The Back Story

Exceprt from Lower Valley column, originally published December 23, 2015 Methow Valley News

Last week, the Methow Valley News began a five-part series featuring the history of the Miller family. I met Richard Wipple, a cousin of the Miller’s, after the Carlton Complex fires of 2014. There was a cold drizzle that day in October when I drove up to a tepee flying Seattle Seahawk colored ribbons. A large man, tall and broad-shouldered, met me. Despite the damp air, he wore a Seattle Seahawks T-shirt. A Seahawk cap kept the rain off his face. He offered me a diet Coke and spoke fondly of his family — memories of playing with his cousins, tales of his grandparents, and the strength of his mother. His name was Richard Wipple.
Richard agreed to meet with me at a later date to talk about his mother, Mary Marchand, who worked for decades to preserve the Salish language into a written format. Being a linguistics geek, I was intrigued. Richard passed away unexpectedly before we could meet again. I wrote a column about our conversation and, after it was published, I received a phone call. Wendy Snook interviewed Richard’s mother before Mary passed away in 2013. Over cups of coffee at Blue Star, Wendy shared her notes, and suggested that I contact Mark Miller, Mary’s nephew.
Mark and his sister Cyndy graciously agreed to share their memories of Mary, and other family members who worked to improve their communities. With their permission, I spoke with historians and contacted museum archives. Everyone I contacted held a deep respect and admiration for the Millers.
I was touched by their story, and I hope that everyone will be just as inspired while reading about their intimate connection to the Methow Valley.

The Methow Tribe - 500 Generations in the Methow Valley

Originally published 16 December 2015 Methow Valley News

Photo licensed under Creative Commons by photographer Surachit

The lower Methow Valley near Pateros was home to over 1,000 members of the Methow Tribe before the group was decimated by smallpox.

Traditions are strong in the Miller family, direct descendants of the Methow tribe

Editor’s note: For more than 13,000 years, Native Americans have lived along the waterways of the Pacific Northwest. Columbia River tribes share the names of waterways they call home: the Entiats, the Wenatchis, the Chelans, the Lakes, the Okanagans and the Methows.

Members of the Miller family are the longest known continuous residents of the Methow Valley. Descended from indigenous Methows, their story is told through generations by the intricacies of their artwork, their native language, their connection to the land and their dedication to building strong communities.

They generously agreed to share their story with the Methow Valley News. In a five-part series, we will share the history of the Methows through the Millers.

By Joanna Bastian

At a recent community meeting in Pateros, neighbors introduced themselves by sharing how long their family had lived in the area. Mark Miller stood, announced his name and quietly sat down. The meeting coordinator reminded him to share how many generations of his family had lived in the area.

“Well, as far as I can tell,” Mark said, “we’ve been here since the last Missoula flood,” referring to the cataclysmic floods that formed much of the dramatic topography across eastern Washington 8,000 years — or 300 generations — in the past. For as long as the Millers can remember, previous generations of their family have called the land along the banks of the Methow River “home.”

A few days later, Mark spoke with his friend, archaeologist Stan Gough from Eastern Washington University. Out of curiosity, he asked Gough what the records show in terms of human activity in the area.

Gough explained that Mark’s ancestors may have been in the area as early as 5,000 years before the Missoula floods. Recent finds of human activity in the Pacific Northwest provide evidence that people lived along the Columbia waterways for over 13,000 years. For anyone doing the math, that is approximately 520 generations of people.

A Methow community

Photo licensed under Creative Commons by photographer Joe Mabel
It was near this site — at the confluence of the Chewuch and Methow Rivers — that one of the larger groups of Methow Indians was living in the later 1800s when Pateros was founded further south, where the Methow River joins the Columbia.

When Lee Ives — the founder of Pateros, originally called Ives’ Landing — arrived at the confluence of the Columbia and Methow Rivers in 1886, he reported seeing a Native American settlement led by Chief Neekowit (also know as Captain Joe), made up of two dozen tepees. The Methows’ presence at one time consisted of villages located throughout the valley.

At the mouth of the Methow River, the town was referred to as “Captain Joe’s settlement” or “Bluffs at the Mouth of the River.” Larger settlements were located at the confluence of the Chewuch and Methow Rivers, the mouth of the Twisp River, and also at Benson Creek.

If Ives had arrived a generation earlier, he would have seen thousands of Native Americans.

Local historian E. Richard Hart offers a sobering insight to the impact of the smallpox epidemics on the Methows within just a few generations. “The prevailing theory is that the smallpox virus traveled up the Columbia, but there is another recent theory that it came from the eastern states,” Hart said. “During the late 1770s through the 1800s, a series of smallpox epidemics hit every other generation of Native Americans. They had no natural resistance and by the 19th century, the smallpox virus had killed 80 percent of the [Methow Valley Native American] population.”

Once home to nearly 2,000 Methow Indians, the valley in 1886 held only a few hundred. The flu epidemic of 1918 was another blow to the tribe.

One with the land

The Millers live on the very last Moses Allotment. The original Moses Reservation, formed in 1878, reached from the Spokane River to the Columbia River to Lake Chelan and north to the Canadian border. Less than a decade later, in 1886, miners and settlers pushed to claim these lands and pressured Congress to eliminate the entire Moses Reservation and force the Native Americans to move to the Colville reservation in the Okanogan Valley.

Chief Moses compromised, and negotiated the Moses Allotments. Every head of household along the Methow and Columbia Rivers who wished to remain on land they had lived on for generations was allotted 640 acres of surveyed land. Forty allotments were issued. The Miller family remains on the last existing allotment, MA 27, a piece of history in the Methow Valley.

The Miller family members in the lower Methow Valley are direct descendants of Chief Neekowit’s sister, Mary. Siblings Lewis Jr., Thomas Senior, Cyndy, and Mark, along with their families, live on land long inhabited by previous generations of the Methow Tribe. They are also the longest-known residents to continuously call the Methow Valley home.

On their father’s side, they are direct descendants of Sam Miller, founder of Wenatchee, and namesake to Miller Avenue there. Sam Miller married Chos Chostq of the Methow Valley. She was also known as Nancy Paul.

Mark and Cyndy’s mother, Elsie Miller, was the great-great- granddaughter of Chief Seattle. No matter where you look in the Miller family tree, each generation holds a compelling story of historical significance.

Honoring the past

Perhaps because of their long-held family ties, Memorial Day is bigger than Christmas for the Miller family. Multiple generations of extended family members come together to honor past generations by, “rebuilding, pulling together, and taking care of ‘here’. Doing it the right way,” Mark said.

As they gather to tend both graves and landscape, they tell stories, remembering the lives of the people buried there.

“To remember our sister Bobby is very compelling,” Cyndy said, fondly recalling her older sister Roberta Minnis, a cultural anthropologist.

A special assistant to Washington Gov. Dan Evans, Roberta was deeply involved in the civil rights movement and worked to improve conditions on Native American reservations. She called for an audit of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and promoted a reformation of the agency. She brought together tribes nationwide to identify common issues and coordinated groups to lobby Washington for change.

One common issue at that time was unemployment and poverty on reservations. The government would invest millions of dollars on reservation projects. Complete strangers would descend on the reservation to work, then disappear. The tribes never saw any employment opportunities from these million-dollar investments. Mark recalls the origin of Roberta’s idea that became the turning point of change: “she outlined this idea on a napkin in a hotel room,” he said. The idea was TERO — Tribal Employment Rights Office.

The goal was to reduce poverty on the reservations, increase employment, and eliminate discriminatory employment practices by requiring that each business venture on a reservation consider qualified local Native Americans for employment. In the first year, five tribes enrolled in TERO. Ten years later, every single tribe in the nation had signed on.

In 1978, after many days of driving long distances to meet with different tribal leaders around the nation, Roberta died in a car accident. Her family believes the accident was the result of pure exhaustion.

Family involvement is a common thread. Mark’s daughter Crystal also obtained her degree in cultural anthropology from the University of New Mexico and currently works with the Colville Confederated Tribes.

Traditions continue

Family is a continuous concept. Younger members of the family are selected to be the “hands and feet” of elders who need care. This practice of cultural responsibility and respect builds a strong connection between the generations of a family: the elders pass down stories and traditions to young adults, and the needs of the elderly are met.

It could be said that both Roberta and Crystal continued that connection into their adult years, by extending their knowledge and skills to both preserve the history of a culture, and ensure that the future needs of the people were met.

The land in the lower valley, with a view of the “Bluffs at the Mouth of the River” has always been home to the Millers. At times, the dynamics change — as young adults go to college, start jobs, and raise families of their own. But everyone eventually returns to care for their parents and grandparents, and to rebuild homes lost in floods and fires. As Mark and Cyndy spoke, the pride, love, and closeness of the family was palpable.

“This land, this family, this is what makes us the Millers,” Mark said with a smile.

WWII POWs from Pateros

Original publication date 11 December 2015 Methow Valley News


Roy Gebbers, Pete Joseph, and Jack Nickell
Photos courtesy of Chuck Borg

This week marks the 74th anniversary of the United States entering the Second World War. The Methow Valley felt the effects as gas, food and other materials were rationed. Men were drafted into service, women stepped into the work force, and children collected recyclables. Everyone felt the weight of the war. Seventy-two people from Okanogan County lost their lives. Three men from Pateros were captured and lived to tell the tale.
Roy Gebbers was 19 years old in February 1941 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. The following month, he was already in action in the Philippines, defending Manila Bay from Japanese invasion.
On Dec. 7 and 8 of that year, Japan deployed multiple air strikes against the United States, attacking Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and Manila Bay in the Philippines. Gebbers was taken prisoner and started the Bataan Death March. Thousands of soldiers died of starvation, thirst and brutality as they marched 60 miles under the Philippine sun to a POW camp.
Pete Joseph graduated from Pateros High School in May 1942, and turned 18. He was a star athlete, often running home after basketball practice to his family’s home at Azwell. He was called into service with the U.S. Army Air Force in February 1943. Joseph’s wiry build was a perfect fit for the ball turret on the belly of a B-17. He underwent flight training and aerial gunnery practice before deploying to England shortly before D-Day.

Not long after Joseph arrived in England, Gebbers endured yet another nightmare as he was moved to Camp Hoten in Manchuria via hell ship Tattori Maru. Hell ships were overcrowded, and prisoners were starved and brutalized. The unmarked prisoner ships were targeted as enemy ships by the Allies, and were often under attack.
While Joseph was fighting for the Allies from his ball turret, and Gebbers was fighting for his life at sea, Jack Nickell turned 18 and joined the U.S. Army on Oct. 30, 1942.
Eleven days after Nickell enlisted, Gebbers landed at Camp Hoten in Manchuria. Reports by the U.S. Consulate show a tough life endured by men who were even tougher. Rations were slightly above a starvation diet. Prisoners were beaten and executed. Still, they found small ways to fight back: planning escape routes and performing small acts of sabotage.

On March 8, 1944, Joseph’s B-17 bomber was hit. He bailed out and fell so fast that his boots were ripped from his feet. He was captured and held in solitary confinement while the Gestapo guessed at his ancestry: Japanese, Filipino, Chinese or Mexican.
The Native American refused to speak, giving only name, rank, and serial number. He was transported to Stalag Luft 17B, home to 30,000 Allied POWs. Men slept three to a bunk and food was scarce. Conditions were brutal.
In November 1944, while Gebbers and Joseph planned their escapes from POW camps, Nickell landed at Marseilles, France. He fought in the Battle of Hatten on Jan. 9, 1945, and was captured. Nickell was sent to Stalag 9B, Bad Orb, Germany.
In April, Germany began losing its foothold. Nickell was liberated April 1, 1945. The Soviet army was advancing fast, and the Nazis did not wish to be captured — so they started clearing the camps. A week after Nickell gained freedom, Joseph, along with 4,000 other Americans, was forced by the Nazis to march 281 miles, as the Germans tried to clear the camp and move the prisoners.
Joseph’s ordeal was nearly over. On May 3, 1945, Patton’s 13th Armored Division caught up with his group, captured the Germans, and evacuated the prisoners to France. One member of the liberating unit was PFC Eddie Holbrook, also a Pateros man and friend of Joseph.
Gebbers remained in Manchuria until after the atomic bombs ended the war. Japan surrendered on the Aug. 14, and the Office of Strategic Services, precursor to the CIA, rescued Gebbers and his fellow POWs.
Gebbers returned to the United States in October 1945, and spent six months in medical rehabilitation. He was discharged from the service with honors in May 1946. Of his five years of service, three were spent as a POW. Gebbers served as Pateros’ chief of police for 25 years until he retired in 1977. He passed away in 1982.
Joseph rehabilitated and was discharged with honors in October 1945. His outfit, the 379th Bombardment Group, took some of the heaviest losses in the war. Joseph returned home and worked on the Columbia River hydroelectric projects. He passed away in 1991.
Nickell was honorably discharged from service in December 1945. He served on the Pateros school board. He was the mayor of Pateros in 1962, when the city council accepted the creation of Wells Dam. Nickell resigned in protest. He passed away in June 2013.

After Rainstorm, Black Canyon has several new canyons

Original publication date 30 November 2015 Methow Valley News

 

Black Canyon Road south of Methow has a new canyon, compliments of last Tuesday’s rainstorm on Nov. 17.

While the upper valley received over a foot and a half of snow, the lower valley received an equal amount of rain, if not more. One foot of snow generally equates to 1 inch of rain. According to Agweb.com, our region recorded between 3-4 inches of rain in November. A look at waterdata.usgs.gov revealed that on Nov. 14, the Methow River near Pateros was flowing at an average of 400 cubic feet of water per second (cfs). On Nov. 18, the day after the storm, the Methow River was flowing at 900 cfs, double the rate.

Along the boundary of the most recent burn in Black Canyon, flow rates of a small stream rose from single-digit cfs to a raging 350 cfs. More than 10,000 to 15,000 cubic yards of rocks, mud, trees, and other debris was displaced, plugging a culvert four-and-a-half miles up Black Canyon and resulting in a deep washout that resembles a small canyon. The road is currently closed one mile from Highway 153, and will reopen next spring after the road is rebuilt.

According to Cathy Dowd, public affairs officer for the U.S. Forest Service Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, it is common practice to remove culverts after a fire to keep the road from washing out.

“The public may have the misconception that we’ve closed a road when we remove a culvert, but it is only temporary,” she said. “When culverts are removed, the water and debris are able to flow over the road and not wash it out.”

As this one culvert was not removed, the damaging result will keep the road closed until repairs can be made next spring.

Black Canyon road is used by many recreationists year-round. In the winter, it is a popular snowmobile route with groomed trails leading to spectacular views of Lake Chelan. In the summer, outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the route to Summer Blossom Trail and onward to Angels Staircase and the Golden Lakes. In September, HawkWatch shuttles groups up Black Canyon to Chelan Ridge to watch the annual hawk migration. Due to recent fire events, summer and fall visitors had to find alternate routes, and this winter, Black Canyon will continue to hold her secrets.

A recent drive along the South Fork of Gold Creek revealed minimal damage to the road, but the results of post-fire mud flows and high winds were apparent. Fallen trees, rocks, and erosion, had impacted the area.

The recent rains and the freeze-thaw cycle resulted in hazardous conditions on national forest roads throughout the region in the Entiat, Wenatchee River, Cle Elum, and Methow Valley ranger districts. Before leaving home, people should contact local ranger stations for current road and trail conditions. Plan for alternate exit routes in case your return route becomes inaccessible or blocked.

Pumpkin Chili with Scones

Original Methow Valley News column, Lower Valley: November 11, 2015

By Joanna Bastian

I had planned a column featuring all autumn quotes, such as this gem from Jack Kerouac: “Swinging on delicate hinges the autumn leaf almost off the stem.”

But then it snowed. Writing about autumn suddenly felt passé, like pumpkin spice latte.

Speaking of pumpkins — we roasted a pumpkin earlier this week and mashed up the softened flesh with a bit of butter, rosemary, sage and sea salt. The sweet and savory combination gave me an idea: pumpkin scones with turkey pumpkin chili.

You’ll need a total of three cups of pureed pumpkin for both recipes. Select a small- to medium-sized pumpkin and slice off the top. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour, or until skin is browned and knife easily inserts into pumpkin. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Scoop out seeds, peel off skin, and mash pumpkin flesh in a bowl.

Photo by Joanna Bastian

Pumpkin rosemary sage scones are an
excellent companion for pumpkin chili.

Pumpkin rosemary
sage scones

1 stick of butter

10 fresh sage leaves

1 fresh rosemary sprig, leaves removed from stem

1 shallot, minced

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup whole milk

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 oz applewood-smoked Gruyere cheese, cut into small cubes

Finely chop the rosemary and sage. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan just until frothy. Stir in the fresh herbs and cook until just crisp and fragrant — about two minutes. Line a bowl with a paper towel and scrape the buttery herbs out of the pan and into the bowl to drain.

Melt another tablespoon of butter in the pan and cook shallot until translucent. Add pumpkin, salt, pepper, and ½ cup of the heavy cream. Stir in the herbs. Cook over low heat until excess liquid evaporates — about 5-10 minutes. Place in refrigerator to chill for one hour.

In large bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Using two forks, cut in 4 tablespoons of chilled, cubed butter. When mixture resembles coarse crumbs, add cheese, and toss to coat.

Add the rest of the heavy cream, milk, and chilled pumpkin mixture. Stir until just combined. Turn dough out onto floured surface and with floured hands, pat evenly into a 1-inch thick disc. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut scone dough into wedges and place on baking sheet. Melt the last two tablespoons of butter and brush over the top of the scones. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.

These flaky lightweight scones go well with a hearty stew like turkey pumpkin chili. Warm two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a deep-sided pot over medium high heat. Add one red onion, one green bell pepper, and four cloves of garlic, all roughly chopped. When onion is translucent, crumble one pound of ground turkey into the pan and cook until brown. Add two cups of pureed pumpkin, a cup of frozen corn kernels, and 8 ounces of fire-roasted tomatoes. Season with a generous handful of chili powder, and a dash of salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, until extra liquid from pumpkin has evaporated.   

I don’t know how many calories are in the savory pumpkin scones. I’m a writer, not a mathematician. But there is an entire stick of butter and a respectable amount of cheese. Just run a turkey trot marathon after eating a batch and you’ll be fine.

Stuffed Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the only time of year that I can eat pumpkin cookies.
The rest of the year, it tastes sacrilegious.
But now, is the perfect time of year to enjoy the autumn holidays on the tastebuds. Celebrate the season with these very colorful, warm spice, cookies.

• 1/2 cup shortening (do not substitute, shortening makes them "so fluffy I can't stand it!")
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cup pumpkin
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg 
• Add-ins 
• 1/3 craisens
• 1/3 white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup crushed walnuts 

Preheat oven to 350° F. 
In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and mix to form a smooth batter. Stir in the add-ins. Drop by rounded spoonful on cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes. 
Drop batter onto ungreased baking sheets by rounded teaspoonful. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

Fragility

It was a mistake to come to the writing cave today
I sit by the fire, a cup of tea in hand
Steam drifts above my pursed lips
Curling as I breathe out, and breathe in

My thoughts are not where they should be
Far away from this stack of paper in my lap
Editing notes in the margins
Inky arrows, slashes, circles and numbers

Creating clarity on the page
When I have no clarity of thought

Yesterday morning at this time
The hillsides and trees shrouded by fog
Mist formed droplets of lazy rain
A bag of seed hung from my arm

Spreading seed is a restorative act
For the land and the soul
Holding my hand above burnt soil
Seeds softly filter by slight of hand

Falling to the ground, they lie in slumber
The snow blankets their bed of soil
Spring sun awakens the seed
Grasses take root, the land restored

Not far from where I meditate with seeds
A nightmare unfolded just months ago
Three firefighters lost their lives, a fourth his youth
Unlike the land, life is too fragile to restore

The phone rings. Her voice is resigned.
Mammogram. Biopsy. Mastectomy. Treatment.
She needs her friends near to plant seeds of hope
To restore some zen, love, and support

In the evening I sit at the right hand of another friend
Strains of classical guitar fill the air
Her face is flushed with anticipation
She is on a date with the handsome man to her left

A wire extends from the curve of her breast
To a recording device clipped to her hip
Her irregular heartbeats under scrutiny
Not by her date, but by a team of doctors

Onstage, the guitarist furrows his brow
Eyes closed, lips pursed in concentration
Fingers dance across the wires
Delicate notes interplay with complex melodies

Life is fragile.
Hope and joy can be restored.

Garden Minestrone

Sometimes, you just want to put your entire garden into a pot, let it simmer, then fill your belly with all the fruits of your summer labors. 

This soup is easy to make, freezes well, and is the perfect soul-warmer for those rainy, snowy days.
In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute for 5 minutes:

•     5 T butter
•     1/2 C olive oil
•     2 cloves garlic, minced
•     2 small yellow onions, diced
•     1 C diced celery
•     1 C diced carrots

Then, add the following ingredients and bring to a boil:

•     1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
•     2 qt broth (chicken, beef, vegetable - whatever)
•     1/2 qt water
•     1/2 t ground sage
•     1/2 C chopped basil
•     1 C shredded cabbage
•     2 C frozen spinach (chopped)
•     2 C zuchinni, sliced
•     1 C cooked beans (recommend kidney, black, red, or navy)
•     16 oz diced plum tomatoes

After soup has come to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Then, add 1 cup dry small shell pasta. Hard cheeses go well with this soup: romano, parmesan, asiago.

Golden Lakes

Oh look, a column. They appear like magic. I hoped somebody reads this trail tale. I hiked all the way uphill just get this story.

Published in the Methow Valley News , October 28, 2015

Larch trees blend in with other conifers most of the year, but when autumn arrives, they reveal their true colors. Deciduous needles change from dark green to brilliant yellow. The Golden Lakes Loop trails on Gold Creek are  — to continue a literary theme — pure gold.

To get there, take Gold Creek Loop to Gold Creek Road. Follow the main fork of Gold Creek for about 6 miles before coming to a marked fork in the road. Turn left onto forest service road 4340-300. Arrive 4-1/2 miles later at the trailhead parking lot at the end of the road. Both the turnoff and the trailhead are marked, but there are no destination signs. Someone keeps taking the signs, including the trail register. The trailhead is primarily referred to by two different names in trail books: Eagle Lakes, and Golden Lakes Loop.

There are usually several cars parked at the trailhead, as this is a popular trail with stunning views. A meadow campground with picnic tables, grills and an outhouse is perfect for overnight camping at the trailhead, for an early start in the morning. Interconnecting trails lead to multiple high-alpine lakes, surrounded by brilliant larches, heather, bearberry, salmon berries, willows, dogwoods and aspens — all showing their stunning fall colors; truly, a hikers paradise.

Most hikers come from miles away to hike the ever-popular Golden Lakes Loop, which includes Martin Lakes, Cooney Lake and Eagle Lakes. If you have two or three days for an overnight hike, or feel like a long bike ride, this 23-mile loop is well worth the time.

For a quieter, less-traveled hike, Crater Lake is a wonderful option. Just 4-1/4 miles from the trailhead, a round-trip day hike is challenging, yet rewarding, with a steady elevation gain of 2,350 feet from the trailhead to the lake, which is located at 6,969 feet. Rugged beauty surrounds the jagged cirque of Crater Lake, where calm waters reflect the warm hues of the changing larches.

Start from the Eagle Lakes Trail, which gently climbs the Crater Creek drainage through open forest with fir and aspen. At a quarter-mile, the trail dramatically opens with views of both Crater and Martin Creek drainages as the path curves along a rocky ledge. At thr .07-mile point, an impressive bridge crosses Crater Creek and the trail enters a shady spruce grove. Here, the options begin: Martin Lakes, Cooney Lake and Eagle Lake trails are to the left, while Crater Lake Trail veers to the right. The trails are clearly marked.

Crater Lake trail is steep, but there are many rock outcroppings that provide perfect photo ops to capture long views of the Methow Valley floor, expertly framed by tree-covered slopes.

Lower Crater Lake is at the4-mile mark, in a deep basin surrounded by 8,000-foot rocky crags. Upper Crater Lake is just .03 miles further.

For a longer day hike, Martin Lakes are a 12-mile round trip, as are the Eagle Lakes. Cooney Lake is a little farther, at 7 miles in. All are within a 14-mile round trip. Happy hiking!

 

Easy Focaccia

I used to think I could not bake bread. Mission impossible. Something always went wrong and the product of my failure usually was inedible. But then...I don't know what happened. Something just clicked. Or, I just found a bread recipe that was easy to follow, and easy to get creative with.

Now I make bread all the time. It tastes good, it smells good, and above all...it's easy. Which is a good thing, because I'm fanatically successful at failure in so many other avenues of life, it's nice to come across a nice bread recipe that looks and tastes successful with not much effort.

First, whisk these three ingredients together and set aside in a warm place for five minutes so the yeast will 'proof' - as in, poof up:

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon yeast

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Have the olive oil handy.

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

Suggested add ins:

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons red onion, minced

1 tablespoon dried, mixed italian herbs

Stir in the oil and yeast mixture. If using add ins, stir these ingredients into the mixture. Stir until combined, then using oiled hands, knead the mixture in the bowl until all ingredients are incorporated. Turn dough into large oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel and set in a warm place.

Let rise for one hour. Dough will double in size.

Toppings:

Pizza sauce

Red onion, thinly sliced

Tomato, thinly sliced

Grated Parmesan cheese

Turn dough out onto cooking stone or baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Press with oiled hands to spread evenly on baking surface - dough should be 2 inches thick. Brush with sauce, if using. Top with thinly sliced vegetables. Brush with olive oil. Top with sea salt or grated cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes before slicing.