Chelan Vacation: Building a case for sunscreen

Britt's entry -
Sean and I loaded up Roscoe on Thursday and headed over Steven's pass for our first (and only) vacation this summer. As soon as we crested the pass the sky cleared and the blue sky welcomed us to Eastern Washington. There was practically a choir singing.

Chelan trip, July 2007

Once we got to Chelan, we stopped at Chelan Falls Park, a big grassy park along the Entiat river with an offshoot that fills a swimming area. It’s the only park in the area where dogs are weclome, so we wanted to take the chance to try to get our water-phobic dog swimming. Sean and I both waded in with Roscoe on the leash, until he couldn't touch any more. He panicked a little and tried to use me as a raft, clawing my leg with his powerful paws and leaving a lovely bruise on my thigh. But he soon realized he could lift his head out of the water and we had him ACTUALLY SWIMMING! WHOO-HOO!! It was awkward, but he was doing it. Sean threw a tennis ball across the water and Rocoe couldn't help going out for it. Soon, Sean was out in the water calling for him and I stood in the shallow end and grabbed his leash each time he returned the ball so he wouldn't make a break for it when he neared the shore. Can't say he was all that pleased to be swimming, but he humored us.

Later that night we tried out a new Chelan restaurant called Woodfire Grill. They had a great outdoor patio that was shaded and had misters and Sean and I started to relax and got a chance to really just have great conversation. Somehow it seems like we hadn't done that in awhile!

The next day we took Roscoe back to the river to swim and then waited in the sunshine for our guests to roll into town - Sean's sister Tanya, her kids Darian and Curtis, and husband Scott. It was roasting outside and they had taken a picturesque (read - LONG) route to Chelan, so they were eager to get up to the house. They launched and moored their boat and then we made dinner and started to settle in.

On Saturday we took the boat out and decided to find a nice private little beach up the lake, drop anchor a few yards out and swim in with our gear. The spot we found didn't look like much from the water, but it had a tree for shade and a shore we could walk on. Once we got there, we saw that it was some sort of small campsite with spots cleared for tents, a firepit, a makeshift bench and a sign that said "Grade Creek". The creek ran down one side of the site. We drifted on the inner tube and body board, swam in the water and soaked in some sun. A little too much. It was easy to forget in the cold water that it was 97 degrees and the sun was beating down on us. We reapplied sunscreen a few times, but apparently not often enough because there was some seriously pink skin when we got home.

We scouted out other sites on the boat ride back to Chelan and on Sunday we tried out a more established park about 10 miles west of Manson - complete with a docks, simple bathrooms and a nice little shelter. We spent a little less time in the sun that day, going in the water for short periods to cool off and then hanging out under the shelter. I think everyone was a litle sunshined out at that point! Scott even took a nice nap under the awning of the boat.

The wind picked up Sunday night and Tanya and her family were treated to the strong gusts that hit us up on the hill. Its pretty impressive! You can throw something over the edge of the ridge and have it fly back at you.

We headed home on Monday, but we're already eagerly planning a trip for next year!