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October 14, 2026
Ancient Lakes Trail from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was a perfect day for hiking the Ancient Lakes Trail yesterday. We had both clouds and sun, and it kept us cool along a rather dry and unshaded path. But let's just back up to the start of the day. When I looked out our back window, this is what I saw:


Before we left, I had time to finish off the sheep. (Sorry about the wrinkles)


While we've been traveling, I learned that the designer of this pattern, Meg Hawkey, had passed away. I read that on Facebook, and I haven't ...

read more
Ancient Lakes Trail from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was a perfect day for hiking the Ancient Lakes Trail yesterday. We had both clouds and sun, and it kept us cool along a rather dry and unshaded path. But let's just back up to the start of the day. When I looked out our back window, this is what I saw:


Before we left, I had time to finish off the sheep. (Sorry about the wrinkles)


While we've been traveling, I learned that the designer of this pattern, Meg Hawkey, had passed away. I read that on Facebook, and I haven't ...

read more
October 13, 2026
Quincy, Washington from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was a beautiful drive from Electric City to Quincy, Washington, yesterday. So much of the way, we were driving alongside Banks Lake. We’d driven through the little town to the state highway. As we passed through this canyon, we could see the lake on the other side.


Remember what I said about the dam in yesterday’s post. The pumps we saw on our tour pump water from Roosevelt Lake into some large pipes where it is then dumped into Banks Lake. This is the water that is used to irrigate over 1 million ...

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Quincy, Washington from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was a beautiful drive from Electric City to Quincy, Washington, yesterday. So much of the way, we were driving alongside Banks Lake. We’d driven through the little town to the state highway. As we passed through this canyon, we could see the lake on the other side.


Remember what I said about the dam in yesterday’s post. The pumps we saw on our tour pump water from Roosevelt Lake into some large pipes where it is then dumped into Banks Lake. This is the water that is used to irrigate over 1 million ...

read more
October 12, 2026
A Tinker and a Dam from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. We had a very enjoyable day yesterday. On the day’s agenda were these items: visit Grand Coulee Dam, get some groceries, visit the Gehrke Windmill Garden. Check, check, and check. We left Sadie basking in the morning sunshine. And speaking of sunshine, we had a nice day of weather. A little breezy and on the chilly side, but no rain, and no dust.


The dam is just a few minutes away. We pulled off at a viewpoint. Here, we were on the back side of the spillway. Lake Roosevelt was formed when the dam was ...

read more
A Tinker and a Dam from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. We had a very enjoyable day yesterday. On the day’s agenda were these items: visit Grand Coulee Dam, get some groceries, visit the Gehrke Windmill Garden. Check, check, and check. We left Sadie basking in the morning sunshine. And speaking of sunshine, we had a nice day of weather. A little breezy and on the chilly side, but no rain, and no dust.


The dam is just a few minutes away. We pulled off at a viewpoint. Here, we were on the back side of the spillway. Lake Roosevelt was formed when the dam was ...

read more
October 11, 2026
Electric City, Washington from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. We had a blissfully short drive yesterday...just 44 miles to our location here in Electric City, Washington. The town was established in 1934 as a place to house workers for the Grand Coulee Dam project. Some of the original buildings were relocated here from the nearby town of Osbourne. Osbourne was inundated when the dam was built. Electric City was incorporated in 1950.

This is the view of Banks Lake from our campsite. Banks Lake resulted from the damming of the Columbia River.


There wasn't a lot to see between here and Bridgeport, but ...

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Electric City, Washington from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. We had a blissfully short drive yesterday...just 44 miles to our location here in Electric City, Washington. The town was established in 1934 as a place to house workers for the Grand Coulee Dam project. Some of the original buildings were relocated here from the nearby town of Osbourne. Osbourne was inundated when the dam was built. Electric City was incorporated in 1950.

This is the view of Banks Lake from our campsite. Banks Lake resulted from the damming of the Columbia River.


There wasn't a lot to see between here and Bridgeport, but ...

read more
October 9, 2026
A Dam Fine Day from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. What an interesting little tour we created for ourselves yesterday. We first drove into the adjacent town of Brewster, Washington, to indulge ourselves with our beloved Egg McMuffins. Along the way we were able to fully take in the vastness of the apple and cherry orchards in this area. We'd noticed the abundance of fruit trees on our drive in, but seeing the landscape really brought it home to us. The green on the far hillsides…all apple and cherry orchards.


This is the Columbia River valley, lined with orchards on both sides.


Even more ...

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A Dam Fine Day from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. What an interesting little tour we created for ourselves yesterday. We first drove into the adjacent town of Brewster, Washington, to indulge ourselves with our beloved Egg McMuffins. Along the way we were able to fully take in the vastness of the apple and cherry orchards in this area. We'd noticed the abundance of fruit trees on our drive in, but seeing the landscape really brought it home to us. The green on the far hillsides…all apple and cherry orchards.


This is the Columbia River valley, lined with orchards on both sides.


Even more ...

read more
October 8, 2026
Bridgeport, Washington from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. Yesterday’s drive was pretty easy. Just about 90 miles, and almost no traffic. We’re in the hinterlands, and so there’s not a lot to see. We passed by a few barns.




And sadly, this big burn scar. This must be fairly recent.




And this was pretty much our view for most of the day…wide open spaces. The landscape is barren compared to what we saw just last week. The arid climate doesn’t support much in the way of growth.


Here was something of interest. Take a look:


This large collection of ...

read more
Bridgeport, Washington from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. Yesterday’s drive was pretty easy. Just about 90 miles, and almost no traffic. We’re in the hinterlands, and so there’s not a lot to see. We passed by a few barns.




And sadly, this big burn scar. This must be fairly recent.




And this was pretty much our view for most of the day…wide open spaces. The landscape is barren compared to what we saw just last week. The arid climate doesn’t support much in the way of growth.


Here was something of interest. Take a look:


This large collection of ...

read more
October 7, 2026
Winthrop Walkabout from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Winthrop, but we’ll be moving on today. It’s another short day of driving to Bridgeport, Washington. We have three nights there and, honestly, I can’t remember why I included it in the trip. We have no real plans for the area, however, I did read about a mile-long path of chainsaw sculptures. Sounds entertaining. Possibly, I just gave us a few days to relax. In any case…that’s next on our itinerary.

Before we headed out on our little walking tour yesterday morning, I ...

read more
Winthrop Walkabout from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Winthrop, but we’ll be moving on today. It’s another short day of driving to Bridgeport, Washington. We have three nights there and, honestly, I can’t remember why I included it in the trip. We have no real plans for the area, however, I did read about a mile-long path of chainsaw sculptures. Sounds entertaining. Possibly, I just gave us a few days to relax. In any case…that’s next on our itinerary.

Before we headed out on our little walking tour yesterday morning, I ...

read more
October 6, 2026
Winthrop, Washington from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. Oh my...what a pretty place we find ourselves in today. We drove into Winthrop, Washington, yesterday afternoon.


Winthrop is such a fun little town. I can’t wait to get out and explore today. It was founded in 1890 after the Methow Valley was opened to white settlement by the indigenous Methow people. Winthrop was named for author and explorer Theodore Winthrop, who visited Washington Territory in the 1860s. The town was incorporated in 1924. Winthrop adopted an Old West theme for its downtown architecture in 1971 to prepare for the opening of the North ...

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Winthrop, Washington from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. Oh my...what a pretty place we find ourselves in today. We drove into Winthrop, Washington, yesterday afternoon.


Winthrop is such a fun little town. I can’t wait to get out and explore today. It was founded in 1890 after the Methow Valley was opened to white settlement by the indigenous Methow people. Winthrop was named for author and explorer Theodore Winthrop, who visited Washington Territory in the 1860s. The town was incorporated in 1924. Winthrop adopted an Old West theme for its downtown architecture in 1971 to prepare for the opening of the North ...

read more
October 5, 2026
Fern Creek Loop from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. We'll be heading down the dusty trail again in a little while. Our next stop will be Winthrop, Washington, just up the road, and on the other side of the national park. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's talk about yesterday's activities. 

We're nearly out of ice cream, but since we still have enough vanilla, I was motivated to bake a Skillet Cherry Cobbler for Two. These are cherries from our own trees, and my adaptation of my mother's recipe to make it a skillet cobbler for two ...

read more
Fern Creek Loop from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. We'll be heading down the dusty trail again in a little while. Our next stop will be Winthrop, Washington, just up the road, and on the other side of the national park. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's talk about yesterday's activities. 

We're nearly out of ice cream, but since we still have enough vanilla, I was motivated to bake a Skillet Cherry Cobbler for Two. These are cherries from our own trees, and my adaptation of my mother's recipe to make it a skillet cobbler for two ...

read more
October 4, 2026
Skagit-Sauk Reach Trail from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. What a beautiful day of weather we had yesterday! It was the first really warm day of our trip. I packed both long and short-sleeved shirts, and plenty of sweatshirts. Yesterday was the first time I wore a short-sleeved shirt. We're expecting similar weather today.

So we settled on the Skagit-Sauk Reach Trail. It was listed as being five miles, but with almost no elevation gain. We ended up turning around when we reached a point where it was more overgrown than we liked. Some reviewers said there was poison ivy. We didn't see ...

read more
Skagit-Sauk Reach Trail from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. What a beautiful day of weather we had yesterday! It was the first really warm day of our trip. I packed both long and short-sleeved shirts, and plenty of sweatshirts. Yesterday was the first time I wore a short-sleeved shirt. We're expecting similar weather today.

So we settled on the Skagit-Sauk Reach Trail. It was listed as being five miles, but with almost no elevation gain. We ended up turning around when we reached a point where it was more overgrown than we liked. Some reviewers said there was poison ivy. We didn't see ...

read more
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