pig roast on the mountain!

Hello everyone

I had a fantastic weekend in Trout Lake. I left straight from work and drove up the Gorge. It was hot, the warmest day of the year so far in Portland at 80. I actually had to turn on the air conditioning in my car! It was definitely not that warm in Trout Lake (since the town is 2000 feet higher than Portland) but it was still very mild and sunny. Dave arrived at Wampler’s house just minutes after me. I unloaded my stuff and Dave took off to catch the last few rounds of frisbee golf with the gang while I drove up to the lake for some views of Mt Adams. The weather wasn’t supposed to be so great the rest of the weekend so I wanted to make sure I got some photos of the mountain before it was hiding in the clouds. The view at Trout Lake (the lake itself) is phenomenal with Mt Adams looming directly across the lake and reflected in the slowly moving water. I took lots of photos and just sat there, soaking it all up. As I went to leave an SUV was coming down the narrow, one-lane road. I waited for them to get to the turn around area at the end and I realized it was a Klickitat County Sheriff. I’d never encountered police in Trout Lake before. As I started pulling away I heard him calling out, “Ma’am! Ma’am!” I turned off my car and stuck my head out the window. He said, “You don’t have to leave just because I’m here. I wasn’t trying to scare you off.” I smiled and told him I was already leaving. He said, “Isn’t that a killer view!?” Absolutely! When I went back to Wampler’s house he told me that he’s heard stories of this particular sheriff (young, blonde) being a real jerk to people but he was nice to me. heehee!

Kelly and Amberly were at the house and other visitors and Trout Lakers were rolling in. We helped Wampler put the finishing touches on dinner. 12 people came over for dinner! First course was French onion soup (with the bread on top and melted cheese mmmmm) followed by pasta & chicken with a yummy sauce and a big salad. It was a fantastic dinner. I helped with dishes afterwards then we went in the backyard where we sat around the fire and listened to Dave, Wampler and Jimmy play music. It was a beautiful night out but we all tried to go to bed early knowing that Saturday night was a big night.

Saturday morning I made a big egg bake for the mob staying at Wampler’s house. We then headed over to Abe & Jenny’s property. Jimmy and Andrea are living there also and Jimmy and Danny had recently constructed a 18 hole frisbee golf course on their wide open field near their house. I didn’t play but instead lent my bag & discs to Kelly and I just walked along and took photos. It was truly mob golf with 12 people walking on the course but it was really fun. Halfway through we took a break and retreated into a big pole barn just before a downpour hit. Amberly, Kelly, Emily and I decided to head back to Wampler’s house to get ready for the pig roast later that evening. Kelly prepared her side dish while I read my book on the sofa. Eventually we all headed over to Damon and Amanda’s cabin in the woods. The pig was cooked by then and all sorts of side dishes were brought by all the guests. They also had an Easter egg hunt but this was not for little kids. A few of the eggs had candy but most of them had shots of liquor-peppermint schnapps, whiskey, kahlua and something else that I forget. I had just one egg (shot of schnapps) before I decided that was a bad idea and I should avoid the liquor. I had a glass of Dana’s wonderful sangria before switching over to beer. The pork was delicious and moist and all the other food was really good. I spent the whole night around the HUGE campfire with tons of friends. Dave, Jimmy, Wampler, Abe and Lincoln all played music and later Rachel even busted out her banjo. The weather co-operated and it was mild and didn’t rain at all. I laughed and sang and danced and talked with tons of old friends and met lots of new friends and generally just had a fantastic time. This has become an annual party for Damon and Amanda as a way to celebrate their birthdays, his was on Friday and hers was on Sunday. I will never miss this party as it is always a blast!

Sunday morning we woke up to find it surprisingly warm and sunny out. We camped out in Wampler’s backyard, continually moving our chairs as the sun and shade shifted through the trees. Dave made a huge batch of his famous biscuits and gravy which was devoured by all. A group of people decided to go out for another round of frisbee golf but I stayed at Wampler’s house, content with my spot in the sunny backyard. I read my book and made a quick trip to get some mountain photos when it looked like the sky was clouding up. By mid afternoon the clouds had taken over and I decided to head back home to Portland where I unpacked, read my book and watched Netflix.
So that was my weekend!Please let me know how you are and what you’ve been up to!
xo,
carolyn