Final stop in Washington: Lakes, Logger Jamboree’s and Mt. Rainier

Mayfield Lake, Mossy Rock, Washington

We are finishing up a week on Mayfield Lake in Washington, staying at Harmony Lakeside RV resort in Mossy Rock (love that name.)  It has been a fine place to relax and enjoy the nice weather we have finally settled into. After our foggy days on the shore and exploring the North Oregon coast  it has been nice to bask in the sun for a while.  The resort is right on the lake so Hubby has had the canoe in every morning, catching lots of small trout, so someone has been happy.  I caught up on my posting and my reading. We wrap up here tomorrow and move into Oregon to see the Columbia River Gorge.

He did take one morning off to drive over to see that iconic Washington landmark, Mt. Rainier. We were only an hour away and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see one more mountain. That was all it was, one big mountain. The national Park is big, lots of forested foothills, surrounding the main attraction. Hiking seemed to be the thing to do. There were dozens of people in the parking lot at the Information Center, suiting up to hit the trails. The wildflowers were abundant and really colored up the scenery.  As National Parks go, it didn’t have a whole lot to see or do, other than to see Mt. Rainier up close and take lots of photos. We did find one waterfall that didn’t require a big hike to get to, so we saw that as well.

Mt. Rainier and Reflection Lake

Wildflowers were in bloom

The highlight of our week was actually just 12 miles down the road from us in Morgan. They held their annual (70th, I’m thinking. They had a fellow there who competed in 1940…he was 90) Logger’s Jamboree.  Complete with beauty pageant, a massive parade of floats and logging equipment, a flea market and a bed race, we opted to just attend the logger competitions. It was a fun afternoon of watching brawny (and some scrawny) men speed climb 80-foot trees, chop through 12 inch logs, manhandle  gigantic power saws and of course, log roll.  We learned that the power saw has replaced the long, large toothed hand saws (AKA the “misery whip”) and we could see why.  It ate up those big logs. Most of the events were timed, for points, with the winner being named “Bull of the Woods” for the year, others like cutting a 60 foot tree so it fell and drove a stake in the ground, were strictly for bragging rights. (This is what these guys do for a living.)  There was a large crowd, lots of BBQ, and a good time was had by all.  Some of the highlights:

The day kicked off with a parade

Now that is a saw

Scampering up an 80-foot tree to saw off the top

He was celebrating his 70th birthday, watch those toes

A quick buzz cut

The “Misery Whip”

Speed is the thing, you have to be a fast chopper to win

They don’t roll logs anymore, and this was more a demo not a competition