It is dusk, the sun is almost down over the canyon. We have two lakes to ourselves in the Seep Lakes area near the Columbia Wildlife Preserve. It is so remote here that camping is free. No services, no water, no outhouses. No neighbors. Nothing except the sounds of hawks, an occasional wren, and the wind.
We arrived at the bluffs overlooking Katy and Janet Lakes after exploring the surrounding areas, many of which are wildlife refuges. A number of these sites either weren't picturesque, were littered with shotgun shells and broken beer-bottles, or didn't have good hiking nearby. 
We turned down six campsites before we found the remote Katy Lake. I'd told George I just wanted something with a great view - canoe access wasn't necessary as we could always drive to a nearby lake. The bluffs overlooking Katy Lake were perfect.While George set up the tent, I got my cooking station going - propane burner, dry food containers, drinking water, and my coolers.
I do all my cooking sitting down, swiveling around in a tight little area. At this location I had to block the wind with containers, so the propane wouldn't go out. 
We had ravioli with fresh parmesan cheese, buttered French bread and a salad. This salad contains spinach, onion, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, apples, cherries, dried cranberries and crushed nuts. We took a hike after this 'early dinner', at 4:30, and walked almost completely around Katy Lake in the lower valley.
This area is quite sublime, very peaceful, and has an easy trail. There are trails all around these lakes, and the bluffs offer many delightful vantage-points. (Our car is that slight bump on the bluff over George's head!)
One thing about pitching a tent on the top of a bluff - you'll get wind. George had to anchor our tent down with ropes. He brought along some reading material for a training session that he has next week at Harborview Medical Center, the PCIT: Parent-Child Interaction Training. 
While he was reading, I explored some of the nearby bluffs, the rock formations, sage and flowers. This is an extremely dry area - no campfires are allowed from May until October.
I fixed fried potatoes, bacon and sausage, mushrooms and eggs for breakfast. Then we packed up camp and drove to Sage Lake for a canoe paddle. This little lake extends into another one at the end, with a narrow shallow area between the two. 
Sage Lake is down in a low basin, so was not affected by the wind. We paddled for about an hour then portaged the canoe up the bank to our van.We arrived back in Tacoma about 5:30 on Sunday - the weather there had been in the mid-50's, and it had been in the high 70's in eastern Washington, with clear sunny skies. What a difference 20 degrees can make - we had two days of sunshine, and a chance to view the beauty of the Milky Way.
