Walter and Sara Let the good times roll
In late May, Walter and I took off for a quick get-away to Steamboat Rock State Park over by Coulee City on the eastern side of the mountains. The drive was great fun. We started here on a warm sunny late spring day and as we gained elevation on our way over the pass we made a journey back through spring until we hit winter at the pass where there was still enough snow to go skiing. Then we made our way back through spring until we reached the town of Waterville where everything that blooms here in Western Washington from about mid February through late May was all in bloom at once--forsythia and flowering quince, tulips, daffodils and irises and lilacs and alliums (that are only starting blooming now here). By the time we got to Steamboat Rock it was summer--84 degrees!

The flora and fauna thought it was still spring though.

Wildflowers at Steamboat Rock State Park

These are arrowleaf balsam.

Arrowleafed Balsamroot

The Canadian Geese stop off here to nest and there were two flushes of goslings in the day use area--little guys and itty bitty guys.

Canadian Geese and goslings Canadian Goose and goslings

The parents would shoo the itty bitty guys into the water anytime there was any noise out on the lake.

Canadian Goose and goslings in the lake Canadian Geese and Goslings in water

One afternoon we went and visited Grand Coulee Dam just a few miles north of where we were camping. There's a nice visitors center and a great view of the dam.
Grand Coulee Dam

This panorama took 4 photos just so you could see it all.

The next day we went kayaking and watched the fisherman cast for bass off the walls of the canyons and wound our way amongst the rocks looking at little wild flowers which were lovely but not very photogenic.

On our drive home we took a detour up to Mansfield where there are great examples of the 'accidentals' that the great Missoula Floods dropped miles from their sources as the huge floods created the channeled scab lands of the eastern Washington. This guy was right next to the road. He's about 4 stories high and clearly from the basalt escarpment a good 25 miles away.

Accidental left by the Missoula Floods

Here he is with a smaller fellow who's pretty darned big on his own.

Two accidentals left by the great Missoula Floods