THURSDAY
Curlew Lake to Fort Spokane today. It was a tough day for Werner, hardly a tree in sight so where does one stop to pee? Does sagebrush provide enough privacy? Not really.
Then again how often does one need to pee when it’s this hot out?
Fort Spokane beckoned. We were hot and tired and heard the camp site was fantastic. Everyone worked hard and we were soon in camp. Lush grass, shade and some cooler air were welcomed by all- other than the comment of “I hope they turned the sprinklers off” which was heard any time we encountered green grass. Tents were pitched, showers taken (and Greg was given permission to sing in the shower) and dinner was served. We all noticed that it had become quite a bit cooler and soon the wind and rain started. The whole camp scurried back to their tents to wait for the storm to pass.
Next up was hail followed by thunder and lightning.
Today's sponsor is the National Weather Service who provided Howard with the weather updates that he then relayed on to us.
It seems that one of the support staff felt it necessary to remind everyone to stay in their tents. He went driving around with a megaphone saying ‘YOU ARE ALL GOING TO DIE, STAY IN YOUR TENT SO WE CAN FIND YOUR BODIES’. This went on for quite some time until the weather abated and we heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. It was a big one, painted gold with JIMMY SWAGGERT MINISTRIES lettered on the side. Seems that Jimmy had heard the sermon and was looking for a replacement, who would have thought that one would be found in Fort Spokane.
This last embellishment comes from visiting friends in Metairie, LA who drove us by the motel that brought Jimmy Swaggert down. He really needed a replacement.
Ah how I remember that storm! We all thought that we were so smart pitching our tents on that ridge because we would get a nice breeze to cool off. It felt like a hurricane was crashing into my tent. Remember that several were in fact destroyed that evening. Yes I did take two showers every day — morning and afternoon— and proud of it. But I just don’t remember singing. Oh well, that comes with getting older!
Sunday you will find where the singing took you.