Milk will make it better

Last Thursday J and I went with some friends (Wall-E and his family) to Big Pines Recreation Area to float the Yakima River. There is a great section of the river that flows about four miles an hour, with several camping areas available. Unfortunately, there was no running water again, so guess what that meant? If you guessed vault toilets, you were right. Sigh. I brought my own toilet paper and hand sanitizer again. Looks like we'll never camp without it again.

Anyway, we took the coolest tent ever and went for the night. It was supposed to be a short trip: we got there Thursday, planned to go on a four hour float on Friday, and then we were going to pack up and head back home. Well, they were going back to the Tri-Cities, but J and I decided to continue westward to the old home front near Vancouver. C is almost done with her summer session, and has come home for a minute. I thought that since J was taking Friday off anyway, we could make the most of the weekend and go see his folks and C. Plus, Mom and Dad H. are still babysitting Sam the Beagle. Who could pass up an opportunity to see him?

Anyway, J and I arrived at Big Pines later than everyone else. He had to work most of the day, but was able to leave a little early. When we got there, we got the tent set up and then headed out for a short river float. I’m really glad we did that, because our short trip got cut even shorter because of foul weather.

Our evening float was awesome. It was still hot outside (it was about 93 degrees when we arrived, and by the time we got on the river, it was probably still in the upper 80s), and the river was a bit chilly. The combination of the two made for a rather pleasant experience. We tied our floats together and set off. We left Wall-E in the trailer with his Grandma, but his sisters, mom and dad, and grandpa were with J and I. It was a nice time.

Wall-E’s sisters are taking a hunter’s safety course with their dad so they can go hunting later this fall. Much of the float was spent saying things like, “Hey, look! Can you see that deer? It’s over there, by the rocks. Still can’t see it? It’s over by that sage brush right above the train tracks.”

Umm, hello? Did you notice that ALL of Eastern Washington is sage brush, rocks and railroad tracks? No, I can’t see it. And apparently I’m the only idiot who can’t. But thanks for pointing that out.

About forty-five minutes later, we were at our campground again, and we managed to get back to shore. That water moves fast! We got a truck, put all the floats in it, and went back to the campsite. We built a fire, had some s’mores, and then called it a night.

It was not too hot, and not too cool. It was a perfect evening, except for all the bugs. The bugs were insane. I skipped the wussy deet-free bug spray and went for 100% deet. It didn’t stop the bugs at all. I didn’t get bit, but they sure were buggin’ me. (I crack myself up sometimes…)

J and I had purchased a battery-powered fan for the coolest tent ever, and it worked great. It has foam blades, so it’s not scary to sleep right under it, and it really worked well. Right after we went to bed, it sounded like it was starting to sprinkle, so I asked J to make sure our towels and other items were under the tailgate so they didn’t get wet. He reached his freaky long arms out and moved stuff around. When he laid down again, he said, “It’s not raining. That’s bugs trying to get in to our light.” Gross.

In the morning, I was up early and started to put stuff away. I wanted to make sure we had everything packed so we could hit the road as soon as we were done with our float. Unfortunately, it started to rain. It was hot out, and muggy. I was annoyed. When I was a kid, we always used to camp in Eastern Washington because my mom told us it didn’t rain over here. Yeah, right. It rained so much Friday morning, that we all were huddled in Wall-E’s family’s trailer, waiting for it to clear. It not only didn’t clear, it got worse.

When we get storms in Eastern Washington during the summer, they are almost always accompanied by thunder and lightning. That morning, the thunder clap was so loud, it sounded like a sonic boom right outside the trailer. The storm was right on top of us. It was kind of scary. Wall-E’s 12-year-old big sister, Kooky, was a bit frightened by the thunder. Wall-E told her, “It’s okay, Kooky, it’s okay.” Kooky said, “No, it’s not! Thunder and lightning are scary!” Wall-E was sill concerned about his big sister, so he got up and walked over to her. He held out his milk cup and said, “Milk will make it better!” and waited for her to take a drink. Once she did, she asked for a hug, too. Wall-E said no, and went back to his seat. Apparently milk is the secret, and hugs aren’t necessary.

The rain lasted so long, that we weren’t going to have time to do our float, so we admitted defeat, and packed up to go home. Once we were totally packed, and getting ready to get in the car, the rain stopped. Satisfied that she won, Mother Nature cleared right up and the drive over the mountain to the old homestead was beautiful.

Next time we go, you should come with us. Just bring some extra towels and a waterproof camera! I forgot to buy one, or I would have taken more pictures. As it is, I only got this one picture of Wall-E checking out the coolest tent ever and laying down for a quick cat nap with J. But I melt every time I look at these two photos...so I'm okay with not having more!