Stehekin

At the far end of Lake Chelan is the town of Stehekin, and there are only three ways to get there. Boat, seaplane, or hike through the North Cascades.  Part of the charm is the remoteness. The first time we visited here in 2006 there was no outside contact except satellite phone.  When we were here over Memorial Day weekend there was some very limited wifi at the shop by the marina.  Until a tree knocked out power and the backup generator kicked in. No TV, no internet, no cell phones. Such a peaceful, idyllic spot to get away from it all!
*Background info update:* Lake Chelan is the largest natural lake in Washington. It's a narrow 50 mile lake bordered by the Cascade and Chelan Mountains, and it fills a deep underwater gorge, 1486 ft. at the deepest point. Stehekin is at the far northeastern point of the lake. At the other end of the lake sits the town of Chelan where you can park in the overnight lot and take one of several ferries uplake. This is the most common method of getting to Stehekin. On our uplake journey we took the Lady of the Lake II, a 4 1/2 hour trip which included multiple stops along the way to drop off hikers , including 70 Boy Scouts.  On the return trip we took the Lady Express and got back down to Chelan in 2 1/2 hours.

Linking to Weekend Reflections and Skywatch Friday.

Little Boulder Creek

This little creek is one of many creeks and rivers feeding Lake Chelan from the North Cascade and Chelan Mountains.  It's a little marshy, but this is the view from the 'top' of the lake, just past Stehekin.

Rainbow Falls

A view of Rainbow Falls in Stehekin, where we vacationed over the weekend.  We rented bikes to ride to these falls, so I was traveling light with camera gear: just the lens on the camera and no tripod.  It was probably good for me because I tend to present whitewater in the same way each time.  A short shutter speed here is a nice change of pace.  As for the rainbow part, I'm told that if the sun shines on the falls, the mist creates a rainbow.  It was sunny on our ride, although you certainly can't tell it from this photo.  I wonder how often the sun shines on these falls.  Maybe we needed to be there earlier in the day.  I also wonder how many falls get the rainbow name.  Lots, I'm sure.