Big Wheel Keep On Turnin’, Banks Lake, 7.30.15 - 8.3.15
This has been one weird year for weather. We had almost no snow last winter, dry, hot conditions all spring and summer resulting in the devastating fires which are still burning out of control all over the state. We booked camp sites at our favorite car camp, Baker Lake, last March when the reservations first opened up. If you wait until just before you want to go, there is nothing available. It’s always a gamble with the weather that far in advance but this year has been nothing but hot and dry. So after a million days (or something like that) of zero rain and temps in the 90’s, the forecast for our weekend at Baker Lake called for heavy rains. Go figure. Not prone to panic, an idea was hatched to escape the rain and head for eastern Washington which is almost always much drier and the forecast agreed. So we forfeited our reservations on the rainy western slopes and headed for eastern Washington and Banks Lake.
Washington is incredibly diverse in its geology. We have beautiful ocean coastal regions, drippy temperate rain forest in the Olympic Mountains and jagged glaciated peaks in the Cascades. Banks Lake is an incredible wonder of nature with a little help from mankind. The lake is not natural. Just north of the lake is the mighty Columbia River and at the Grand Coulee Dam water is diverted up and over a hill to Banks Lake. The lake itself was created by putting a dam 27 miles down the actual Grand Coulee. The Grand Coulee is essentially a canyon with sheer 400’ walls on either side. On top of the walls are high plateaus covered with fields of grain. Whenever I hear the lyrics about amber waves of grain I think of the high mesas above the Grand Coulee.
Bridgit’s sister and brother in law (Cath-O and Bob-O) have had a summer home there for many years and we have camped right by the dam at the city campground quite a few times.
We arrived on Thursday and no one was in the campground so we had our pick of sites, We chose a nice one right by the water in a little cove. Bob, Dana and Megan also came and they parked their camper near us where they had a hookup. We are still tent campers so we opted for the water site with a picnic table and fire pit.
Speaking of fires, as I write Washington state is in the middle of its worst fire season in history. Two of those fires were not so far away from where we were camping and the air was visibly hazy. The proximity of the fires probably kept a lot of people away so we ended up with the better part of the campground empty the entire four days we were there.
The smoke wasn’t that bad and the temps were in the 90’s so it wasn’t long before we were in the lake and the water was really comfortable. That first night I played guitar around the campfire for a good two hours while a Great Blue Heron fished in the reeds by our camp site. Very cool! It was so warm that long after everyone else had gone to bed Bridgit and I went skinny dipping off the point at the end of the campground around eleven o’clock.
On Friday it was clearer and warm so we hopped into Bob and Dana’s boat and cruised up the lake. We went almost up to Steamboat Rock (more on that later) and found a nice sheltered area where no one else was. Everyone water skied (except me) and more swimming was in order. Megan got towed on a tube for many miles on the way back in.
Saturday was interesting. We had checked NOOA every day for weather conditions and this day called for blowing dust and wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour. The morning had started out just fine. Bridgit and Dana went for a long kayak and when they got back Bob and I went out. That was right about the time the winds started picking up and even the short paddle back into our protected cove was quite a challenge once the winds started howling.
Then our phones all got emergency weather warnings about a giant dust storm heading our way. By now the winds were gusting mightily and we hoped the tent could withstand the buffeting (it did). The approaching dust storm closed down I-90 and was headed right for us. We were prepared to hunker down in the camper until it passed but the main bulk of it missed us as it blew by and up the lake. We dodged a bullet but being out in those winds was kinda thrilling!
Sunday was much clearer due to the winds blowing all the smoke a different direction so we jumped into action. We packed up a few things and drove most of the way up the lake to a turnoff leading to Steamboat Rock State Park. The park takes its name from the prominent feature rising above the campground and beaches. Steamboat Rock rises 800’ above the lake and is a giant basalt mesa that withstood the forces that created the Grand Coulee all around it. Banks Lake nearly surrounds the entire rock but there is one little section of land connecting it to the rest of the surrounding land.
The girls all thought hiking up to the top of the rock sounded like work so they dropped off Bob and me at the trailhead and headed to the sunny beach area to kill a few hours. The trail was easy enough with one little section of scrambling involved but in no time we were at a junction so we opted to hike toward the top of the rock on the down lake side towards our campground and the dam. We were warned about lots of rattlesnakes but never saw any.
Trail to the top of Steamboat Rock
Once we attained the top we had a lot of ground we could have chosen to cover. The top of Steamboat Rock covers some 600 acres. Our first destination led us to the south rim where we could see the huge rock walls of the coulee on either side.
Looking south
From there we ambled along the rim as it slowly worked around to the west side. This side allowed us to look down onto the area we had taken the boat two days earlier. We only saw two boats on the entire lake and we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves although there were a few other people way off on the far side of the rock.
Odd rocks on top of Steamboat Rock
Bob looking off the west rim of Steamboat Rock
We worked our way north along the edge of the butte. This side was spectacular with steep cliffs dropping hundreds of feet down to awesome beaches with island channels across the water, some of which led to the upper lake above Steamboat Rock. From here we could also see the actual fire zones and while we couldn’t see the flames, the smoke on the mountainsides up to the north was very ominous.
West rim
I don’t know how many miles it is to follow the rim all the way around but fairly near the north end we cut across the rocky grasslands to the opposite side. From this northeast vantage point we were looking up towards Electric City and the great Grand Coulee Dam.
Looking down on a portion of Steamboat Rock State Park. Too RVish for my taste but nice beaches.
Another view of the campground
After an awesome day of hiking and beaching we headed back. About halfway back we knew of a cool cove and Bridgit wanted to swim again so we pulled down a little dirt road to this secluded cove. The girls swam but I didn’t have my suit with me and didn’t want to scare them off with the full monty so I took a few pics to kill the time.
The Cove
We stayed from Thursday to Monday (today) and had a blast. The weather was great. A bit windy at times but that also keeps the bugs away. On the way home you have to climb up out of the Grand Coulee onto the mesas. As soon as you hit the top it is wheat fields as far as the eye can see on rolling hills of the plateau. As we drove we came across a dilapidated old farm and I had to stop and walk over to get some pictures.
Old farm buildings
It is always great to get out to the coulee country as it is so different than anywhere else in the state.