(The following is a special posting by David. All photos are copyrighted by David H. Lewis.)
Last night I woke up and could not get back to sleep. Many thoughts danced through my head.
Mary was sleeping well. I knew that if I touched her she would turn over and come into my arms. When she did, the thought came to me of how certain much of my life is. This thought expanded until I was inspired by how dependable all of nature can be.
The sage/grasslands along Lake Sacajawea on the Snake River.
Here we are in the state of Washington in a beautiful campground alongside the Snake River just ten miles from its confluence with the great Columbia River. The season is spring. The air is cold (by Yuma, Arizona standards), and it rains here. This is the Northwest! It is natural for it to be cold (and, in this region, windy.) In fact, rain is common here during this time of the year.
Going further with my thought of nature's certainties, we see acres of green grass and huge trees outside our trailer windows. Why not, since Washington is called the Evergreen State! (Pun intended.) Its namesake refers to evergreen conifers that lace the north and west of this state.
There are birds flying and chirping all day, beginning with the loud song of a robin as early as 4:00 am! Gulls and terns are always searching the shoreline of the river for small fish to eat.
We were told that raccoons are close by. Three of them posed for us indignant that we would invade their privacy. They do reside here especially at night when campers leave tasty scraps of food on their picnic tables for easy takings. Yes, even the raccoons are dependable.
Raccoon by Mary Margaret Lewis
Everything is very hardy here, not only the outdoors, but the people as well. The weather does not stop the families from weekend camping here and from climbing out of their tents, RVs, and trailers to stretch their arms and welcome the day. Fires are built.
Yes, nature is hardy but so are the people. Even they are dependable to have fun even in this blustery cool weather. Frisbees fly, and one family even brought a croquette set.
Family playing croquette next to the lake
This weekend, rain or shine, campers will enjoy themselves in and out of their campsites. There is a large day park with two covered group shelters, a marina with a boat ramp, a roped off swimming area, and many areas to fish or walk along the river.
Living in southern Arizona, we know that it is going to be hot from May through September. Up here in the Tri-Cities of Washington, they tell us it gets hot during the summer months. Anyway, right now, it's far from being hot. Our heater is on all day!
In six weeks, Mary and I will be volunteering further north. That is after we have completed our task of photographing all these outdoor-hardy north westerners having fun around their campsites. There are 54 sites here at Charbonneau Park for us to photograph. They want us to get five good shots from each campsite.
One thing is for certain, we'll get it done.
