Snowdrifts up on the pass were shoveled ten feet high to clear the road. It still looked like winter! 
Nothin' like prime real estate! We pulled off the road and stopped here for a picnic lunch - lentil soup, turkey sandwiches, and pumpkin pie.
I got out of the car and explored. This project is left-over from last fall, laying where it was dumped...I have to laugh: Can you think of a more ghastly place to have a picnic? (However, better than the industrial area of Tacoma, on the tide-flats! )Someday, perhaps here...at Butchart Gardens.
This little place, although run-down, is just my size. Other outbuildings were nearby, all of them in various stages of collapse. We decided to hike the Umtanum Ridge, a favorite of our entire family. All of our kids love this hike. The trailhead is right off Canyon Road, has camping available, and plenty of parking.
We crossed a suspension bridge over the Yakima River, then headed up into the canyon, which is a moderate uphill climb. 
The trails here are not marked, and there are many detours, dead ends, and narrow paths through sagebrush hillsides, shale moraines, and along cutbanks in Umtanum Creek. Everytime we do the Umtanum Ridge Trail we get off-trail, and have to find beaver dams to cross the little creek. I'm usually the first one across, then I hand poles to George, to steady his balance. Here, George took the lead, and I walked sideways along this deadfall to backtrack to another trail.
I have my only fuel for the trip tied in an old scarf around my waist - a bottle of milk. I figured if I got thirsty, milk would keep me going longer than a bottle of water. I also tied a little sandwich into the folds of the scarf, for an emergency (we forgot our backpacks). It was in the 80's here, but the Boy Scout leader who was managing his troop along the trail told me that it will get down to 30 degrees at night.
Every scout had to pack his own water and supplies, as there are no facilities of any kind at the end of the trail.In all, we covered about 7 1/2 miles, taking about five hours to do our hike. Every time I do this hike I regret not sitting down more - taking forced rest breaks. We sat down once on a log and watched Umtanum Creek for about five minutes, but that was it, then we were climbing again. By the time we got back to our car at the trail-head, we were bushed! When we got home, George took a shower and hit the sack, just really weary.
But me? Well, I had a cup of coffee, drip, from a Truck Stop at 6:00 p.m., and it kept me wired until almost 11:00. (Drip-made coffee has more caffeine than espresso does.) My eyes were as big as saucers, and I had a surge of energy. I got out my weights and did some strength- training while watching Deadliest Catch on TV! George was snoozing, the cats were asleep curled in furry balls, and I felt like it was morning.
While George did taxes on Sunday, I spent the day cooking, wearing my running shoes! My feet hurt!
Breakfast Sunday morning: Cheese, onion, and poached eggs on French bread. 
About an hour after breakfast I pulled the potato au'gratin out of the oven, and we had a second breakfast at 10:00.
