A Sunday Drive Retrospective

[Pictured on the cover: The Spada Lake in Washington, appearing very low before the rainy season returns. Photo by the author.]

It's always notable to me how as soon as August 1st rolls around, all the billboards, junk mail, and TV commercials become fixated on Back to School as though the vague period in which kids return to classes is, in fact, some great holiday. By mid-August, signs for pumpkin spice appear, and you could believe it was already autumn. Except that the trees are still green, and the fall rains haven't arrived yet.

The last half of the summer months (astronomically that is, August and most of September), along with the first half of Autumn have always been my favorite times of year. I feel a certain itch and need to be outside, exploring, gathering new experiences.

Take this past weekend as an example. Saturday I got the itch to explore, so when I woke up on Sunday and saw the smoke in our area wasn't too bad; so I hopped in the Jeep and headed East.

When I want to connect to nature more than people, I head to Spada Lake; a large recreation complex that spans the south side of the Spada Lake Reservoir. All the land is owned by the local power company, which runs a dam on the west side of the lake.

The area is free to use and access during daylight hours and is well-maintained. Both with great access to see and walk across the dam, as well as a network of trails and lake access ramps.

The only cell coverage anywhere by the dam is on the dam itself; meaning it's a great place to get away to introspect and relax. I'd taken along my camp stove (I love this pocket one), my pot (a Firemaple that's served me well, I prefer steel over aluminum) some water, and a few Mountain House dehydrated meal packs; however, when I arrived I saw a total fire ban that included stoves. I ended up eating a blueberry granola pack, since those don't need hot water.

Fueled by granola and some salmon jerky I'd picked up from a roadside vendor in nearby Startup, I walked along the lake's edge and listened to the absence of urban noise. Without cell coverage, not even my pocket was buzzing. The only noise was a very aggressive horsefly, which also seemed to lose interest.

Sometimes it's important to be away from others for a while, even if it's just for a few hours of true quiet. Sadly, the lake area isn't open after sundown, because I imagine the night sky viewing here would be incredible.