After spending the night in the local Super 8, which had a small but enticing pool, on Lisa’s advice, I drove through the Yakima canyon where I stopped for a long bike ride. I wasn’t tempted by the river since it was too large, but after I got to Route 12 and began following the much smaller Naches river, I began to think about fishing. I stopped at a tackle store and the proprietor advised me of a spot five miles up, and I stopped there and worked hard for one trout, attracted to a stone fly nymph.
I kept driving on 12 past some spectacular views of Mt. Rainier, and then stopped to play 9 holes at the very short golf course there. It was fun, even though I had to walk using a pull cart since they didn’t rent motorized ones.
I had dinner in town, sticking with my bland diet, and then thought to fish in the evening to see if I could have better luck. I couldn’t find an accessible spot on Butter Creek, but a fellow I spoke to at the Shell station said that if I drove 7 miles outside of town, I would find Skate Creek. I got there a little after eight and caught a number of baby salmon, and then caught several nice trout. I wish I had gotten there earlier since the fishing was very exciting.
On Saturday morning, I was very interested in fishing Skate again but fortunately, my saner self took over and I rested my knee, which was very tender. I did my yoga and practicing, and then headed off toward Portland to meet my friend Jenny and her husband Mark, and their new baby Paloma. Paloma was a sweet and lovely little girl and I had fun playing with her and carrying her around. Then we went out to dinner and to a community barbeque. After that Mark showed me his electronic airplanes, and I was stunned at how light (a few are about an ounce) and stable the newer models. Some can even fly inside your house, which is amazing, and I actually flew his tiny helicopter for a minute of so with no previous experience. I remember having an incredibly loud and difficult gas one forty years ago and how things have changed. I will try to write an essay about this topic during the rest of the trip.