But The Creek Never Slept At All

[previously posted on Cowbird by Susan G Holland aka Fellow Traveler]

Early morning, I can see, by the light sneaking through the vent window in the pop-up I am sharing. Camp is quiet, the family all still asleep.

• Lake Kachess is a lake formed by trapping a lot of run-off from Cascade Mountain peaks in a large and very deep reservoir just four miles north of I-90 in Washington State. It lies on the transition zone between the summit just ten or so miles west, and the eastward reaching mountain slopes that eventually lead to the rolling desert-like stretches of eastern Washington.

But the creek never sleeps.

We have come here since 1973 when we first moved to the U.S. West Coast from Pennsylvania.

Hardly anyone knew about the tiny beach at the end of unpaved logging roads back then. It was pretty much our own when we first started camping there. Now you need a reservation!

Every year my son and his wife celebrate their wedding anniversary by hosting a weekend here on the very spot where they were married some 12 years ago. Sometimes it’s a huge group of family and friends. This year fewer people came, but there was the same magic and good fellowship, even though the sun was not blazing to offset the mountain chilliness.

Cell phones don’t work here. There is no wi-fi.

The sound is of creatures in a pristine forest and the little drumbeat of rain on our canvas shelters. And of distinctively camp-ish noises around shared picnic tables — clunks, giggles, quiet conversation, now and then a whoop or holler.

The children are busy with games and bikes and a few skinned knees. Someone has built a toss the beanbag game with wood props with holes in them. Thud! Thud! Laughter.

But in early morning, my feet in boots trudging along a trail don’t click or grate or skuff…they just sink into a spongy carpet of needles from very tall trees and the inevitable presence of branches, and moss. There are always new trees that have fallen … it almost seems as if there was no noise, since no one heard them fall in the forest! Some have been sawed up to recover clearings for the tents.

People bring their dogs with them because it is okay to do so, and the dogs enjoy the walks and meeting other dogs in the great big outdoors place with wild smells and good places to sniff. They get walked often here, because of required leash conventions, and dogs love the attention from their people and the curiosity of the other dogs as well.

Boats line up against the lake shore, ready for motoring or sailing or paddling or even rafting. There is no road noise. I heard one airplane go over this weekend. We are Adam here. The magic is everywhere. Even the rain is magic. The fire’s warmth is comfort. Food tastes so good cooked outside. Our cups run over.

And the creek never sleeps.

Revised by ©Susan G Holland March 19 2017