Camping At Katy Lake - Eastern Washington
The beautiful canyons and bluffs of the Katy Lake area are a favorite of ours ~ exceptionally good hiking and exploring. We've managed to camp here every summer, and without exception there has always been an event that is memorable. This time, it was the drama of an upcoming storm, with intense wind that almost flattened our tent, and a pummeling rain with thunder and lightning.In fact, the storm was so frightening (to me) that I grabbed my bedding and ran to the car! I didn't want to be in a tent on the prairie when lightning was flashing all around us. Fortunately, we'd set up camp, had dinner, and were just enjoying the marvelous drama of vista and sky before this storm started brewing.
When we first arrived, George grilled some steaks and I pulled out some prepared salads, a chorizo-bean-veggie soup and some home-made naan. Our camp was in order, with all our kitchen items stored in a little tent behind our sleeping tent. We decided to store our stuff this way as we had to haul it down a hill to the camp. No sooner than 'all was done' when the sky turned purple and the wind started to blow. The tent almost flattened, and rain was pummeling the prairie. When lightning and thunder erupted all around us I ran to the car with my bedroll, with George dragging behind. He was not pleased I chickened out, planning to spend the night in the van if this storm prevailed!
My mistake was not to have enjoyed it, as within a half hour the clouds and wind abated, and the sun came out. A beautiful double rainbow glistened in the sky and the sagebrush smelled so fresh and pungent, so heavenly. It was as if Mother Nature had forgotten we were coming, and at the last moment decided to sweep her doorway and tidy up a bit. When that storm was done it was simply beautiful out. We got out of the car, I hauled my bedroll back down to the tent, and we laughed at the drama of it. Fortunately, our bedding and clothes remained safe and dry in the tent.
We decided to go for a hike completely around one of the bluffs. Although it was late day (we had our dinner at 4:00, so this hike was about 5:30) we knew the hike wouldn't take that long, and it was a perfect end to the day. Along the way we watched a great owl swoop from his perch up on the bluff and glide down the valley. He'd been watching us, and in the middle of the night I heard his wings flapping in 5 or 6 rushes of wind over our camp. He'd set a spell nearby, and the pulsing wind sound was when he flew away.
Before bedtime I sliced up some strawberries and bananas, piled some home-made yogurt on top, and we had a bedtime snack. The next day we went for a long hike throughout the lower valley through the canyons. We saw a coyote watching us from the top of a bluff, but as we got closer to him he ran off. That was a truly magnificent silhouette for eastern Washington.
We hiked all around Katy Lake and I collected cow dung for my garden. I've done this before, as cattle frequent this area. 
I take it home, pummel it with my digging fork, and work it into my vegetables. We brought home 4 black garbage bags full, quite a lot. Some of it I will soak in my wheel barrow, so it soaks up more moisture and won't soak up the water in my garden. I've since worked some of it into my corn and green beans.We canoed one of the nearby lakes in the afternoon, a place with cliff swallows nesting in the huge basalt columns that line one end of the lake. Yellow-breasted blackbirds watched us from their perch in the cattails and we saw a group of vultures circling in the sky.
As you can see from our Flickr account, I haven't done much with my camera ~ George has been taking all the photographs on many of our recent outings. So, my readers can now see more images of me!
posted by Bonita @ 9:05 AM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
Oh, camping! I am so desperate for a camping trip but obviously now is not the best time. That would be a camping trip to remember if I went into labor! :)
It's so pretty there at Katy Lake. It looks like you both had a wonderful time. We are hoping to do some camping with you all at the end of the summer and Ruh will probably do some before then and I will stay home with little Daniel if I feel it might be to difficult. I told Ruh I could probably do it if he pretty much did everything else like food prep and all the set up. But I bet it will work out. I have a little sling that will be wonderful to carry Daniel around in so maybe it will be doable!
I have my list of people to call when we are heading to the hospital. I am calling my mom first since she is my "birthing coach" and then you and George are next! My mom is also going to send out a mass e-mail when we head to the hospital and you are on that list too! But right now we are just waiting. I am keeping busy though which helps the time to move along.
I'm glad George is taking more pictures on your trips so we can see more of you! :)
Oh Mama what great photos and what an adventure! I am so excited to be able to join you this summer for some of those trips :) Wahoo!
Hi Bonita,
Doesnt manure have to be aged at least a year to prevent e-coli?
Very good question, Melissa...e-coli can be present in many animal manures so it is important to determine how old the manure is, with what it is composted, and how long the time is from seed planting to picking a crop, as some e-coli strains may be put in the soil but peter-out after several months. An early quick crop, like spinach or lettuce, doesn't have time for the bacteria to peter-out, so is very risky under the best circumstances. One simply risks eating early crops (I don't apply manure to these early crops). However, if the crop takes longer to mature the risk level goes down. At least 133 days are a requisite for aged, safe animal manure.
All the manure that I use for the garden has to be at least a year old so that the plants will not be burned by 'ripe' manure. By this time, 365 days, not only is the e-coli organism extinguished but a good amount of the nitrogen is also, which means that the manure is used more to texturize the soil rather than to enrich it. Poor soil benefits from any organic material.
The dung that I collected was so old that it required 'soaking' first to soften it; then I chip it into smaller chunks, then I pulverize it. The 'dusty' soil of my garden benefits from the moisture holding quality of the manure.
Here in Tacoma we have Tagro, which the city processes as a safe manure, and it is made from human sewage. It is mixed with sand and is great for lawns and flowers, but I do not use it in my vegetable garden because I do not want the sand. But, I will say that I'm a little apprehensive about using it on a food source. Many of the community gardeners do use it with excellent results.
Thanks for the question, and the concern about e-coli!
I think you did the right thing to move into your car until the storm passed. Your instincts were correct. I learned awhile back that a person can be struck by lightning and killed by a storm that is fifteen miles away. If you hear thunder, it's time to find a safe place...and lying on the ground surrounded by metal tent poles is romantic but deadly.
Just last week Frank and I were both outside, I in my garden and he, mowing the grass. As soon as we heard thunder, we both immediately came inside. If you take the time to read up on this issue, you'll never go into denial about the possiblilty of being struck by lightning. You can even be struck by lightning in "dry storms." Oh, and think twice about wearing an underwire bra.
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