Ross Lake

We spent the past weekend (well, Saturday to Tuesday) at Ross Lake Park, in the Skagit Valley. The above picture is the view from outside our tent in the late afternoon.

Ross Lake is about 3 hours outside of Vancouver. It is just before Hope - you turn off the highway and take a 60km logging road up to the lake and campground. It is a very picturesque lake, right on the US border. In fact, it is a reservoir for the Seattle District. Most of the lake is in the US, part of the Cascades, and during the winter months it is empty.

We managed to get a beautiful lakeside campsite. There was a lot of people around the beach part of the lake when we first arrived. We were surprised because we were led to believe that it was a very quiet campground. Having said that, it was quiet and by Sunday afternoon most people had left.

The good weather also left. When we arrived it was a beautiful sunny day - not a cloud in the sky. By Sunday afternoon it threatened rain. By Sunday night the threat was realised and it rained for about 14 hours straight. We debated whether to go home on Monday...but a kind man lent us a big tarp and helped us to cover our site. It stopped raining and, although it was still cloudy, we got out and about and enjoyed ourselves.

We took turns going out in the kayak. The lake was clear and calm and very peaceful. We also looked around the area. There is a campsite on the US side that is free but there are no lakeside spots. Unfortunately, it was too wet for any hiking. We hadn't brought enough gear...the first trip of the season is always a tad disorganized. But we had a wonderful trip. The kids were great. Bronwyn is a seasoned camper and loves being able to stay up late, poke the fire, climb trees. She made friends with some Canadian geese that came up to visit us at our campsite. As well as a mouse and a couple of chipmunks. I didn't see too many birds this trip.

This was River's first trip in a tent (the last time we camped was with a tent-trailer and he was only 6 months). He took to camping like a natural. He actually slept better in the tent than he does at home...weird. It's always a lot of work when you have little kids with you, but it was also a lot of fun and Mark and I relish being outdoors, enjoying nature and watching the wildlife. We heard a loon calling in the morning and we saw eagles and hawks. Quite a few people were trout fishing and I wish we had brought a rod with us.

We got Bronwyn to climb a tree and set up the tarp (eh eh...just kidding)...

This is the view of the campsite from the lake...

We began a short hike across Chittenden Bridge with the idea to go walk around the meadow. This plan was cut short by the swarms of mosquitoes. Actually, the only downside of the trip was the large numbers of big aggressive mosquitoes; the type that bite you through your clothes. Deet took care of most of them, but we didn't want to put the strong stuff on the kids. Heavy rainfall produces many more mosquitoes (and we've had our share of rainfall lately). It promised to be a nice walk...with a little suspension bridge at the trail head. We'll try again next time.
We had a great time and we're looking forward to our next trip! Let's just hope we can get lucky with the weather next time.