A Golden Summer Solstice

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I ran across this neat old linen postcard and it reminded me of one summer weekend when we packed up the camper and went fishing at Trout Lake, near Mt. Adams. Our group consisted of our family in our truck and camper and our neighbors Marie and Orville in their rig. They towed a small fishing boat behind their truck/camper combo. Dad's fishing buddy Gilbert drove his station wagon and met us there later the first night.

My little sister got a mosquito bite on her eyelid and it was swollen shut for the entire weekend. But that wasn't the only thing that we experienced that weekend.

We had fun, studying the vegetation and any wildlife we could spot. We always brought our toys with us, but usually ended up spending most of our time out in the woods, searching for Native American artifacts and beautiful rocks and the perfect pine cones -- whatever we saw that we thought would be a portable but inconsequential remembrance of our visit.

One beautiful evening we went exploring and walked along the edge of the lake, not far from our camp. We spotted a raft along the edge of the water and scrambled out to it. There were a couple of long poles on it and we eagerly pushed off from the shore. The fact that we didn't know how to swim didn't stop us! The lake was still and serene, the sun began to set, and a whole chorus of birds around us began to sing. We were in heaven! We didn't pole out too far into the lake and the raft was heavy enough it didn't float too far away -- but we weren't tethered to the shore and could have gone out to the middle of the lake easily.

Of course, we didn't realize Mom was frantic back at camp.

When our long twilight had almost completely disappeared and darkness was about to envelop our idyllic rafting expedition, we decided to return to the shore. It wasn't easy. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but I think with some effort, we reversed the process and pulled rather than pushed our way toward shore. There may have been oars on board. I just can't remember. My sister has completely blanked out most of the details of that episode, too.

At any rate, once we could more easily touch the bottom with our long poles, we stood at the back of the raft and once again pushed it slowly toward the shore.

A little later, when we waltzed into camp, the stars had emerged and began to glitter above the treetops. Soon we saw all the vehicles in our camp lit up with our battery operated lanterns. Even the headlights on the trucks pierced the darkness in wide bright cones of light. We met Mom on the little pathway and in her quiet way she said, "We almost had to call the sheriff to find you." I knew she was really upset, but she never wanted to alarm us and never raised her voice in fear or anger. She was relieved to see us again and nothing more was said.

We returned to camp and finally everyone went to bed.

Despite the mosquito bite and the raft incident, we loved our little trip to the Mt. Adams recreational area. Since then, I've learned that Mt. Adams has always been a mystical place that the local tribes have revered for generations and a sort of "magnet" for UFO activity.

To the east of the Cascade ridge, Mt. Adams dominates the western skyline. My favorite small town in this area of south central Washington state is Goldendale, where there is an observatory and a replica of Stonehenge.


Nearby is the famous Maryhill Museum of Art, and a few miles to the east is the town of Bickleton, "Bluebird Capital of the World." Check out the links below for more details about this interesting area of Washington state.

For more info: wiki Summer, Goldendale, WA, wiki Mt. Adams, Trout Lake, wiki Maryhill, Maryhill Museum of Art, Stonehenge, Maryhill, WA, Bickleton, UFOs at Mt. Adams.

Have a wonderful summer!