My two oldest friends were in town, and I really wanted to show them the homestead.  Becky had been there once back in 2005 and helped work on one of the cabins, so I both wanted to show her how far it had come and share with both of them what I'd been up to for the last ten years.  In all, there were six of us (two Chrises plus Jake, Becky, Eric, and I), so I borrowed the Kathy M from my parents to get us all down there.  In addition to being roomy enough, I would also have the chance to accurately track how much fuel that boat burned for future reference when borrowing it.  I'd already left four jerry jugs of gas at the homestead, and brought along another five for good measure, the memory of running out of gas at Point Arden fresh in my mind.

We left Aurora Harbor around 4:00 on Sunday, the first day of July, and headed over to Tesoro's to fuel up.  From there we broke out leaving the harbor beers and cruised down Stephen's Passage, still apparently devoid of whales.  Cailey spent a good portion of her time curled up on one of the seats squeezed between Eric and Jake.  As we passed along the Snettisham shore I was considering pointing out the general location of the mines to Jake when a vibrant brown color caught my eye in the green grass of the beach where the corduroy road starts to the Crystal Mine.  A gorgeous brown bear with a big wooly head was grazing on grass there.  He seemed oblivious to our presence, and I slowly chugged and drifted our way closer while everyone got a good look.  What a beautiful bear!  He was browsing on the beach grass, even reclining at one point while he did so.  That was the first time I'd seen a bear along that beach, and what better timing!  The slightly choppy seas we'd experienced in Stephen's Passage had given way to glassy water and the whole scene was picturesque. 

Unfortunately, we arrived at the homestead at the bottom of a falling tide.  It wasn't a crazy low tide, but we were down to the sandbars where there is almost no grade and in a boat that draws more than the Ronquil.  Consequently, we had the most awkward landing possible.  Eric and I ferried gear to shore in hip waders, which were then passed to others to walk in.  I managed to slide into a hole in the mud right after I gave the hip waders to Becky and soaked myself up to the waste.  We didn't have a lot of gear, but we had to carry all of it over slippery mud, slippery rocks, slippery logs, and up the path to the cabin.  Not exactly the welcoming I prefer for my guests!  And then we couldn't immediately relax, because the lodge furniture was all in the back of the lodge from painting the floor.  So the first thing we did was move all the furniture; many hands made it short work, but there were really too many of us!  After the main furniture was organized, Chris helped me put a bunch of extraneous items in the attic, and then we finally relaxed.  By the time I gave everyone a quick tour (so quick I neglected to show anyone the rocky point), it was 8:00 and Eric started dinner (delicious homemade marinara pasta that could hardly have been improved by the addition of the bison I'd forgotten at home).  I baked cookies from dough I'd made at home and discovered another of the many preparation errors for the weekend; I'd only put in half the flour.  The cookies tasted okay, but were crisp to a fault and very flat. 

At some point during the evening, I suddenly noticed a strange glow from outside--everything was alight with a subdued peachy amber glow, as though lit from a nearby forest fire!  The sun had long ago retreated behind the mountain, but this felt like direct light.  It was very bizarre.  The only explanation I could come up with was that a peachy sunset was reflecting off the clouds above us, bathing us all in sunset light.  Wild!

Brown bear (Eric's photo)

Look, it's me! (Eric's photo)

Strange rosy glow after sunset

The next morning I slept in a little, having thoroughly exhausted myself getting ready the previous week (partly just trying to finish unrelated chores at home).  People trickled in one after another and we lit a little fire and played a game of munchkin cthulu; Chris Barry made French toast for everyone.  The day was clearing up and the inlet was flat calm, so I suggested we go for a kayak.  Chris had already headed out on his own to hike up the side of the waterfall that runs down the big avalanche upriver.  Eric, Chris B., Jake, and I were all interested in kayaking, so I finally unwrapped my second double--a yellow beast named Kushda.  I took her on her inaugural voyage with Cailey while Jake and Eric shared Keet and Chris took Cheech.  Not long after we headed out, Chris B. turned back for something on land and wound up staying close to home.  Eric and Jake coincidentally wanted to head to the same avalanche that Chris was exploring, so I tagged along.  We had a couple of good seal encounters, but there wasn't a lot of activity.  Cailey was pretty good, but she did pace a lot and often perched precariously in the bow; she seemed very stressed in the middle of the river, and calmed as we reached the other shore.  I let her off a couple of times as we kayaked along the rocks, and once she slid backwards into the water when choosing a very steep rock to leap onto from the kayak.  Instead of going back to shore, which was RIGHT THERE, she came to the kayak and I was forced to help her up by pulling on her scruff and leaning away to prevent capsizing.  I was amazed it worked so well!

As we approached the avalanche I spotted Chris on a rock outcropping way up high and took a couple of fuzzy photos.  Eric and Jake were already ashore, so I pulled in and we explored a little, enjoying the ferns and other flora just emerging from under the melting snow.  I found Chris's kayak up in the bushes and, before we left, put my beer in it, packed with snow from the last remains of the avalanche.  As we pulled away to head upriver to the grassy beach, I saw Chris nearing the bottom of the slide and he followed us.  Jake and Eric threw sticks for Cailey from the beach and we discovered that she will happily swim and play fetch!  It was the first time she'd swum somewhat voluntarily (i.e., not swimming after me or falling in) and she seemed willing to go on bringing sticks to shore endlessly!  Then we walked through the wide, grassy meadow to the edge of the mountain and back, watching Cailey bound like a deer through the high grasses after sticks (the grass was over her head).  We also got a closer look at one of the many windblown areas on the mountainside nearby.  Back at the beach we shared a couple of granola bars and headed onto the river, which turned out to be challenging given the falling tide and low slope to the beach (not everyone had boots, including me).  Eric and Jake had to relocate to a nearby point where the slope was steeper.  Out on the water, Cailey seemed desperate to get to Eric and Jake's kayak, actually jumping in at one point to go after them!  The water was so shallow she could stand up and quickly got back into my kayak; I think the next time she simply slipped off and wound up swimming in the river again, forcing me to again haul her up onto the kayak.  By the time we crossed the river and fought a headwind down to the grassy point above the homestead, Cailey was wearing out.  She hadn't had a nap all day and had had a rigorous adventure, and it was around 5:00!  First she sat on the bow, then she sat between my legs, then actually curled up and laid down for the final push to the homestead.

Hey, it's me!	Eric and Jake	Cailey waiting for a pickup
Cailey watches Eric and Jake go ashore	Cool water seep	Skunk cabagge and fiddleheads (Eric's photo)
Cailey on a snow bank (Eric's photo)	Me and Cailey! (Eric's photo)	Cailey fetching sticks
Cool plants	The seas kick up on the way back across from the waterfall we visited	Cailey is sleepy on the way back

I baked the last of the chocolate chip cookie dough (adding some bisquick to make up for the lack of flour) and we rewarded ourselves for our adventures with hot cookies.  Chris chopped some firewood and hauled it to the porch for storage.  We were supposed to grill kabobs for dinner, so Chris and I started a fire with leftover lumber before placing alders on for cooking.  Becky and others chopped up veggies and sausages and we cooked outside, with s'mores for dessert.

The next morning, Cailey and I both slept in.  She woke up and slid onto the bed with us and went back to sleep.  As she rarely sleeps past eight, and only once until 9:15, I assumed it was still early, and made no effort to check the time.  When I finally did look, it was 10:30!  Cailey was truly worn out.  Somewhat abashed, I hastened to put myself together and make it to the lodge.  Since the tide was rising, I soon suggested that we walk down to Garnet Rock and check it out before it was cut off from easy access (you can't see the rock from the lodge, so I couldn't be sure how long it would be accessible).  Eric, Jake, and I wandered down there, the boys skipping stones as we went.  Cailey made a nuisance of herself chasing after them and getting in the way.  I picked up a largish skipping stone and thought I'd give it a try, managing to hit Cailey's shoulder with a solid thunk rather than the water (the fault was entirely my own).  After that I didn't try skipping any more rocks!  Back at the lodge, we ate leftovers and sandwiches and packed up our cabins.  With a high tide, the departure went quickly and smoothly and the trip back was uneventful.

Iris (Eric's photo)

The point (Eric's photo)

Harbor Seal (Eric's photo)