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:: Tuesday, July 18
 We begin the second half of the program with a travel day from
Spokane to the Coulee Lodge Resort on Blue Lake (our home base for the week).
Sidebar stops included: Davenport (for sunglasses for Alvaro) and phosphate
for Nadine; Grand Coulee Dam – where we saw a bald eagle; Steamboat Rock for
a picnic lunch and dip in the lake – and a short hike for some. The landscape
is complete different than the Spokane area – coulees dominate all views. We
arrived in the early evening and had an all American meal of tuna casserole.
Our lodging was a trailor from the late 1950s - #12 – where all 8 of us were
expected to sleep. Roger wisely chose his tent – and Luc & Nadine slept
under the stars and a very luminous ¾ moon.
:: Wednesday, July 19
 Moses Coulee was the site of day one. We were cleaning up
trash left over from perhaps the 1930s … kicking everything in case of
rattlers. We did weed work – pulling St. John's Wart out of a streambed
(which originated from a small waterfall – sawed rusty pipes, and took down
an old fence. Alvaro, Maria, and Laura went to the dump with Chuck Warner
(our "leader" on that project). Later we drove almost an hour to
the town of Waterville for a pot-luck dinner with area volunteers. The
turnout was low – the lemonade and cake were refreshing. Maria had promised
Chuck to do a little flamenco – but later changed her mind.
:: Thursday, July 20
 We got a break from the rusty trash and got to work with
DD&D (Diane, Darren and Dana) from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at
Douglas Creek – a crackerjack team with the right equipment, great attitude, and
a plan of action. Colette, Alvaro, Maria, and Sue put up a fence with the
help of Darren – while Luc, Laura, and Nadine cleaned up some camp sites and
installed new grills. The temperature was a good 10 degrees higher in this
area … and we later learned it had passed 100 degrees many days during week
ii. Darren told us there was a rodeo in Chelan the following night … so we
made plans to meet him there. Lots of songbirds in that area … and a small
stream (full of leeches) where we splashed around after working. Maria graced
us with more of her outstanding culinary skills in the form of salmon &
potato soup. Roger led Laura, Luc and Nadine on a late evening hike into the
coulee near Blue Lake … where at least three different kinds of bats were
spotted.
:: Friday, July 21
 Another day at Douglas Creek with the BLM – clean-up (after
Wasted Youth – a band who trashed the entire area), seeding, and sign
restoration were the agenda for the day. We had a shorter day than usual –
which gave us plenty of time to rest up before our drive to Chelan for the
rodeo. Colette injured her back the day before and stayed at the resort to
rest. The rodeo was in apple country … and was a serious annual local event.
Maria was in her element – having spent the entire trip talking about horses
… finally, there we were in horse country. Turns out Darren is a serious
"cowboy" and does this rodeo thing at home in Oregon. We
particularly enjoyed the bull riding … and the chicken race. Oddities
included the 1940s "Queen of the Rodeo" falling off her horse … and
two showboating banner carriers colliding on their horses. Yee-Hi! We closed
the night with karaoke at a local bar … were they didn't have the Macarana
…but a far gone Darren did a Bon Jovi tune with Laura, Sue, and Maria dancing
along. Luc, Alvaro, Roger and Nadine cowered in the corner.
:: Saturday, July 22
 Colette was no better after her day of rest – so we got her to
a clinic and back to Seattle (her sister picked her up). She was lucky to
have missed Saturday … a gruelingly hot day during which we picked up huge
amounts of dumped trash (and we're not just talking beer bottles … but
refrigerators, washer/dryers, etc.). Maria did find a nice yellow helmet. A
few other volunteers joined us … and our day ended at a disgusting town dump.
We stopped for ice cream on the way home … and went to Soap Lake for dinner
at Don's – your basic retiree joint – our internationalism was the talk of
the restaurant.
:: Sunday, July 23
 Crazy wind storm all night … sounded and felt like a hurricane.
Roger and Nadine braved it outside. Luc visited little Spain. Our final act
as a workteam was the construction of a fence a Moses Coulee to keep trucks
away from the site. Happily we got this assignment done before lunch and took
the rest of the day off – first going to Jamison Lake – where Luc, Alvaro,
Maria, and Laura went boating … while Sue, Roger, and Nadine read on the
shore. Excellent bright blue dragonflies. After a relaxing afternoon, we
piled into the van to get BBQ supplies – and headed off to Sun Lakes State
Park to a nice lakeside location (complete with local bats at dusk getting
drinks in the lake). Shortly after the first round of meat was cooked – a
pleasant but firm Ranger appeared to inform us that the park was closed. We
had 15 minutes to clear out. So we slammed down our dinner, cleaned up the
site, and returned to the resort.
:: Monday, July 24
 Another day off before returning to Seattle. First thing in
the morning we went to the RAMA Farms in Bridgeport – an organic orchard with
peaches, apricots, nectarines, various berries, cherry tomatoes, and herbs.
Marilynn gave us a full tour – she and her family run the orchard. We got to
sample their wares – Red Haven Peaches … the size of your hand. They are also
building a Michael Reynolds' EARTHSHIP house out of tires and aluminum cans –
just above their orchard. We closed the day with a hike around Dry Falls –
and pizza alongside the road in Soap Lake. After dinner, we hiked up to the
Lake Lenore Caves and had a peaceful moment at sunset at the mouth of a cave.
:: Tuesday, July 25
 Today – the last day of the workcamp – was dedicated to
traveling back to Seattle – with a promised stop at Mt. Rainier National
Park. The drive to the park was a long one – and we stopped in Yakima to load
up on lunch provisions … and had ice cream cones in the van (before noon!).
There was a radical change in climate and landscape as we approached the
mountains. The smell of evergreen was in the air … and huge trees densely
populated all views. When we finally reached Sunrise – there was a cloud
cover over about 2/3 of the mountain. We had a picnic lunch complete with
chipmunks – and took a short hike into a wildflower covered area. Too soon we
were rushing back to the van to reach our deadline of 4:00pm in Seattle (we
missed it – but not by much). Got to see the TNC offices … and then off to
Magnolia for a wrap-up dinner and program evaluation.
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