Eastern Washington Moveable Messabout Day 1

“I just talked to a camper who came over from the other side of the island.", said Steve. "He said they saw a bear"
“Grizzly or black?”, I asked.
“They weren’t sure.”
Later that evening, just before crawling into my tent, I carefully packed away my food, eliminating anything with a scent.
At 2:30 am, I awoke with a start. Someone in camp was frantically blasting an air horn. Oh shit.

The Eastern Washington Moveable Messabout was Ellie’s grandest adventure to date.  Eleven boats, eleven sailors, seven days, 940 highway miles, two States, five campsites, hot days, freezing nights, fog, sunshine, gale force winds and dead calm.

 
It all began on Sept 9, 2014.  Joining Ellie and I was Steve Lansdowne from Austin, TX.  Steve, who manages the Events Calendar for Duckworks Magazine, was here to visit friends and relatives, attend the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, join me as a crew member for this messabout, and then return home for Sail Oklahoma.  Quite the schedule!

We packed the back of the truck with a weeks provisions and set off for Newport, WA.  We decided to take the scenic route, Highway 2 instead of Interstate 90.  This added an hour to the trip but was well worth it for the scenery.

No trip to Eastern Wa on Hwy 2 is complete without a stop in Leavenworth, a charming Bavarian village in the Cascade Mountain foothills.  Our lunch stop included some outstanding brats and beer, along with some sightseeing.  Leavenworth is gorgeous in the winter, and of course its the place to be during Octoberfest.

We arrived at our destination, Little Diamond campground, and were soon joined by Tom Gale from Port Townsend with his Bolger Old Shoe.  We set up camp, as it was getting late and it gets dark quickly in this remote area of Eastern Washington.  Next stop: the 8:00 am crew meeting at AJs cafe in Priest River, Idaho.

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