fire in the snow

Hello everyone!I had a very relaxing weekend in Trout Lake. I left Friday after work and drove east up the Gorge. It was very rainy and windy and one of my worst drives in the Gorge ever, like 50 miles in a carwash. Around Cascade Locks it finally cleared up. As I drove up the road to Trout Lake the rain turned to snow. I arrived at Wampler’s house and unloaded my car. His house was warm and cozy with snow falling softly outside. We made dinner watched some tv (very unusual for Trout Lake!). Damon, Jason & Sara stopped by and hung out for awhile before Wampler & I started a movie, Stranger than Fiction. Unfortunately I feel asleep while after 20 minutes and kept waking up and trying trying trying to stay awake. I woke up when the credits started rolling. Dammit! Wampler really enjoyed it and said I definitely needed to watch it (with my eyes open).

Saturday we woke up to find it warming up outside. Big slabs of snow and ice would slide off the roof and crash into the snow banks. It would be a foggy, cloudy day. Wamp spent the day working on his bathroom which he is repainting while I read my book, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (about the Sistine Chapel) and looked through my new field guide to the night sky. I had wanted to go snowshoeing but had forgotten my snow boots in Portland (I took them out of my trunk when it actually snowed in the city). Later in the evening I tracked down some boots I could borrow. We headed up one of the Forest Service roads further up the mountain to where Jason had built a snow fort at the top of a big sled run. There also was a huge firepit which Wampler immediately built a fire in. I was amazed to see the moon rise above the clouds. Unfortunately the lunar eclipse was already over but it was lovely nonetheless to see the stars and the snowy landscape was illuminated by the moonlight. More and more friends began arriving. We cooked apple sausages over the fire (mmmm!) and drank beers and talked. As the night went one people started sledding and then music started up around the fire. Jimmy played guitar and Wampler was on accordion. There were several local boys who showed up (I don’t know them) and they played guitar, banjo and mandolin. It was a really fun night around the fire in the snow.

Sunday morning I woke up and made some breakfast for Wampler and I. I hung out for a while and read my book before showering and heading back to Portland. I stopped along the way to take some photos of the White Salmon River, which is a beautiful blue green color. Back in Portland I unpacked my stuff then went to Elaine & Gina’s to get my photos off my camera. Later in the evening I watched Stranger than Fiction without falling asleep this time. It was a really good movie and I would definitely recommend it. So that was my weekend. Please let me know how you are and what you’ve been up to!

xoxo,
carolyn