Time at Conconully fun, relaxing
Computers save the old activity of digging through maps to figure out a route, distance and time needed to travel from Point A to Point B. Such was the case when friend, Bill Witt, suggested a camping trip to Conconully State Park a few months ago.
I had never set foot near the place, although the name Conconully Lake had been part of several conversations over the years.
“Where is Conconully?” someone would ask.
“North and a little west of Moses Lake,” would be the answer. “Just a little west of Omak.”
Bill had warned me to make my reservation soon, as he had secured the second-to-the-last campsite, which left only one site available. Reservations are easy to acquire online, so my fingers worked fast to find the state park. The only site left was 59D, so it was reserved.
This site was a little south and away from the rest of the campsites of this park, a couple hundred yards or so, which made me wonder about the desirability of the location.
The computer was consulted again about the distance and driving time to the park: 2 hours and 23 minutes and 132.4 miles via Highway 17. Don’t know why the distance and time seemed longer in my mind all these years, but, sure enough, it was only 132 miles from Moses Lake.
The scenery was remarkable and interesting as my wife, Garnet, our 4-pound Chihuahua, Brenda Starr, and I traveled to Conconully State Park two weeks ago. We headed north on Highway 17, through Soap Lake, passed Sun Lakes State Park, left at the west end of Dry Falls Dam and on the combination of Highway 2 and 17 for a miles and then right on Highway 17 again, heading north.
This stretch is several miles long through wheat country. We passed Sims Corner, which is the turn to Mansfield, and on to Leahy Junction. A left turn, still on Highway 17, brought us to Bridgeport. We crossed the Columbia River and were allowed a fantastic view of Chief Joseph Dam.
A northwesterly angle and a few miles later had us near the spot where the Okanogan River enters the Columbia. At this point we turned right on Highway 97 and headed north again for about 25 miles to Okanogan. A left turn put us on Conconully Road. This final leg of the journey was about 20 miles long.
From home we passed through the desert, into a forest-like surrounding with many evergreen trees. Conconully State Park is about 1,000 feet higher in elevation than Moses Lake.
Check-in time was 2:30, but we arrived two hours early. Still we stopped at the ranger station and, since the previous camper had left, we were allowed to setup our trailer in 59D. This was a beautiful, pull-through site with the lake to our right front at less than 100-yard distance.
A multitude of Canada geese were present at the water’s edge, leaving lots of deposits, as is the practice of geese everywhere. However, they didn’t travel far into the large lawn area in the middle of the park, which remained clear of droppings.
Our plan was to have a barbecue the first evening, with each family supplying their own food. The Witt family, Judy, son, Kevin, and Bill came to our campsite for the meal. They fixed hamburgers and we had bratwurst.
Our group planned for each family to make their own breakfast and lunch. However, the evening meals, there were two left, were designed to have each plan one and treat the other family. Both meals were delicious with Bill cooking a Shepherd’s pie in his Dutch oven and Garnet making lemon chicken thighs in a slow cooker.
I asked Bill over for breakfast one morning. He cooked fried potatoes, green peppers and onions and I cooked elk backstrap and walleye cheeks: Great food and great friends enjoying a super meal.
One of my simple pleasures is to write stories while at a campsite. This was no exception, but there was no Wi-Fi reception at the park. On the second day, a stop at the Sit’n Bull Saloon and found excellent reception, so I was able to send my stories, while enjoying a…yes, cup of coffee.
A classmate from The Great Class of 1965, Dennis Bishop, lives near Omak. He made two trips to visit. On the second he drove his 1929 Model T. He was invited to stay for supper, but he wanted to get home before dark because of the deer.
Indeed there were gobs of deer in and around the park, sometimes a dozen in a herd. Other times a large buck, still in velvet would pass our campsite.
Several campfires were enjoyed during this trip, with only one mosquito bite experienced by our group and it was on my arm.
On the third morning it was time to break camp and head for home. We took our time, as there was no reason to rush. Our first trip to Conconully State Park was truly fun and relaxing.