The end of another good year

Wow, an entire 52 weeks have passed since writing the last end-of-year column. This is an annual event and provides a chance to reflect on the events of the past year.

A common saying is similar to this: As a person gets older, time speeds up and goes faster. I'm here to tell ya, the words are true as the days and months seem to be flying by at a falcon-in-dive-mode pace.

On a personal note:

This is a special time for me to ponder not only the entire year, but especially the past 11 weeks. During the first two days of the general modern firearm deer-hunting season, I faced death as one of the arteries in my heart was 90 percent blocked.

My heart doctor told me after having a stent placed in the affected area that if I had a heart attack, it would have been a bad one.

This is the first year in eight where I didn't notch a deer tag, and it's for the best. Downing a deer on the first or second day of the season would have me gutting and dragging the carcass. Tasks which, might have stressed my heart to the breaking point.

Fate entered the picture and my hunting buddy, Dr. Thomas Steffens, recognized the problem and had me at the Sacred Heart Medical Center Sunday evening.

The stent was inserted on Monday. I was home on Tuesday, and back in the hunt area on Friday.

Yes, I am thankful to be alive today. My low salt, low fat and low saturated fat diet is progressing well. I don't go hungry and have lost about a pound a week, with a goal of 20 more on the chopping block.

Trailer camping

My wife, Garnet, and our camping companion, little 3-pound, 4-ounce Brenda Starr, spent two full weeks in the 26-foot long Hideout camping trailer at site 23 at Potholes State Park. We regret not tripling the camping experience.

The week-long trip was new to us. In the past, we had headed to the park on Sunday afternoon and headed home on Thursday afternoon, being mostly the only camping site filled out of 10.

This year Garnet wanted to find out who arrived on the weekends.

The experience was enlightening as we watched the remaining sites fill on Friday afternoon and empty on Sunday afternoon.

The 10-site circle was abuzz with campers of all ages, and provided a chance to make several new friends.

As in 2010, we planned on a dry-camping trip to Martha Lake on March 1, but were held back with temperatures at the end of February of around 8 degrees. The trailer was left in hibernation mode for a few more weeks.

We also missed the opening weekend of the lowland-lake season at the end of April because of an outdoor writers' conference in Bellingham on the same weekend.

This would have been another dry-camping trip, which is relatively new to Garnet and me. Camping at a state park with sewer, water and electrical hookups are very different from camping without any of those comfort features available.

However, we are beginning to enjoy such camping. We have a certain amount of fresh water in a storage tank, along with grey and black water storage tanks to accommodate us.

As a result, we expect to experience more dry-camping experiences.

Camping with kids

One of our camping trips included my sister Denise and her three grandchildren. The four of them slept in a tent next to the picnic table.

This provided a chance for Garnet and me to offer some instruction to the next camping generation, a responsibility we take seriously.

Hopefully, the three youth returned home with memories that will last a lifetime.

Camp cooking

Included in this column during the year was the subject of cooking at the campsite and cooking fish and game at home. Expect this theme to continue during 2012. This is intended to provide readers with ideas of what to do when fresh fish and raw meat ends up on the kitchen counter.

Trout Lodge

Two interviews that were interesting to me, at least, were about the Trout Lodge story, the company running two hatcheries along Rocky Ford Creek and one along Winchester Wasteway.

The history of the company is an outstanding part of Columbia Basin history. This company supplies most if not all of the triploid trout to Washington State waters.

Jess Walton

Never would I have thought interviewing a soap opera star would interest me. Jess Walton, who plays Jill on the daily soap opera, "The Young and the restless," proved me wrong. Meeting and visiting with her was a wonderful experience.

Air Force

The Air Force spent about 10 months at the Grant County Airport, because the runway at Fairchild Air Force Base was being refinished.

During this time, I had a chance to attend several events involving outdoor-related activities, such as long-range shooting, water survival, shelter building and starting a survival fire.

Skills learned at during such pursuits will continue to be passed along to readers.

Discover Pass

The Discover Pass was hastily passed in the middle of 2010 as a way of keeping many of the state parks open that would need to be closed because of a lack of funding.

The requirements for needing the pass will continue to be revised during the next session of the state legislature. The changes and revisions will be reported in this column.

Wolf expansion

The expansion of the wolf population in Washington will continue to be a hot topic in this column. I expect wolves to have a harmful effect on state deer and elk herds.

Future adventures

We look for many more outdoor-related adventures in 2012. Reader feedback is always welcome.

Feel free to call us or send us an e-mail at (509) 762-5158 or dclay@atnet.net. Your suggestions and ideas have, in the past, provided leads to great stories.

Garnet and I will try to stay up until midnight on Saturday. A task that has become increasingly difficult during the past few years, to say goodbye to 2011 and welcome 2012, which is sure to provide adventures which will last a lifetime.

Happy New Year to all.