R2F in the Mighty Columbia River: Crow Butte Park, WA

Good morning campers! Today we woke up on an island in the Columbia River in southern Washington. There's the river right there, out our back door.

This is the site of Crow Butte Park, whose complicated history seems worth describing.

Crow Butte Park was initially developed by the Corps of Engineers and then transferred to the State of Washington. The state managed the facility for several years, but was unable to continue operation when budgets became strained. After the state closed the park, local farmers formed an organization and ran Crow Butte for the next four years. The farmers were having difficulty sustaining the maintenance of the park and asked the Corps of Engineers to lease the park to the Port of Benton effective August 1, 2007.

The Port’s decision to invest in the park followed meetings with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and officials of Benton and Klickitat Counties. The two counties helped fund capital improvements at the park for the first three years. Benton County continues to support the Port financially and has allowed us to make several upgrades to the park with more improvements on the horizon.

The Crow Butte Island is culturally significant to the local tribes, leading to a ceremony on August 28th, 2007 in which the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla formally blessed the park.

Yesterday we drove from Spokane through eastern Washington. Friend Kathy, whose vineyard is much farther north in eastern WA, says “everything grows here” with irrigation. It’s very dry and sunny, and there's lots of agriculture.

A vineyard we passed on our drive.

It’s very quiet at this campground, except for the occasional coal-hauling train that pushes hard down the tracks across the river. Otherwise, this partly federal park (the only reason I know is because of the sign saying it's illegal to smoke marijuana here because it's federal lands) is still open through October. We choose a site right along the river’s edge.

Time for late lunch/early dinner. Leftover ribs and the biggest baked potato evah from dinner out in Coeur D'Alene (where we stayed in a motel) + spinach/tomato/avocado.

Well here's a sign we haven't seen before

It's the path down to the Columbia River and I'm aiming to fish it. First, though, preparing the tackle seems a lot like sewing. My brothers always did this part--lucky me.

I’m fishing! It’s late afternoon, the sun is setting, the river virtually calm (except for tiny fish leaping from its surface as if to taunt me), and the air's a warm 65-70 in the sun. I've got on my Target shit-kickers/rattlesnake deterrent boots and all's right with the world...except no fish this first time for the new gear.

Exploded Heater Hose Leads to Blogging on Shoulder of Oregon I84

All Art could say was: better here with a large get-off shoulder...

...than here, where we were ten minutes ago, cruising adjacent to the mighty Columbia River Gorge.

Officer Friendly from the Oregon State Police stopped to see if we needed help. Nice

He even got under the hood. Art's gonna cut the hose and reattach. I'm writing to you to distract myself from the traffic going by at 65 mph. All is well. I'm off to flashlight duty.

Non-Recreational Effects of the GOP Government Shutdown

Worth noting (via maybe not best news piece but one i saw this morning)...because the important stuff does not have to do with campgrounds.

• Adults and children receiving treatment for cancer through the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are being sent away.
  
• The National Institutes of Health (parent organization for the NCI) has shut down their hotlines and will not accept any new patients for clinical trials. This also includes kids with cancer, by the way, as well as patients involved in other clinical trials. Each week the shutdown goes on, an estimated 200 new patients will be turned away, 30 of them children.
  
• 800,000 federal workers are furloughed without pay.
  • The EPA is essentially completely shut down — 94% of its workers are off the job.
  • The Center for Disease Control has furloughed 68% of its workers. Fantastic timing, with the autumn flu season almost upon us.
  • The Department of Defense has laid off about half of its staff — basically all of its civilian workers.
  • All but 38 of the FCC’s 1716 employees have been sent home. If Apple comes out with a new iPhone, it won’t receive FCC approval until the shutdown ends.
• By the way, the various workers being told they must stay on the job — such as air traffic controllers, Social Security workers, and border security — are also being told in some cases they can’t necessarily count on being paid for their work during the shutdown.
• Routine FDA safety inspections are suspended. (Meat inspections continue, though.)
• FAA safety inspectors and NTSB accident inspectors are furloughed. Better not have any major plane crashes.
• The Library of Congress, an invaluable tool for research, is closed. So is the National Archives and Records Administration.
• No matter how serious a manufacturing flaw may be, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will not issue any automobile or truck recalls.
• It’s hit or miss as to which ones, but many federally-run websites are offline. (Yeah, the ‘Panda-cam’ is off, too.)
• Head Start programs throughout the country are shutting down.
• All that cool news from the Curiosity rover on Mars? It stops. 97% of NASA is furloughed. Curiosity will be put to sleep. All NASA research stops.
• Federally-funded SBA (Small Business Administration) loans stop.
• Tax cheats: Guess what? Lucky you — no audits during the shutdown. On the other hand, if you have tax questions, don’t call — the IRS phone help lines aren’t being answered.
• If you’ve lost your Social Security or Medicare card, you’re out of luck until the government restarts. Also, it’s very likely that new applications for benefits won’t be processed until then, too. Don’t bother asking for those income/benefit letters either.
• Passport and Visa applications may be delayed.
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), wherever federally funded, is suspended.
• When WIC (the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) runs out of money at the state level, no more help there.
• If the shutdown lasts longer than two or three weeks, the Veterans Administration says they won’t be able to keep paying benefits, beginning in November.
• Gun owners: Your federal gun permit applications will be delayed. That get your attention?
• The BATF won’t issue permits for new distilleries, wineries, or breweries.
• New and pending drilling and mining permits are on hold.
• Also likely, based on past shutdowns, bankruptcy cases, enforcement of child support (the feds get involved when it crosses state lines), and the training and certification of federal law enforcement officials will be suspended.
• In fact, the DoJ will be filing briefs to suspend all civil (but not criminal) litigation for the duration.
• Processing of federal aid requests resulting from the recent floods in Colorado and New Mexico, and any other disasters, will be suspended. (The National Guard and Army Corps of Engineers will intervene in emergencies, but after you’re dropped off at the Red Cross shelter, you’re on your own. Better have damned good insurance.)

Oct 1 Shut-Down and the Road to Coeur D'Alene

Arrived in Coeur D'Alene looking for campgrounds. Pulled into the ranger station.

Smokey had bad news...

 

Good thing we started the day with that yummy ham and sweet potatoes. 

While we ponder our camping options in Washington and Oregon, enjoy these on-the-road pix of our 200-mile day from western Montana into Idaho...

Fire and Ice: To Phillipsburg Bay Campground, Montana

When Bozeman finally let us go with a new windshield wiper, the drive was brutally windy and wet, but there were clear skies ahead. We pushed along on I90 to get as many miles toward blue as possible.

Montana's landscape is an almost painfully beautiful geological confluence.

It's the last day of September and we don't know where we're heading, but we're ready to leave hotels behind and be back in camp.

 

They don't call it Big Sky Country for nothing.

The navigator proposes we get off the interstate on Montana 1 and point it toward Anaconda and Georgetown Lake, where our map shows a cluster of campsites (and speaking of clusters, is the country still funded tonight?).

We pass three campgrounds that are chained up--either because the season has ended or in preparation for the federal closure. But Phillipsburg Bay Campground on the lake is open. And empty except for the host, who waves us off when we ask how much we owe him. It's free tonight, and he'll be chaining up the place Oct 1 (because it's end of season).

That's fine with us. Camping reminds us to stay in the moment. Chop wood, carry water. Immerse ourselves in nature and breathe. We have a spot for tonight. Tomorrow's another day.

As Art chops wood for a fire and I make late lunch, a German man drives in in a tiny and very cool VW camper. He tells us they shipped it from Germany and got a round-trip airfare deal that landed them on the east coast to meet up with the camper and flies them out of Las Vegas...just like the two other German groups of campers we met at Tioga outside Yosemite.They'll store the rig near Las Vegas and return next year to do another tour.

Drying out wet Bozeman gear in the late afternoon sun

We're still working the (well-chilled) rotisserie chicken we got back in Missoula. Tonight's dinner: torn chicken breast sauteed with garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, oregano, spinach, and onion.

With a few shots of fish sauce to liven it up. Have you noticed that one-pan meals are a camper's dream?

Eaten out of steaming bowls next to the campfire, with hot tea and bourbon on the side, a wholly sustaining meal. And then magic: snow flakes float down on us, gathering gently in the folds of our tarp on the picnic table and melting on the hot coals of the fire. This is why we camp.

Broken WIndhsield Wiper Leads to 90-Min Target DIversion

Some of you might recall our service-oriented Bozeman campsite. On Monday as we were packing to leave a storm blew in that was "like none I've seen in my 26 years here" according to a man I stood with inside the Holiday Inn, watching. Black fingery storm clouds reached down and touched Bozeman, quickly whirling up into a strange sky formation.

In short order, we loaded up and soon the rain was pounding. We drove maybe 100 yards and CLACK! the passenger side windshield wiper flew off. Happily we were still getting out of the giant mall area the hotel was in, so Art cruised up to Target and off we went in search of a replacement, which entailed walking back and forth between truck and store to ensure a good fit.

Meantime, the storm picked up steam and when next I saw Art he'd purchased an effective pair of rubber-footed boots at Target. Hmmm, nice buy, honey. I need a pair of those to go with my new Carhart wool hat and gloves, previously picked up on a cold day at a truck stop in southwestern Montana.

And that's how the fashion statement came to be.

You know you're camping when this feels like just the thing...

Jacket: DKNY Bozeman Goodwill (for some reason it reminds me of Agent Smith from Matrix)
Boots: Boys section at Target (girl boots seem always to trade fashion for dry)
Pashmina: gift from the wedding
Leather gloves: Birthday gift from my oldest pal in the world, Kathy McG. They're like butter and get better with every wearing. Kisses, Kathy, and thank you!

Lewis and Clark Caverns Day 2

We awoke to a rain-free but chilly day. The season's first large storm had moved through, dropping 7 inches of snow at slightly higher elevations...but not that much higher.

 Sweet potatoes with butter and cinnamon for breakfast.

Soup for lunch.

We sat around the fire all day.

In haste (it is Monday Sept 30 as I write and we're hitting the road this morning) I leave you with a little geology of the region, splendid in its absolute diversity.

Niman ranch ham (god this meat is good) with collards, tomato, and garlic for supper.