On day two of my central Washington trip, after seeing the Beezley Hills and Moses Coulee for the first time the day before, I returned to visit an old friend dear to my heart- Northrup Canyon. Located just a stones throw away from Steamboat Rock, and part of the same state park, Northrup has a lot to offer: stunning canyon scenery, history, myriad species of birds and animals, and come spring breathtaking flower displays. I wanted to do the old wagon road carved out of the rugged cliffs by early settlers. You pick it up on your right a few hundred feet past the trailhead, and though at times pretty rocky it is at least at an easy grade as it eventually climbs out of the canyon onto the plateau above. As you near the upper reaches of the road/trail the flowers really begin to appear, highlighted by arrowleaf balsamroot and lupine. When I gained the top of the canyon I ventured over to the rocky rim, with great views of Steamboat Rock and Banks Lake to my left and below me and to the right the road on the canyon bottom winds its way toward the old settler's (Northrup) remaining homestead buildings at the head of the canyon. Near the rocky rim are many bitterroot plants ready to flower- what a show that will be! You could easily spend days and days exploring all the nooks and crannies in and around this canyon. Just a delightful place.

I then retraced my steps down to the main road/trail with plans to walk to the old farm/ranch bldgs. I ran into a nice lady out birding and enjoying the day- after she blurted out some bird talk I knew we didn't speak the same language (I'm a birder wannabee) but it was nice to exchange some pleasantries on the trail. I told her about the flower show atop the wagon road and she wants to come back next week to see that. She won't be disappointed. Then just 15 minutes after saying our goodbyes I nearly walked over a rattlesnake alongside the road! It immediately curled up and started doing its thing, then went off into the brush, still a'rattlin'. I was left rattling a little after that! Of course I came to my senses and tried to photograph it but it was too far into the brush by then- too bad. This was in a spot on the road not far after you cross a bridge over a small creek.

I proceded on and enjoyed looking at the old rustic building(s) and marveling at the spunk and grit of the folks who called this home. Sharing the beauty of the canyon with rattlers, ticks, winter snow and summer heat! Amazing. I them walked back and in a spot approximately half way between the old homestead and the low bridge I encountered another rattler, both I saw that day not more than 12-15"" in length. It curled up quickly and rattled a shshshshshssh sound- very distinctive sound- then quickly moved into the brush, but it was pretty skimpy brush so I could see him and tried getting as close as possible without it striking to photograph it. But there was still enough brush and light and shadow to make photographing it tough. The results wouldn't be publishable believe me!

So I had my fill of snake encounters for a trip I think. Pretty cool stuff. As I neared my vehicle I noticed a note on the windshield from the woman I had chatted with earlier- she just wanted to share that she had run into a snake shortly after we had met. Funny.

I hit the road with my dog Daisy at noon on Sunday, and drove out to Sun Lakes st park. I was going to do a short hike there and then camp, but there is some kind of horrible construction equipment going day and night, so I bailed on that noisy place. I drove through Coulee City to the Trail Lakes Coulee trailhead, but there was no place even halfway decent to camp anyhwere near there. So I decided to go on up to Steamboat Rock SP and camp there, but by then it was too late to do any kind of a hike, so I just played with the dog, barbecued, and rode my mtn bike around the area with the dog chasing after. Great stars that night, then a bright moon came out.

Monday I did some more bicycle exploring, and some lounging, and playing with the dog, then it started to rain a bit. Not enough to get wet, but I just decided I didn't feel like hiking that day. It happens. So I drove up to Grand Coulee dam and checked that out. I had never been before, and it was pretty cool. On the way back I drove up the road to Northrup canyon, and that looked interesting, so I planned that for Tuesday. I also found a WDFW camping area north of Northrup canyon but south of Electric city. I camped there Monday night since it is free if you have the WDFW VUP (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Vehicle Use Permit). It was nice, in between a high cliff and a small lake, with views towards Steamboat Rock.

Tuesday I drove back to Northrup canyon, and took off up the road on the mountain bike. After just a short ride I had to get off and walk due to solid ice on the road, covered in water, super slippery. But then the road moves over to the sunny side of the canyon, and I mounted up again. Daisy loved this, as she can finally move at her own pace instead of always waiting for her sluggish master. After a few more ups and downs the road reaches the old homestead of the Northrups. I left the bike there and we hiked up the trail towards Northrup lake. What a cool place this canyon is. There are tall cliffs with lots of tumbling boulders and rock slabs halfway fallen off the plateau above. Lots of wildlife, birds of every description and type of call. I especially liked all the awesome rock formations and distinctive boulders right along the trail. After some ups and downs and a decent uphill grind, I was at a good view area, toasty-brown grass interspersed with granite slabs and ponderosa pines and other types of pine trees. There are views up and down the canyon, with the ever-present coulee walls for added visual stimulation. I came to a junction, with the right fork heading towards Northrup lake, but I went the other way to get to another high point with more good views. From there I dropped down off trail to meet up with the Northrup lake trail again, and went over to the lake. It's 90% frozen still, but scenic in it's own small way. On the way back, I saw a bunch of the eagles that I was told to expect in the area. I got a few pictures of elongated dots that I claim are eagles, but you'd have to take my word for it. The binoculars worked better. It was nice to have the bike to roll partway back on, making the road section go more quickly and easily. I used the extra time to stop more and watch the eagles circling. It took 4 solid hours of driving to get home, plus some extra time for stopping to feed the dog, etc. Subtract about 20 minutes if you live in Seattle.