"The horses in the sun bathed Meadows grazing
The lush green trees in the gentle breeze waving
Rainbow kissed diamonds cascading from the sprinklers magic wand
While far way the magnificent blue mountains in their austerity stand
Vagabonds till now, we feel what we never felt before
A beautiful world where less is more
With a sense of belonging sans the attachment fear
We would always want to come back here
In the womb of the serene equilibrium of forces of nature, wild and tame
Oh! Life will never be the same "
However rationality finally took over when we realized breakfast would not be served forever. We dragged ourselves out of the bed and freshened up. An appetizing english breakfast buffet awaited us in the main building of the ranch complete with freshly baked bread and hard boiled eggs. It transported me to the land of Famous Five and the breakfasts they had in the countryside before they ventured out for their numerous adventures. I felt like one of them reminiscing our adventures in this beautiful valley and our journey to it.
We began our journey in Portland. It was a beautiful drive to Chelan. We stopped for breakfast at ‘Patty’s Egg Nest’ which was a gastronomic delight.
On the way, the snow capped mountains rejuvenated us and the turquoise blue water of Lake Diablo mesmerized us.
"O Holy Mother of the Lake,
Embrace me in your loving arms,
Tell me tales, you never before have spake,
Of magical charms and faraway farms.
O Holy Mother of the Lake,
Engulf me with your tender whispers,
O let me, your invigorating smell partake,
and heal all my wounds and blisters.
O Holy Mother of the Lake,
Encompass me with your endearing calmness,
Whenever life seems tough and the world so fake,
I will keep returning to you for solace."
We spent the night in Chelan which lived to its party town reputation. It had a young and lively crowd. The water activities in Lake Chelan invluded jet skiing and sun-bathing on top of million dollar yatches.
We started our trip to Stehekin next morning. Stehekin remains practically closed in winter time due to snow and glows with its eternal beauty during the summer. It is a place where no roads go, an island in Lake Chelan reachable only by water. We were transported to this island of our dreams by the ‘Lady of the lake’ the water ferry commuting to and fro Stehekin and Chelan.
A local bus took us to the ranch. En route we we took a brief stop in the Stehekin school, a quaint wooden structure that captivated us with its rustic beauty.
After dumping our bags in the wooden tents, we decided to explore the valley. In the wilderness, we discovered a sparkling small creek by the ranch.
We idled away some time on its bank, listening to the gurgling of the lingering water, enjoying the tingling feeling of splashing feet and challenging each other to a pebble throwing competition. Soon it was lunch time and we headed back to the ranch.
After lunch we lazed around in the ranch, lounging in the hammock, soaking in the mosaic of sunbeams through the canopy of trees and staring at the beauty around. Soon it was dinner time and after dinner we cozied up in the warmth of our tent. The night was mostly spent inside the tent except a couple of strolls to the main building in pitch darkness. The night in the wilderness transitioned into a dawn in this paradise heralded by the music of the chirping birds.
And now it was time to go back! After breakfast we boarded the bus back to the dock. However we were still not ready to bid adieu to Stehekin yet.
We stopped by a waterfall whose milky white frolicking water seemed to be the passageway between heaven and earth. The fairy of the forest seemed to be weaving her magic everywhere in this valley and had cast a spell on us. The honk of the local bus finally freed us from this spell as we scurried towards it not to miss the ferry back. Luckily we we back in time.
As we boarded the ferry, we bid our farewell to beautiful Stehekin with the promise to be back again!
