Northwest Beauty!

It took 15 years! Discussions. Dreams. Promises.

Finally a date, accountability to friends -- "You go with us!"

Tickets bought. Gear and lunches packed . . .

. . . and we headed up to Chelan to take Lady of the Lake into the Stehekin National Forest. AAAHHH!

Nippy? yes! Warm up? yes! We were quite comfortable both inside the boat and out on the upper deck. One guide told us that the upper Stehekin is only 8 miles from the ocean at the upper pass.

And beauty? Awesome! The majestic desolation of these rock
mountains! In some places, the walls towered up hundreds of feet. And the lake depth goes to 1486 feet in its center, 386 feet below sea level. Exceeded only by Crater Lake in Oregon, and Lake Tahoe in California/Nevada, Lake Chelan is the 3rd deepest lake in the US, and 18th deepest lake in the world.

Still we saw color -- vibrant reds and yellows! In patches
like scrapings across the mass of stone. Pines grow out of rock beds, bushes out of the silt washed down
mountainsides with spring thaws.



Some of the lower hillsides bloom with orchards, vineyards,
and of course extravagant summer homes, but all touched by
deep water reflections of rock walls and mountain forests.

Rainbow Falls is an incredible continual waterfall at the head
of the lake. Snows from the upper peaks feed it on a year-round basis, and bless us with a hidden oasis under the fallen pines and tangled brush.

The majesty is beauty for me. And the majesty speaks of God's power in check. It could all roll down in a blink, but he holds it patiently -- till the right time. So we can see and understand a little more....

The beauty, the time together, and the corny jokes of our men -- all made it a wonderful day.

Joel thinks Chad is inspired to emulate him, and carry the tradition in their family.

Any takers in ours?