Life on the Snake River Gets Busy

Our life on the Snake River is turning out to be busy.  One day, we got a phone call from Dennis and Jo Lynne, our friends from Kartchner Caverns, who were travelling through the area.  We spent some time with them catching up and finding out about their new adventures.  It’s fun to find out about the volunteer possibilities out there.  And we’ll keep in touch with them to see how they work out.

Then our son Jon from Philadelphia spent a few days with us.  He has never been to the Pacific North West, so we attempted to show him as much as we could.  Of course, we gave him a tour of Ice Harbor Lock and Dam, showing off our new skills at presentation and interpretation.

One night, we had a barbeque and a campfire for Jon.  It was beastly hot that night, but we persevered and ate outside anyway.  Our friends from the park came over to meet Jon and hang out with us.  Lamar and Ron, our co-volunteers, stopped by, Vern and Kayla, the gatehouse attendants were busy but stopped by on their golf cart for a few words and some snacks.  Our new friends, Cathy and Gary, came over to continue their discussion about becoming full time RVers.  It was a pleasant night of conversation and snacks – and eventually slightly cooler air.

Jon, Doug and I took off for an overnight trip to the Grand Coulee Dam.  The drive on Route 97 was breathtaking.  Jon’s contribution of music by Woody Guthrie kept us humming along the way.  And Woody’s songs about the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam brought history and music together.

On the way, we stopped at Dry Falls to see the incredible changes the Ice Age Floods made in the topography of this land.  Dry Falls was the best place to stop for lunch as we gazed at the gouged-out landscape and tried to imagine seeing what had been the largest waterfall in the world – 3 ½ miles wide and over 400 feet high – dwarfing Niagara Falls.

The whole trip up to Grand Coulee was one beautiful view after another and seeing erratics (giant boulders deposited after rafting down from Canada on an ice flow), and the debris fields (scattered rocks dropped during the massive flooding) – all leftovers from ancient ice flows and prehistoric floods – was pretty exciting for us.

We got to Grand Coulee in time for a Dam Tour.  Security there was like at an airport, but we got to see the pumphouse and take photos on top of the Dam – 550 feet above bedrock.  It is a huge concrete structure that makes the Great Pyramids of Egypt look small (Jon would know because he actually saw the Great Pyramids).  The power coming out of the dam was pretty impressive too – more power than a million locomotives.

We stayed at Coulee House, a small motel directly across the street from the Dam.  After a good Mexican dinner and a little rest on our cozy beds, we walked across the street to a little park to watch the Laser and Light Show – projected on the giant spillway of the Dam.

As we waited for the show to begin, we sang the catchy words and melody of “Roll On, Columbia, Roll On” and the lyrics to “Grand Coulee Dam” – “Well, the world has seven wonders, the travelers always tell; Some gardens and some towers, I guess you know them well; But the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam’s fair land; It’s that King Columbia River and the big Grand Coulee Dam”.

I have begun using Woody’s simple words to explain the uncomplicated nature of hydroelectric power: “Roll along, Columbia.  You can ramble to the sea.  But, River, while you’re ramblin’, you can do some work for me.”

So, singing to Woody, looking at Jupiter and Saturn and a perfect crescent moon was a pleasant prelude to the Light and Laser Show.  We listened to these songs sung by Woody, Bob Dylan, and others as we rolled along the highway through the lovely Palouse Hills and the incredibly carved out coulees.  Thanks, Jon, for the perfect soundtrack.

The next morning after a great breakfast, we visited a really wonderful museum of the Colville Tribes.  Great displays, amazing beaded art work, a small gift shop and lots of information about the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Nations exceeded our expectations.

With some extra time before we had to head back, we drove another hour to see Chief Joseph Dam.  That Dam tour was the best by far.  Ranger Kyle took us through the depths of the powerhouse, let us stand on an operating generator, peer through the long spillway and entertained us with all kinds of interesting facts.  Then just to top off a truly great experience, we watched as some Native Americans pulled a beautiful salmon out of the river.  All in all, a great road trip with Jon

On Thursday, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Palouse Falls.  Unlike Dry Falls, which has ancient pools of water but nothing flowing over the cliffs, Palouse Falls has a roar of water streaming down between the gouged basalt rocks.  Continuing our learning about the Ice Age Floods, seeing the Falls and the surrounding area brought it all to life for us.

To end our visit, we went to Ice Harbor Brewery on Clover Island in Kennewick for a good dinner and followed it with a stroll around the marina.

We had such a good time with Jon, we didn’t want it to end.  Even with his broken arm in a sling, he was just a pleasure the hang out with.

Then a few days later, Julie, Jake, Paisley and Griffin (and Rosie, their dog) came to stay with us a few days.  The weather turned very hot, with temperatures over 100 degrees, so most of our time was spent in splash parks or in our air-conditioned RV.  Our babies were wonderful!  Paisley, 2½ , walked up to our RV and said, “We’re going on Nana and Papa’s bus” and started singing “Wheels on the Bus.”  She seemed to love living on the “bus” and happily played with her toys.  She slept well in our special spot on the side of the sofa bed and was adorable when she demanded “coffee” every morning.  Her sense of humor, expressed in her baby voice, was just endearing.

Our little 1-year old Griffin greeted us with his big sweet smile and quickly adjusted to crawling and playing in a very limited space.  One night, Griffin entertained us for an hour playing with his ball and “dancing” to Moana songs on his tushie.  After the first night of screechy screams, he settled in and slept most of the rest of the nights.

Rosie, the dog, behaved nicely and I’m sure she enjoyed her quiet time alone in the cool comfort of our RV.

We got out a little every day – taking them to the Dam, a special rock painting party at the Library, and a few rides on the famous Gesa Carousel of Dreams.  We enjoyed the splash park and gave the babies a bath at night in a little plastic pool.  We got used to cheerios on the floor and blockading the danger zones and cleaning up the spilled dog’s water.

For six of us (and a dog) living in a relatively small space, we managed to have a good time, eat well, and even sleep.  We miss the cuddles, the sweet smiles, the silly talk and elephant sounds, and even the cheerios on the rug.  We can’t wait to see them again in August.

Now we are looking forward to Bev and Barry coming to camp with us in their brand-new camper for a few days.

In between our visitors, we are still working about 30 hours a week -thanks to our co-volunteers, Lamar and Ron, who graciously switch days with us, so we can spend time with our company.

The time here at Ice Harbor Lock and Dam is flying by and soon we will start planning our trip across the country to Florida for next winter.  In the meantime, we continue to enjoy our dam tours and especially the interesting people we meet in the visitor center.