Weeken' in Stehekin

DeA and I planned a long weekend in Stehekin over a year ago. We saved up for it, moved stuff around to accommodate it, and were excited to go. We loaded the kids up in the boat in the early afternoon and took off up-lake.

It was a beautiful start of the trip, with blue skies and clear water.

 You might see this picture and wonder what I'm smoking. Did I accidentally insert a helicopter picture from another time? We made it halfway up the lake and then had whitecaps come over the bow of the boat. DeA wasn't happy about it, which meant I wasn't happy about it. We turned around with plans to ride the Lady of the Lake the next morning, but the kids used their powers of guilt to convince Hampa to fly us up that night. 

 He flew Rock and I up first with most of the gear. We checked in to the room and the lovely staff at the Ranch made us plates to bring to our room. DeA, Ryker, and Jens arrived later, right after dusk while the local band was finishing their set in the dining room. It was quite the entrance.

 The kids enjoyed the roasted chicken and corn on the cob. They had strong opinions about the other veggies, but I won't get into that here.

  We were all excited to wake up and meander down to breakfast, maybe the best part of the whole trip. 

 Well, some of us made it to breakfast.

 A large portion of our first day was spent at Rainbow Falls.

 The boys wanted to play football every possible moment, especially when they noticed that I was sitting down.

 We tried riding bikes again, this went better than last time.

 Jens is old enough to ride on my bike with me, instead of inside a cart.

  A rest in the hammock was a welcomed activity after all the real activities we did that day. 

I spent some time reading to the kids. It was nice to have a break from TV, computers, and other distractions.

 What's this? Another helicopter picture? Aaron, what are you doing? 

Don't fret, it's real. Nick and Emily wanted to bless Hadley at church the Sunday we were supposed to be in Stehekin. It was important to be there, and Dad made it possible by picking Rock and me up.

We went to church, helped bless Hadley, and then loaded the boat up and took off for a second try at getting all the way to Stehekin.  

 This time, the water was perfect. Not a whitecap to be seen.

 We spent the rest of the day enjoying the beautiful nature around us.

 It was pretty to look at, and the mountains and river wasn't bad, either. 

 The kids made some hard mud balls. They were pretty proud of their work.

 Jens was excited waiting for dinner.

 We thought it would be fun to go on a fun exciting relaxing hike with the kids.

 We were no more than ten steps in before the complaining began. 

 To call it a forced march wouldn't be that far off. One of us had to stay behind Jens to encourage her to keep walking.

 Their spirits picked up considerably when we found the log bridge at the creek.

 A pretty view of the mountains helped some.

 But, the kids kept asking if we could turn around and go back, even when we were under half a mile from the end.

 "Left, left, leftrightleft"

 Finally, we made it! The kids enjoyed the rest of their packed lunches (they had been used previously to encourage more walking).

 Boy, you should've heard the wailing when we told the kids that the only way home was to go back the way we came.

 At least it was pretty.

 Rock wasn't among the complainers, he was a good little trooper.

 This proves that I has on the hike, too.

 Lunch at the bakery seemed to make them forget their deathmarch hike. 

 Somehow, they were still hungry after stopping at the bakery.

 We stopped by the gardens, thanks to a recommendation from Aleasha, and checked out the flowers and bees. Jens especially liked the flowers. 

 We took the boat back to Manson. Rock, the longshoreman, did a good job getting us away from the moorings. 

 Other than smoke, the ride home was great.

 The kids took turns learning to drive home. They got bored after they were told no donuts, crazy turns, or racing.

 All the kids ended up in the bow curled up on some life jackets.

 The warmth, the constant white noise from the engine, and rhythmic bouncing knocked them out.