We had been hearing how great this place is called Stehekin. It's on the far end of Lake Chelan about fifty miles away from the town of Chelan. You can only get to it by boat or small plane. Josh looked into it and decided that he really wanted to go. We called everywhere there to see if you could have dogs and not one cabin would let you bring them. We love bringing Jack and because we've been away from home so much this summer he has had to stay home with housesitters most of the time. We found out that our only alternative was camping...permit camping...not Park type camping. Right there I was a little nervous, but they said that there was a bathroom, so we decided to try it out. We are really not campers, by the way. We'll go for a couple of nights in a camp ground, but we (or I!) like showers and not staying too long.
Well, so we get to 25 mile creek park where we launch the boat. From there its about a thirty mile boat ride which would take a little over an hour. We load Jack, Noah, and all of our camping things into the boat and go to take off and the boat won't start. Come to find out, Noah had pushed buttons last time we went for a ride and the battery is dead. I joked to Josh that maybe it was Jesus giving us a subtle hint to go home! He didn't agree so we jumped the battery and off we went. Josh then decided that he was going to tell me how to drive the whole way. I told him that he was more than welcome to drive, but he just wanted to tell me how to do it. If you know him at all this was very out of character for him to be so snappy. It usually takes a while for him to get that way, but it was immediate and I couldn't seem to do anything right the whole way. I usually have far less patience then him, so I think I got a taste of my own medicine!
We then get to Stehekin and go talk to the park ranger about getting the boat docking and camping permits. She then proceeds to tell me all about how you need to put all of your food and anything else away with a scent in bear proof boxes. I of course ask her about bears and she tells us that half of people staying there see them! I am NOT comfortable with bears, especially with a baby and a wuss of a dog. She tells me how harmless they are, but I was not buying it.
Things just get better from there! The camp site is on a rocky hill looking over a road. There isn't any grass, just dirt and rocks. So, while Josh is getting the boat unloaded Noah, in a matter of five minutes is covered in dirt from head to toe. Also, there are bugs (ants and mosquitoes) everywhere. Like crawling up your legs bad. We noticed a restaurant when we pulled in and so Josh told us to go have lunch and that he would set everything up. We go have lunch and come back and Josh is just sitting there because the tent had a broken pole. I asked why he didn't come to join us...he later told me that he needed a break (I'm assuming that meant from me!)
At this point I was ready to head home, but I could tell that Josh wanted to try a little longer, so we agreed to stay one night and to head home the next day. We put Jack and Noah to bed that night (on that uneven, rocky ground,) they both had cushions and Josh and I slept on the ground as there wasn't anyway our air mattress would work there. Every time we would wake up Noah would be sleeping on Jack's bed spooning him or laying on top of him. We have the best dog EVER, which we knew before, but this trip confirms it. Jack didn't sleep well at all, but
Noah sure did with his brother!The next morning we woke up and walked the two miles to the bakery. This bakery was a big reason why I agreed to go in the first place. It was in Martha Stewart and it looked so cute. On the way I was bit by about 30 mosquitoes and Josh and Noah didn't get one! It was worth it though, they had the best cinnamon rolls, Jack even had some, he deserved it after his rough night. We then walked another two miles to Rainbow Falls, looked at that and caught the shuttle home. We were so thankful that they let you bring dogs on, there was no way that ours was going to make it back another four miles! We got back and left right away with out any more problems.
Stehekin was a really cute place and I would love to go back, in a cabin. We were SO glad to get home! The highlight for both boys was when we got back to our car and Noah had an ice cream bar and Jack got a popsicle!
