This was a trip that neither one of us wanted to end - it was hard to re-enter the real world. We thought we had gone to Heaven....just beautiful desert scenery, perfect weather, still water for canoeing, and great places to explore. It couldn't get any better.The Columbia Wildlife Preserve is my favorite place for exploring and hiking. It is mostly rolling countryside with basalt outcroppings forming cliffs, mesas, box canyons, and potholes. So many of the canyons have great canoeing - we did Half Moon Lake, Morgan Lake, and the north and south forks of the Frenchman Hills Wastewaterway in the Potholes Reservoir. That's a lot of paddling.
Everything has 'come alive' in eastern Washington - the dormancy of winter is long gone. Temperatures were in the high 70's, and the vegetation is at it's peak - sedum, sage, pink and white phlox, purple lupine and balsam root covered the hillsides. Grass types are Wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, Sand dropseed and Squirreltail, a common grass on the prairie.
We paddled through canyons, portaged over and through a beaver dam, and glided into little marshy sanctuaries where the birdlife was astounding. I filmed yellow-headed blackbirds, a great egret, large turtles sunning themselves on rocky outcroppings, and got up close to cliff swallow nests.
We saw a muskrat building a nest underwater, and the trout here were enormous! They hovered near the shoreline, then scooted away as they saw us.This area is part of the Pacific Flyway, home to thousands of migratory birds. The hundreds of small lakes, potholes, and seeps are home to mallards, geese, canvasbacks, ringnecks, teal, shovelers, pintails, goldeneyes, wood ducks, meadowlarks and many others.
While I was filming, I captured many of their calls on video - and it sounded like a jungle! The Red-wing blackbird is the most persistant, with it's low, dry 'chek'; it's cousin, the yellow-headed blackbird gives a rasping, trilled call, like a low 'kuduc or kek'.
One bird, an elusive American Bittern, has the strangest deep, gulping, pounding 'bloonk-adoonk' sound. And, the great egret had a squawking, deep, raspy croak, like a 'fraaahnk, unk, unk' while he was flying away. I caught his flight on film, against a dark cliff, and it was most magnificent. A bit flappy and gangly, but gorgeous.
At the campground where we stayed, it was like Eden - we pitched our tent near the water in a remote part of the campground near tall cottonwoods and a meadow.
At dusk, the place came alive, with rabbits foraging, quail scuttling under our picnic table looking for scraps, and owls hooting. All the birds were singing and calling - I counted over a dozen different birdcalls while laying in the tent. The killdeer were almost obnoxious. They've got a shrill, piercing cry, just frantic. And our presence was obviously a nuisance to them. The Potholes Wildlife Area is a reservoir that has water fluctuations, so in spring the small forests of willow trees become partially submerged. We took a long canoe glide through this forest, and it was a little spookey. Huge 30 inch carp swirled beneath us, and the underwater vegetation was a little hazardous, with narled limbs stretched out, and covered with algae.
We enjoyed walking through the campground, and along the fast-moving wastewaterway, where I enjoyed 'beach-combing' - there is always something I've not seen before. I found freshwater clams along the shore, and a brilliant -colored fishing wire that changed colors as you turned it into the sun. I found the strangest pussy-willow capsules in a little plant nestled on the ground, and in a few boggy places I found mushrooms. The 'Kickin Bass' tube is a type of garlic flavored bait. This is the kid-side in me - finding little treasures.
George said I did some good cooking on this trip - but how simple can it get, with hot-dogs and pork 'n' beans.
I like one-pan deals, with little clean-up. Breakfast was fried eggs on English muffins browned in the pan. We had oatmeal, too, and lunch was always a sandwich, while gliding in the canoe.
We kept it pretty simple. But, wherever we were, I managed to pump up the propane burner and make a cup of coffee. Nothin' like great scenery accompanied by a good cup of fresh coffee.
Now, we're back home, and I'm cleaning and airing the bedding, washing up and organizing the pots and pans, and restocking my supplies. I am so eager to do this again, on Memorial day, with more of the family.
