Chelan Butte and the Trip Home

We got up around 6 a.m. due to everyone else getting up and starting their day with the news and coffee and since we were in the living room we were forced to get up.  We ate some tasty breakfast of sausage and pancakes made by Josh's mom.  We chatted with everyone for a while and decided to get ready for the day and pack up our stuff and take it out to the car.  We told everyone thank-you and it was nice to meet them.

We made our way down Boyd and stopped and got a cache that I DNF'd the month before, Lakeview (GCMXN4).  This time I found it.  Then we tried finding I Like Big Buttes (GC1EJH4) but couldn't pinpoint it.  There were just too many rocks and piles to look under, besides I was on a hillside and didn't trust the snakes.  We moved on.

We planned to drive up to Chelan Butte before we left town.  I had downloaded the caches a few days prior and hoped that they were all there.  We made our way towards the road that took us up the hill.  Part of it was going to be paved and the rest would be a compacted dirt road.  It was going to be a warm sunny day so we were dressed appropriately.

The first cache we encountered on the butte, Movin' On Up (GC176T9) should have been easy to find but alas, there had been a bulldozer in the area recently and most likely buried it underneath all of the rubble we saw.  Crap.  We continued onto Farther Along (GC1QACW).  It was an ammo can with a bullet hole in it.  Never have seen one of those.

I let Ben find the next one, Keith Ross Cache-Chelan Butte of Course (GC4BANA).  It was nestled in a hole of a rock outcrop.  It was a great view from here.  We could see Lake Chelan in all its glory!

Sunrise-Sunset Chelan Butte (GC3A2W7) was hidden in the Discover Pass parking lot.  I was very glad they had a porta potty up here.  We found the cache, it was hidden in a gnarly tree that had fallen at one point in an Altoid can and then we went potty before grabbing the last cache up here.

The view was stunning!  An entire 360 degree view from this location.  We got back in the car and drove to the last cache, Chelan Butte Lookout Site (GCM4PZ) and it has been here since 11/25/2004, another old cache still around.  Our elevation was roughly 3835.  Chelan Butte is the site where once stood a fire lookout tower at 3835’ elevation. Here is an archived photo of the original Lookout. The first tower built was a 40' pole L-4 in 1936. It burned down, replaced in 1939 by a 28' treated timber tower with L-4 cab. Staffed sporadically into the 1990's, the tower was moved to the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center one mile north of Entiat, Washington, alongside Highway 97, in 1995. That tower can be seen at Trail of Fire cache. We didn't have time to stop and get that cache on the way home.  Maybe next visit.

We spent a good hour or so exploring the top of the butte.  Some motorcycles drove up and admired the site for a while.  This area is also great for hang gliding and paragliding.  We saw some people the other day jumping off and floating down towards the Columbia.   We got the GoPro out and took some pictures and videos.  We got back in the car and sailed down the butte.  We encountered a Jeep about half way down.  When we got to the bottom the car smelled hot and I thought something was leaking or messed up with it.  we couldn't see any visible damage or leaks.  We left Chelan and went up the hill.  Until next time Chelan!

We stopped one more time along the way at Almost There (GC1PC9F) it is intended to get it on your way to Chelan but we didn't have enough time or day light the last few times and we wanted to be different.  It was a pull off on an old part of the highway and the cache kinda weirded us out because it had some sort of webby feeling to it.  We found it, signed it and put it back as we found it.  We put some miles behind us.

I wanted to get one more cache since we were in the area, WaStatePks100:  Wenatchee Confluence (GC4BE6E).  I should have remembered that we could have parked closer to the cache but we went into the park and parked in the lot.  It was going to be almost a mile walk there and a mile back.  As we walked down the trail a guy on a bike had his medium sized dog in his back pack the dog even had on sunglasses.  We laughed and it was worth the walk down here just to see that.  When we approached the bird house we had heard in previous logs that the house was vandalized but put back together the previous day.  Another lucky break.  It took us a while to figure out how it came apart.  We just didn't pull on the one piece hard enough.  We soon had the cache in hand, logged our names and took a few pictures before putting it back and walking back to the car.

We needed gas and some food so we found the nearest Safeway.  We bought gas and decided to get some sandwiches, chips and a pack of Twizzlers Pull and Peel for the way home.  It was hot so being inside the store felt awesome.  Off towards home we go!

There was a lot of traffic up and down Blewett Pass.  We had to follow several cars and semi trucks until we got an opportunity to pass them.  Ben was slowly winding down but I needed him to make it to Cle Elum before we switched spots.  At one point I had to yell at him because he was falling asleep at the wheel.  We got to this area where there was a large pullout and a tiny restaurant so I had him pull over immediately so I could drive.

He slept as I drove through the rest of the pass.  We had to stop a lot for really no reason.  It was irritating me to no end.  When we finally got through the dumb we made up some time after the summit.  We got pass North Bend and up the hill towards our Auburn exit.

I was so excited to go home.  We got onto Hwy 18 and followed it all the way to I-5.  Traffic wasn't bad thankfully.  We drove all the way to Rochester where I had left my car.  I helped him unpack the car and took it inside his room.  I grabbed my stuff and put it in my car.  He was going to resume shift at the fire station after I left.  He put his uniform on and we said our goodbyes and I went home.  When I got home I unpacked the car and did a load of clothes.  I had to make sure I had everything ready for the TriCities on Thursday.

Next Adventure:  Driving to Yakima

Geocaching and A Boat Ride

We woke up the next day around 9:30 thinking we were going to get a phone call telling us where we had to be.  We didn't hear from anyone so we called Josh, he sounded annoyed when we asked where we were meeting up.  Later we found out his family and friends used him for information even though they knew what was going on.  So we waited.

We ate the milk and cereal I brought with us in the cooler for breakfast that day instead of spending another $20 on food that morning.  We ate it out of the coffee mugs and used the spoons that were provided for us in our room.

And now the daunting task of packing.  We only had this room until today and check out time was noon.  We discussed the pros and cons about coming home tonight or coming home on Sunday.  Sunday won.  When we get everything packed and went up to the lobby to check out we asked the guy if there were any more rooms available for tonight, he said everything was booked.  I guess we should ask Josh's parents if they had some extra room on the floor or a couch.  We had to figure out something to do while we waited to hear back from Josh.

I suggested we go get a few caches because there were plenty of them still around.  We took a short walk along the paved trail to Riverwalk (GCG10T) and of course there were muggles nearby setting up a raft.  We sat there like we were taking a rest.  I knew it was going to be a key holder underneath the bench.  We found it in a few seconds and put it back without them even suspecting us.  The water was so clear!

We basically got all the ones in the remote town area and the other day I was looking for some really cool caches to do and I found one called Chelan Falls Bridge (GC209T0) and the bridge was really cool.  We got onto the other part of US97 and drove through the east side of town.  We followed the road down the hill and that bike race was still going on.  We found the pullout and parked as close to the gate as we could.  The cache was easy to find but the view is what I really came here for.  Of course there was a fence around the area so we had to be careful with the camera and the shot we got.  I guess there was a landslide deeming this place unstable so they put the fences up.

We thought about grabbing some more but decided to cross the Bebee Bridge into Douglas County and spend some time at the Bebee Bridge Park along side the Columbia River.  We used the restroom and decided to wade in the river for a little while.  Then we relaxed and soaked up some sun after slathering a bunch of sunscreen on my ginger.

Then Josh called and told us to meet him at the Old Mill Park in Manson around 3:30.  It was the same place we were the other day when the ducks were stalking us.  We arrived way too early so we sat on the dock and ate sandwiches until we saw someone we knew.  Apparently, they were already there and have been boating and jet skiing since 11 that morning.   I guess a bunch of the family went out early because they were leaving that night.  We hopped on the boat and we glided along the lake for a while.  We met up with some of Josh's relatives out from Texas and grabbed the tube from them...then we picked up some of Sam's nieces and nephews.  We had a minor misunderstanding with the jetski place about the rental agreement.  It finally got all squared away about 45 minutes later. 

Ben and I went on the tube first.  I haven't been out on a tube (let alone laying across it with my body) since high school.  I knew my forearms were going to hurt.  Bob, Josh's dad, definitely cranked  up the speed when we were out there.  Ben fell off first and when they slowed down I went underneath the water on the tube.  It sucked.  I went around two more times until I couldn't hold on anymore so I let go.  We let some of the other kids go for a while.  We had a great time.

Ben had asked Bob if we could spend the night tonight at their cabin.  He said yeah, there should be enough blankets and pillows around.  Sweet!  We helped them bring in the boat while Ben took Bob's sister back to the place she was staying.  He came back and told me that we got a $30 ticket.  What?!  There was no signage around!  Oh well.  I guess we learned for next time.  We followed Josh, Bob and Thomas up to the cabin.  There, Josh put the boat away with the help of his dad and grandpa, Ben gave me the tour of the place and I talked to the various relatives including Josh's grandparents.  I had no idea his mom was Hawaiian.  For dinner, we ate the leftovers from the wedding while we watched whatever was on the TV and talked and shared stories amongst everyone.

We went to bed late that night.  Thomas got the couch and Ben and I got the reclining love seat.  It was surprisingly comfortable.  I did get cold so I slept in a sleeping bag with a blanket over the top of me.  I was so tired it was great to finally relax.

Next Adventure:  Chelan Butte and the Trip Home

Josh and Sam's Wedding

We slept in as long as we could and got up before they stopped serving breakfast.  I ordered the same thing because it was delicious and why not have delicious again right?  Ben ordered the iced coffee and the pancake platter.  He said it was delicious as well.  We paid at the counter and walked back to our room, the Dahlia Room, and slowly started getting ready.  We wanted to make sure we got everything done and we looked fantastic.

We left Chelan around 3ish so we could be there early and help set up if needed.  We had stopped by Safeway a day earlier to get a wedding card.  While Ben drove I wrote and drew pictures on the card.  Sam liked The Nightmare Before Christmas and Josh was a Spiderman fan.  We incorporated the characters in our wedding message.  I wasn't too proud about my Spiderman drawing...I made him look too chubby.

We got to Ohmes Garden, parked the car and went inside to see what was happening.  We helped unload trucks with many boxes and coolers full of food and drinks.  I helped set the tables while the family and the wedding party were off illustrating the day with the photographer.  They turned out great!

I wandered around the wedding area waiting for Ben to be done with photos and for Amy and Trish to get there.

When Trish and Amy arrived I had her take a few pictures of Ben and I dressed nice.

Sam's niece, who is a very talented but young artist, painted the guest book.  It was a mural of Josh and Sam killing zombies.  I was very impressed and so was everyone else.  Later on I found out some douchebag drew a weiner on it.  That is very disrespectful and rude.  We never found out who did it.

The groomsmen got really cool boutonnieres.  It fit the theme perfectly.

The actual ceremony was short and sweet.  I sat with Trish and Amy while we watched Josh and Sam get married.

After you may kiss the bride and I present you Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, we all clapped and followed them to the tables where we enjoyed everyone's company, ate delicious food prepared by Josh's mom (authentic Hawaiian food) and made up  our own inappropriate Mad Libs.  The cake and cupcakes arrived just in time.

The toasts were made, we blew bubbles, the keg was tapped and we danced, we danced.

It got to the point where we got a little chilly so I had to put my sweatshirt on.  We chatted with everyone and helped them pack the trucks back up.   We said our goodbyes around 10 p.m. and I ended up driving Ben and I back to Chelan.  We stopped at Safeway to get some food for the next day.  We were invited to go boating out on the lake.  We got sandwich makings and some fruit.  We went back to our hotel and went to bed.  It was a long day.

Next Adventure:  Geocaching and a Boat Ride