Our daughter Ruhiyyih planned to fly from her home in the Washington D.C. area to Tacoma, to attend her 10 year high school reunion. As part of her trip she requested a camping trip with as much of the family as could get away at the end of the week.We spent several days at one of our favorite hiking/canoeing/ camping locations - Quincy Lake in eastern Washington. Western Washington was due to have rain, thunder showers, and some cold temperatures, so we headed over Snoqualmie Pass to eastern Washington.
The forecast near Quincy Lake indicated 73 degrees, partly cloudy, with bouts of sunshine. We packed five tents (always an extra one), the camp chairs, sleeping bags and blankets, and a ton of food. George said, "Don't prepare anything ahead of time. Let's just do all of the cooking 'on site'." Hmmmmm. I could just see everyone wanting a meal the moment they arrived, so I boxed up six sandwiches, butterscotch bars, and four salad varieties for an instant meal. I was right. That two and a half hour drive made everyone hungry.
Snacks over, everyone pitched in to set up camp, build a fire, and prepare the grill. We put petite sirloin kebabs and bratwurst on the grill, and nestled baking potatoes in the coals. By the time we finished the moon was rising golden-orange on the horizon and everyone settled into their tents. We thought we'd have a peaceful night, but a storm front suddenly blasted in, about 2:00 a.m. Our tents shook violently, and it started to rain. Ruhiyyih didn't have a top cover over her tent, so George got up and set up another tent for her. Taraz couldn't sleep, so he built up the fire, and that popping fire kept me awake - I never appreciate a fire in the middle of the night. It can be too easy to fall asleep and then the fire can restart and be unpredictable. So, we put out the fire and made some readjustments to our tent, which is new. The wind continued to pound our tents, and sand was blown inside, up through the air vents. When we awoke sand covered all our bedding. Little fine grains lined our eyelids and mouths. Ruhiyyih woke up with sand between her teeth!
Fortunately, George had set up a big canopy right in front of the fire pit.
The family - Rue, Ruhiyyih, Taraz, and George and I had our meals there. By breakfast time it had stopped raining, and we lingered over coffee while I cooked buttermilk pancakes and made some country hash.
This was the last serving of pancakes (3), mine.....which I buried with fresh fruit. 
I used the remainder of the baked potatoes, bratwurst and green onion from left-over kebabs to make this hash. On a rainy morning, food always tastes so good! 
Taraz, Ruhiyyih and George went for a canoe glide around Quincy Lake after breakfast, while I tidied up camp.
We spent the latter part of the morning hiking to the overlook on the Dusty Lake Trail. 
This trail is heavily used in summertime, but this time of year nobody is around, as was the camping area. I am especially drawn to this type of remote desert vista. 
As others walked and explored the trail, I noticed that there was plenty of vegetation that has gone to seed.
These berries and the red fall color are a lovely combination. Our three 'kids' headed back to Tacoma after the hike, and George and I spent another day camping alone - which is considerably easier when there is just the two of us. I made hamburgers for lunch, served baked beans, and the remainder of the salads, and we set about downsizing the campsite, breaking down all the tents except ours and organizing the gear. That done, we closed up the zippers on the canopy, secured the food and beverage coolers, and drove to a nearby lake for an afternoon paddle.
We beached the canoe and spent several hours hiking nearby bluffs, winding along an old trail that leads to Ancient Lake.
This is George enjoying the view. He is wearing his hiking shirt, which shows these ducks on a day trip. We had a vegetable stir-fry for dinner, and turned in early when the sun set. Out on the prairie when the sun goes down, it is so dark that one gets sleepy early. By 2:00 a.m. the winds started up again, rattling and shaking the tent. But, we were prepared this second night, and slept quite well. When I rolled the down comforter back in the morning, sand coursed down along all the seams. I knew I had some laundry to do when we arrived home.
We got home in time for a family birthday celebration - food, music, some family videos, and a photo shoot.
Annie's parents, Tim and Kathy, and her aunt Karen added to the mix, and we celebrated September and October birthdays - Rue, Laurel, and Taraz. Kathy took some photos of all of us, using everyone's camera.
This is our family, our children and their spouses, and our grand-daughter Daisy.I was especially grateful to Ruhiyyih, who prepared a fantastic Greek salad, pita and hummus, vegetable pate, chips and salsa, and generally 'worked my list' of 'to-do's' until we arrived home. We got home an hour before the party and almost everything was done. I made a casserole from our garden beans, added a few red potatoes, warmed a pecan pie, and warmed up my dilly pockets which I'd kept in the freezer until ready to heat.
It was really a fun-filled get-away, and of course a delight to see our daughter again. She heads back to Washington D.C., but will return in November for a longer stay at Thanksgiving. I'm counting the days!
