Big Lava Bed, and a pond

Well it's been days since I could update my blog since Verizon service is virtually not existent in this part of Washington.
I briefly woke up last night feeling something that crawled over my head,  thinking that it was a large moth that I saw inside the RV a few days ago. Well even my in my old age, my reflexes are still pretty damn good, as I flipped the light on and saw a mouse. Ewwwwe. I quickly put some counter items into the refrigerator, and hoped that this thing would not crawl up into my overhead cabinets, into my pantry. I hardly slept, as I imagined getting crawled on again. Today I wished that Jo Jo was a cat.

My overnight spot next to the creek was perfect, maybe mice infested, and I didn't have a single neighbor. It was in the low 40°s with my rv furnace going on overnight, and only 49° when I left at about 8:30 a.m. I am in higher elevation. I blasted the the heat in my car as I drove away. I decided to make the trip to Carson which took almost an hour downhill, to fill up on gas and buy mouse traps. I hope it likes peanut butter granola bars. The Columbia River is just south, and also part of the National Forest. Part of me was thinking about spending some time along this massive river, however the train parallels the river, and after stopping briefly, the train and all the noise that comes along with it made me change my mind. 

I am not ready to leave the state of Washington quite yet, and decided to find Big Lava Bed. It's a different route heading further north, by about 45 minutes. Google seemed to pinpoint a specific area, however it's really a vast area along the road way. It's an ancient lava flow, with jagged, rough, jutting terrain. Not a hiking place. The road slowly went from pavement to crush rock, and within a mile or two I found a pull out area right near a small lake, covered in lily pads. So I decided to do the real camping thing and just hang out at the lake.

I took a long walk, gave myself a manicure and pedicure, artistically painted up my sandals, and cooked a nice meal from scratch. It was beautiful watching birds swim and sing at this pond.

I saw many robins. I miss seeing them in Arizona, and I have seen many in Washington. It's the first time I've worn a sundress, and enjoyed temperatures in the high 70's! It suddenly feels like summer!!!



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