Return to Expedition 2000 homeMay 11, 2000
Day 11
Rest day! It was me and Cody's 6 month
anniversary today! We got up late and had a leisurely breakfast in camp
at Potholes
State Park. The weather was cloudy
for the most part, with periods of sun and only 1 or 2 showers. After
breakfast, we drove into Moses
Lake to do our laundry and eat lunch
at Pizza Hut. Then we drove to dry falls! It was a beautiful place.
We stopped in at the visitor's center, and learned the history of the
region. It was my first time to see the Grand Coulee.
Chris, Danae, Cody and I (and Brandy) hiked up on top of a huge mesa in
the middle of the dry falls area. On top was a miniature garden of Eden!
There were wildflowers in all colors, shapes and sizes, ponds, deer, rabbits,
tree frogs, wild Iris growing up there. Not to mention that all around
us was a sheer cliff with a view of the entire Grand Coulee and dry falls! We
spent some time up there looking around, then tried to descend down a rock spill
that formed the shores of Deep Lake. We couldn't get Brandy down this
one really gnarly face of rock. We tried to coax her with a stick, pull
her, put her in a backpack, and make a harness for her, but she wouldn't budge.
The slope was about 50-55 degrees, and was vertical for about 20 feet
where we were. Brandy started howling and freaking out, and Chris had
to walk her all the way back to the other end of the mesa where we started from.
Cody, Danae and myself went down the steep slope and came out into the
parking lot where Martha was waiting for us. On our way back to camp,
we stopped at Soap Lake and
felt the water. It was slimy!