of them, so I compiled a list of the paddle caches and the bodies of water they were hidden at. 

I was very apprehensive with some of the caches because some of them hadn't been found recently or very often.  I didn't want to go to all the trouble of packing up the kayaks, paddling out to them just to find out they weren't there.  So last summer, I got a hold of Ohjoy to find out if it was okay to replace them if I went out to them and they were missing.  She went out of her way to pack up a Ziplock bag of replacement caches to give to me and she appreciated that I was willing to do it.  From there on, I always brought that bag of caches whenever I did a paddle cache.

I had to wait until Ben came home from work.  I tried to get as much stuff put together as I could so we could just hop in the truck and go.  I was going to have him help me put the kayaks in the truck just because they are awkward.  When he did get home, we loaded the kayaks into the bed of the truck, made sure we had our Discover Pass and headed to the public boat launch at Pattison Lake.  Kat's Grandpa, Ivan, used to live on this lake, but other than that, I've never been on the lake before.

There were two caches on my list, one in the parking lot and Ohjoy's paddle cache, that I wasn't sure was there.  The last time it was found was on July 3, 2020, and the last time it was looked for and wasn't found was July 20, 2020.  Luckily, I remembered to bring my bag of extra caches with me.  We unloaded the kayaks and prepared to get in and paddle to the trestle.  It was hot that evening, about 93 degrees, so it was really nice to be on the lake. 

When we got to Eeyore's Train Challenge - a Paddling Cache (GC4RCJ9), we scoured the bottom of the trestle for about ten minutes.  Ben finally saw it--you really had to be at the correct angle to see it.  No wonder the last cacher didn't find it.  We signed it, took some pictures and put it back exactly where we found it.

We paddled back to the shore and got a glimpse of Mount Rainier in the distance.  The tree line was too high to see all of it. It was still hot outside but nice to get out on the lake during a weeknight before dinner.  

We got back on shore and there was a guy fishing off to the side.  We pulled both kayaks off to the side and looked to see if Lake View Spot (GC9F692) was there.  People have reported it missing.  We looked and looked and didn't find anything.  I pulled out my bag of replacements and hid it where I thought it wouldn't get bothered and would stay dry. 

I messaged the cache owner to let him know what we did and that we were going to log it as a find.  We were hoping he would appreciate that we replaced it for him or temporarily replaced it until he could get out and do it himself.  

I grabbed the truck and Ben, and I loaded up the kayaks into the truck and went home.  We got home, rinsed off the kayaks and put them in the side yard with the oars. Dinner was leftover pulled pork from the day before.  I am definitely going to miss summer. 

Next Adventure:  Labor Day Weekend

Spokane Trip: Spokane to Lacey

I slept a little better than I did the night before but still not super great.  I really didn't want to get up and drive back home because that meant the next day I would have to go back to work.  Ugh.  I eventually got up around 7:45 and both the dogs were downstairs guarding the door.  I had to step over them to get to the bathroom.  I got ready for the day, went back to the bedroom and started packing up my duffel bag. 

Megan said I should put my stuff into the Escape because the dogs would be curious and get into my bags if I left them in the living room.  She added that they were pretty nosey.  I took a few minutes to take my stuff out to the Escape. I came back in, and Megan had already started making breakfast.  We had some more scrambled eggs, ate some of our yellow watermelon we got at the Farmer's Market the day before and some toast.  We chatted and ate our food.

We went out to the backyard to watch the dogs run around acting crazy.  It was also starting to warm up but wasn't going to be as hot as it was yesterday.  Megan turned on the sprinklers and was going to find out when Chaise's uncle wanted to move the furniture, he was going to give them.  

I thanked Megan for having me over since this was a while in the making.  They were just glad to finally have their own house with their own space. We made some tentative plans for the possibility of going to a Cougar game this fall, but we will have to see how it goes. 

I left around 10 a.m. and got onto I-90.  I definitely miss living over here.  The visit brought back tons of memories living in Eastern Washington.  I merged onto Hwy 2, through Airway Heights.  I knew I had to make some good time since I was making a few stops along some roads I've never been on.  I had my Nuvi set for Davenport, just outside of Spokane about 35 miles.  I'm sure I've been through this town, but I was probably in Middle School on a family vacation when it happened. 

I made my first stop in Davenport at Welcome to Davenport (GC9RBNR).  There was a really cool hotel nearby, so I took some photos.  It was getting pretty warm outside.  I found the cache while talking to Mom on the phone.  She wanted to know where I was and when I was going to be home.  

I jumped into the Escape and decided to stop further in town for one more, Wall of Names (GC9RACT).  I parked on the street and had to watch out for kids riding their bikes without paying attention.  There was a guy wandering around the small park.  I made the find quickly while he was preoccupied.  When I got home, I discovered that I inadvertently filled in page 53 on the DeLorme map.  I still have seven more to go, all up in the northeast corner of the state, except for one that will require a special trip up north near Darrington. 

I put the coords into Nuvi for my next stop in Creston. I am not sure if I've ever been to Creston before or it was just a passing through situation. Nonetheless, it was about a 20-mile drive west, along Hwy 2.  I listened to my crime porn as I drove.  The first stop was just outside of Creston at a cache named The Cowboy Church (GC96TB3).  No one was there, so I didn't have any trouble finding a place to park or being sneaky when looking for the plastic ammo box. I got my name on it, took a few pictures, put it back for the next person and got back in the Escape. 

I continued into the town of Creston, made a right turn onto a road that led me into the cemetery. I parked right outside the gates because I didn't need to go inside for any reason since the coords were leading me to look on the gate.  There were some people in the cemetery getting it ready for Memorial Day Weekend. They did look at me weird, but I ignored them.  I found the magnetic hide-a-key and wrote my name on Creston Memories (GC1HDGC) before putting it back. 

The next cache, Odessa Veteran Memorial (GC8F1BV) took me through Wilbur, but I didn't need a cache there, however I did make a stop because I wanted a picture with the statue of the pig.  I grew up reading Charlotte's Web, so that "some pig" needed to be seen.  I got back on the road and headed south on SR 21 towards Odessa.

At times parts of the highway, I felt like I was literally in the middle of nowhere.  I did not see another vehicle in a while until I got closer to Odessa, which was about a 40 mile-drive.  I finally reached town and followed Nuvi to the cache I needed since there weren't a bunch of them to choose from so I picked one where I knew people would not most likely be.

I pulled up to the cemetery and it was paired with a military memorial.  There was a tank and everything.  I started looking for Odessa Veteran Memorial (GC8F1BV) and I knew the coords were bouncing all over the place because I just could not pinpoint a spot to look.  Tanks have so many nooks and crannies to search.  It took me so long to find something so easy.  I was super embarrassed that I didn't find it sooner than I did.  I had to pee really bad, so I popped a squat behind the tank.  I felt so much better.  

I jumped into the Escape and put in coords to my last cache, Bike Trail Cache (GC5RR0C), I needed for the challenge I was trying to complete. My last stop was in a town I've never heard of.  Wilson Creek was a literal blip on a map.  It was east of Soap Lake on WA-28 about a mile off the highway.  I made my way to the turn off and went into town.  It was a ghost town.  I think I drove past one or two cars while driving out to the trail to get the cache.  I parked on the side of the road and jumped over the ditch for this one.  I got my name on it, the photo, put it back and hopped over the ditch to the Escape.  Now came the boring part of my trip, I-90 to the west side. 

I followed WA-28 through Ephrata and then the 283 onto I-90 for a brief second and then got off in George to get gas and some cold drinks.  It was a quick stop.  I pumped gas and then went inside to get a Pepsi Zero for the drive home. I got back onto I-90 and didn't stop until I got to Thorpe because Mom called me just before Ellensburg to ask about fruit. I told her I would stop in Thorpe to see if they had anything to bring home. 

There were tons of people at the Thorpe Fruit and Antique Mall, and I had a hard time finding a parking spot.  I found one eventually, got out and went to go see if they had the green beans that Mom wanted to know about. They really didn't have a whole heck of a lot of stuff. I saw some boxes of peaches and pears; some apples and the rest were various squashes.  I called her and told her they didn't have what she was looking for and sent her a schedule of produce I saw on the wall. 

I walked around the antique part of the mall, used the restroom and decided to go before the traffic got too crazy.  I got onto I-90 west and was going good for a while until I hit just outside of Cle Elum.  The traffic through there and Easton came to a standstill for NO reason.  I lost about a half hour of me making good time on the freeway.  It broke up just before Snoqualmie Pass and I didn't hit any traffic until I got off at Hwy 18.  Traffic wasn't too bad, but it was a little slow in certain places. 

There wasn't any traffic from 167 to 512 and then to I-5.  It was surprising because usually Sunday afternoon to evenings the traffic here was terrible. I rolled into my driveway around 6:30. I unpacked the Escape, took a shower and started some laundry.  I made a tuna sandwich, with Fritos and some grapes for dinner. I logged my caches, updated my blog, got the mail and Ben came home from hanging out with Josh and he got ready for his work week.  Just before bed, I got dinner out so it could defrost for the next day. 

Overall, I found 14 caches, grabbed 30 Adventure Labs, took care of five new cities (I now have 16 more to go) and got one new DeLorme page, in which I need 7 more for it to be complete.  The Towns and Cities Challenge and the DeLorme Challenge will require me to take a couple more trips to Eastern Washington to complete it.  

Next Adventure:  Kayaking Pattison Lake and Two Caches

Spokane Trip: Hanging Out with Fitzy, Farmer's Market, Rollerblading and Breweries

I didn't sleep the best but got enough to function the next day.  I finally got up around 7:20, used the restroom, got ready and made my way to the living room and kitchen area...obviously trying to avoid being faced by the dogs.   She told me that, me visiting was good for them because they are able to get used to people coming over--which is something they didn't get to experience in Colorado because she lived with her aunt, hardly anyone came over and being isolated due to Covid.

Megan made breakfast.  We had scrambled eggs, plant sausages and bananas. I was apprehensive about the plant sausage, but it really wasn't that bad.  Megan wanted to go to the Farmer's Market in Downtown Spokane so we gabbed what we would need, hopped in the truck and headed over.

She had looked it up but upon arrival, we did not see the Farmer's Market.  Did they post the wrong address?  Were they actually having a Farmer's Market today?  We pulled over and checked it out further.  Megan found the right address and we weren't that far away from it.  We did see the Farmer's Market signs finally.  We found a place to pullover along the road.  She grabbed a bag or two and we walked over.  

We made the rounds, and she found some stuff she wanted to bring home.  She chatted with a lady for a bit about plants and how to keep them (Megan wanted to grow a small garden next spring and asked for advice), the lady gave her a couple free plants.  I bought a large zucchini, she got a couple veggies, dog treats, flowers and a yellow watermelon.  We walked back to the truck and headed back to the Valley.  We did make a quick stop at Costco to pick up a few things.  I bought Ben some Adidas shorts because his clothes were getting very worn out and needed replaced.  Plus, you can never have too many shorts in the summer.  I practically live in them for several months. 

We went back to the house, put the groceries away and Fitzy went into the crazy garage to dig her rollerblades out.  She had asked me to bring mine so we could hit up the Centennial Trail while I was here.  She found them, grabbed some socks, water and we headed out again in the truck.  She knew of a trailhead nearby we could park at.  The Centennial Trail follows the Spokane River, and it is a 37-mile paved trail that starts at Nine Mile Falls to the Washington/Idaho border and then connects to the North Idaho Centennial Trail. 

We got to the trailhead, parked, put our socks and rollerblades on and made sure we had everything.  I brought my small pack with water and other stuff inside just in case we needed it.  Megan wore her helmet and pads since she hasn't been in practice with rollerblading for several years.  I do it more than she does, but she wants to get back into it as another form of exercise.

We chose to go east because Megan mentioned that this has less hills and inclines than going west.  I followed her lead since this was my first time on this trail. It was warm but not too uncomfortable.  It was fun to be able to go rollerblading again.  The last time was in 2021 during the summer months when Megan was staying with her mom in Rainier while her mom was undergoing medical treatments.  I drove out several times to go on walks or rollerblading with her.  There were tons of people out jogging, walking dogs or children as we made our way down the trail.

Neither of us knew how far we were going to go.  I took pictures along the way and checked the phone app to see if there were any geocaches along this part of the trail.  There was an earthcache, but I chose not to do it since it would take up too much time, and there was a traditional further up the trail that we could do.  We passed under several roads and bridges along the way.  There was one spot where a crazy guy hung out.  Megan said he was pretty harmless if you just ignored him and when we got to that spot, we just ignored him. 

I told her the cache was just up ahead and she said that would make a great turn around spot since we were approaching about three miles.  I saw the cache was up a hill near the road.  There was an access spot to the trail but no parking.  Megan was like, it's up there?  I said, yep.  We both rollerbladed up the hill and the coords to Flora Trailhead (GC3E9GQ) took us to a metal sign.  I soon found out why it was a 3.5/1/5.  I was not tall enough to reach it nor get it out of its hidey hole...even with rollerblades on.  Megan tried her hand at retrieving it and it was frustrating at first.  She did eventually figure out how to get it out and we both celebrated the victory!  I signed my name, got a picture and put it back for the next cacher.

I rollerbladed down the hill and Megan decided she was going to take hers off and walk down.  She was not going to attempt to roll down.  I waited for her at the bottom.  She put her rollerblades back on and we headed the three miles back to the truck.  It was getting hotter, and I was sweaty.  We stopped a few times to take photos of the river and to get some water, but other than that, we didn't stop very many times. We got back to the truck, took our rollerblades and socks off, slipped into different shoes and decided to walk down to the river.

There were some people down there fishing and exploring.  I hopped along the rocks to find a good place to sit, take my shoes and socks off and dip my feet into the water.  I did not anticipate the water to be that cold!  It was like Mowich Lake all over again.  It was so cold it hurt to leave your feet in there for more than 15 seconds!  We took a couple pictures, I got my socks and shoes on and walked back up the hill to the truck.

We drove back to her house, ate our leftover pizza from the night before and decided to hang out for a bit.  I looked at the app to see if there were any caches in her neighborhood and there was!  The next street over was a travel bug hotel.  I grabbed the Jack Link's trackable and a pathtag out of my bag and told Megan where I was going.  I walked down the street to the Cachingclutes Muggle Free TB Hotel for the Year (GC20M5Y).  I was hoping to run into the cache owners because I have met them a couple times before.  I got it opened and traded out 2 trackables for my Jack Link's and a pathtag.  I signed the logbook, got a couple pictures and closed it back up.  I walked back to the house. 

We hung out some more, watched the dogs run around the yard and Megan took some time to tell me some of the plans she and Chaise have for the yard and the exterior of the house. Chaise was feeling a little better, so he went to go hang out with his brother Jake for a bit.  Megan and I loitered around for a little bit longer while we watched the dogs finally calm down and nap.  They were a lot easier to be around when they were sleeping. 

A little later on, we decided to jump in the Escape and head to downtown Spokane.  I've always wanted to go to No-Li and try their beer.  We found the address and made our way west down I-90.  When we got there, we found a place to park and went inside. They sat us right away.  The pizza earlier wasn't enough, so I ordered a burger, fries and a Porch Glow, since I enjoy the Amber ales.  Megan also got burger, fries and a beer.  We chatted and enjoyed our food and beers. We also enjoyed the free stickers as we paid.  We hit up the photo booth on our way out.  

We wanted to go try another brewery down the road but sadly, Bad-Ass was closed.  Megan found another one just up the street called V-Twin Brewery.  It was a smaller brewery but looked like it stayed busy. I did part of an Adventure Lab in the parking lot before we went in.  We sat at the bar and decided which beer we wanted to try. 

The I Pee Jamison Ale looked promising. We both decided that's what we wanted to try, and I bought Megan her beer for hosting me this weekend. I also bought Ben one to take home with me so he could try it.  We spent most of our time drinking our beer and talking to the bar tender.  She was a transplant from California and is enjoying living in Spokane.  She loves trying new beer in different cities and tries as much as she can.  We suggested she hit up the Hood River and Bend, Oregon when she did get that chance. We were there for about an hour and then went home. 

We got settled in a little bit.  Chaise came home after a while.  I worked on logging caches and working on the blog as we watched Lost City downstairs.  Semus got as close as he could to me, snuggled and fell asleep on my arm.  The movie was hilarious but then I love Sandra Bullock. After the movie, I got a shower in, and everyone went to bed.  I stayed up for a little bit longer planning my route home for the next day.

Next Adventure:  Spokane Trip:  Spokane to Lacey