Vacation - Trout Lake Washington

We spent the weekend of August 9th packing and prepping for the big vacation.  I put down foam and carpet in the back room (looks nice now) and got laundry caught up so Katrina could pack for the kids.  On Monday, dad and I took the kids to OMSI for the day so Katrina could do whatever she needed to. 

We all got in our seatbelts at about 1pm Tuesday, said a prayer, and off we went.  We took the Bridge of the Gods to the Washington side of the Columbia and wound along the river until we headed north on Hwy 141.  Trout Lake is a little town that used to be a lot bigger.  In the middle of the 20th century, it was home to lots of logging.  My father and many of his school mates worked on dairy farms in the area.  

We stayed at Elk Meadows campground.  To get there, you head North through town and follow the signs.  They're hard to miss.  It's laid out like a state park.  Our site had full hookups, was huge and right on the meadow in the name.  

The picture of my father was taken in the early morning as he sat on the split-rail fence that separated our camp site from the meadow.  Mt Adams is just off to the right.  There are some more photos on my facebook page.  

My dad lived here longer than anywhere else growing up, a total of 4 years broken into 2 2-year stints working on Stan's dairy in Trout Lake.  He took us on a tour of the town while we were there.  The old Trout Lake school, which housed all 12 grades in a 2-story building, is still standing.  It's called Jonah Ministries now, and is undergoing heavy renovation.  The folks at the school were kind enough to let us walk through and take pictures.  Dad's 3rd grade class was the only 3rd grade class in the school.  The entire high school was about 6 rooms on the 2nd floor.  I hadn't known dad has ever been on stage before, but he mentioned that he was a tree in the school play at this school.  I got a picture of him reprising the role.

The farmhouse the family of 9 lived in is still standing.  The field surrounding the house is where dad learned to drive a tractor when he was assigned to spread manure over the hay field.    We went to the general store that has stood there since the 30s, still with its original wood floor, and run by the founder's grand-daughter.  

We had a great Family Home Evening there with mom, dad, Elna, and our clan.  Aria was in charge of the activity, and decided that we'd make up camp songs, boys vs girls.  So we split up.  It was a blast - the boys did a pirate song about the Trout Lake Creek, and the girls made up new lyrics to Popcorn Popping.  

We left Trout Lake on Thursday morning after dad and I took a sunrise dip in the creek.  It was refreshing, and we didn't die of hypothermia.