(g)Hat 2014

Hat Island was, as usual, super fun...

Alex showed up on his big sailboat -- this is his tender for the big one -- and this little thing rules. He showed me how to sail and then let me loose for a half-hour or so. It ruled. I shall procure one for Lake Roosevelt. Verily.

Clearly, it's a workboat too. 

My crab goal every year is to eat enough crab at Hat to make me sick of it for a year. Betsy made some excellent crab cakes and Z made some crab and avocado sushi rolls that were the bomb, but my favorite way with crab is right out of the shell: no butter no nothing. 

This is a picture of me taking a picture of Betsy taking a picture of Alex taking a picture of the sun.

As for pictures: this is Best of Show. 

I don't have a picture of Gina: but this is her. No one, and I mean no one, jams out a fresh fruit pie like Gina. On the left: Hat Island Blackberry. On the right: Hat Island Apple. The blackberries were perfectly tart and Gina showed the perfect restraint with sugar'ing them... Genius.

Evening jam session. 

Bugs and fat bikes and Nonna and skulls...

Grasshopper (Maddie pic).

Little fishies.

Fishing is rough rough rough at the river right now. 

I put in at the end of the river road to see if the fishing was any better.

Five otters visited as soon as I got my boat in the water.
That pretty much kills all the action.

I minor highlight was getting Liza on a fat bike. Glen let me use his small Pugsley for the weekend. I think Betsy needs to try one and I think Glen's would fit.

The major highlight of last weekend was a Nonna visit. She loved Betsy's new cabin. Here they are playing scopa, an Italian card game that's pretty damn fun, especially Liza's mom. She gets really excited. She also says that in Sicilian, the game is called "scupa," not "scopa," so that's what it is in Ferry County.

I was skunked most of the weekend. Then I caught this beaut -- a fighting rainbow early on Friday morning.

We had it for breakfast with some fried new potatoes.

Maddie and I took the little boat on the Columbia and did some exploring. We're going to do a lot more of that. And maybe some camping too.

Deer head.

Lake CDA hang

Sweet, sweet air

More river

That's one happy cyclist there.

Maddie and Betsy: performance floating.

Ignoring the "No Wake Zone"

Sleeping out in the open on a clear, moonless night is fun starting at about 11 PM --  after the mosquitoes finish feasting. We didn't know this at 9 PM. 

Friday morning conversation.

Liza's first walk across the river.

Bass were hitting. We caught six, but only kept these two: filleted them, dusted them with flour/paprika and fried them in bacon fat. Bacon fat.

Click for big. This was sort of a magical moment at about 6:30 AM -- when it started just barely to rain as the sun peeked out. 

Post-magical moment.  I like how Maddie is looking on here. She's a big Beth fan from way back.
We all are.

Betsy jamming up the pave section of ol' 395.

Cozette taking a water break.