Rosie and The Operator are on the road and our destination for the day is the Silver Lake Resort, just outside Castle Rock in the State of Washington where we are going to overnight under the watchful eye of Mt St Helens which towers over the lake and resort. We are going to be visiting the Information centers along the way to get abit of background on one of the most closely monitored volcanoes in the world and The Operator is looking forward to trying his hand at a bit of bass fishing…off the deck (which is customary) at the Silver Lake Resort where we are staying overnight.
It’s a nice easy one hour drive on Intersate 5 from the rolling Willamette Wine Valley of McMinnville in Oregon. Countryside, factories and strip malls line the way before we turn off the interstate towards Castle Rock. From here, civilization seems to be left behind very quickly and we are back on narrow roads flanked by woods and small carts which line the roadside with ‘camping firewood for sale’ tacked to the sides and hand painted signage pointing down tracks that lead to cabins for rent.
Enroute to the Silver lake Resort is the Visitor Information Center for Mt St Helens. Rosie is keen to learn more about this mountain that she remembers watching wide eyed on the news as a kid, as it spewed forth ash and smoke in 1980, making it the most disastrous volcanic eruption in US history with a death toll of 57. Hmmm, The Operator muses, there is not many cars here in the parking lot. Great said Rosie, that means there is not many people inside, yay! Well it turns out the Visitors center is closed on the days we were in town…..SERIOUS! Rosie is gutted.
Disappointed, we travel on wards to our destination, Silver Lake Rosie in particular is apprehensively looking forward to staying overnight at The Silver Lake Resort. It sounds like a prime lake front lodge with a beautiful view from our balcony across the lake to the volcano, we have a kitchenette, lounge and separate bedroom. The facilities at the lodge include boats to rent and fishing to be had off the jetty. There is also a store onsite and bait shop for the fisherman. As part of the resort there is also lakefront cabins to be rented plus tents and RV sites for those looking at getting a bit closer to nature or, are on a bit more of a budget. On paper it sounds awesome right?
In reality it is abit more time worn and tired. Rosie expected this…she is not silly when it comes to booking accommodation and The Silver Lake Resort never pretended online to be anything other than what it is. Rosie does however normally book something with a few extra stars, but hey, sometimes you just cant pass up something abit different when it catches your eye.
Turning off the road and into the driveway the moldy, slightly leaning retro signs hearkened to a Lake Resort full of summer fun long, long ago. The office/store door tinglalinged when we opened it from the bell on the top and we were greeted by a beautiful fluffy, wary, Maine Coon cat called Leo.
We were checked in by a young girl manning the office and were told our room was ready even though we had arrived an hour before check in. She presented us with a couple of green wristbands that we were supposed to wear at all times to identify us as paying guests of the Resort. She then said we didn’t have to wear them unless we wanted to as we were the only guests staying in the whole resort that night.
The Operator selected a fishing rod from the rental stand and off we went to check out our room on the top floor of the Lodge. Well, the rooms sure have seen better days, which were about twenty years ago…but, to their credit they were spotless and smelled fresh.
The Operator couldn’t wait to get his line in the water straight off the balcony which this lodge allows and encourages, just DO NOT clean the fish in your room as there will be a $50 fine. So, while The Operator fished, Rosie went for a walk to explore the campsite.
There were a couple of RVs parked up amongst the trees behind the lodge with out door furnishing scattered in front and piles of debris besides them. The RVs had mossy sides and a carpet of leaves and tree needles on the roof which attested to the fact they had been here awhile. Red, who Rosie met whilst walking his dog confirmed this, he had been living in the park for the last year and was loving it here.
The cabins looked battened up for the winter and had a beautiful outlook over the lake with a small fire pit in their front yard which would be beautiful come summer evenings.
The Operator has left his fishing position on the balcony and taken to standing on the long fixed jetty that juts out into the lake from the lodge. Floating pontoon platforms branch off from the main pier and flat bottomed rental boats are moored next to these. On another jetty boats have been pulled up on top and there they will stay till next summer.
The lake itself is smooth, flat and reflecting the grey clouds overhead that are completely obscuring the volcano of Mt St Helens which ‘apparently’ sits pretty much on the far edge of the lake. There is not even a trace of an outline, it is as if the mountain does not even exist. Rosie and The Operator are used to this, they have one of those temperamental natural wonders in their own backyard at home in New Zealand and we can go for a whole week sometimes without a peek of its peak. Maybe tomorrow it will be clearer.
Standing at the end of the jetty Rosie turns around there is our Lodge sitting on the lakes edge in all her glory. Rosie loves it! The facade is tired and in need of a wee face lift but what a location framed by the trees behind! Imagine it in the middle of summer, under a blue sky and the hot sun. Families swimming, fishing and BBQing on this peaceful, quiet and beautiful lake. The Operator fishes on.
Out on the lake Rosie and The Operator see a couple of ripples in the water from jumping fish which The Operator is quite excited about as he casts and recasts his line into the lake from the jetty. An otter in the distance breaks the surface of the lake and lazily observes the world, nose pointing to the sky with just his bobbing whiskery face on show.
A man has joined us on the jetty smoking a huge Cuban Cigar and points out a couple of bald eagles which are sitting on a pylon in the middle of the lake. His name is John, he is a local and he tells The Operator he is fishing all wrong. If you want to catch the bass and the crappie you need a different lure for starters, I have a spare one in my truck, let me get it for you. He gets the new lure and reties it on The Operators line…you also need to dip your line and leave it still for the lure to float. The best place to catch a fish is from under the jetty, so try to get your line there and he points between the boards of the dock.
John also got his rod from the truck and joined The Operator for awhile. He fishes everyday he said and most days he is lucky he states. This gives The Operator quiet optimism as he fishes on.
Back in the room Rosie thought she would sit on the balcony overlooking the lake and catch up on her emails and a bit of writing. There was no internet coverage…at all. Down to the office Rosie went to ensure all was working and she had the proper log ins. The Office Girl was most apologetic and said Rosie may be experiencing difficulty because of the atmospheric conditions today. Hmmmm OK.
Rosie abandoned trying to access the outside world and wow, Rosie forgot how quickly a couple of hours could evaporate just sitting, watching The Operator on the jetty, breathing the fresh, damp air and taking in the peaceful and quiet wider view whilst supping a beer or two.
The sun, even though it was hidden behind the clouds turned the sky pink at dusk and cast a beautiful reflection on the water in front of the lodge. John went home, no fish today for him. The Operator determinedly fished on.
As the sky darkened The Operator moved into the spot as advised by John, under the light on the jetty where the light reflected on the lake surface, a sure fish attractant where John allegedly, has caught many award winning sized bass. The Operator, ever hopeful fished on in the twilight.
As the night drew in and darkness fell the silence of Silver Lake wrapped around us, Rosie peaked out of the room towards the jetty from time to time and sure enough, there was the back lit silhouette of The Operator determinedly holding his rod. The Operator fished on into the night.
Our sleep that night was so quiet, peaceful and just abit eerie (Rosie made sure all doors and windows were locked up super tight) being the only people in the lodge it had the feeling and setting of an American Horror Story where the mask wearing hillbilly comes out of the woods and murders everyone at the remote lodge during the night…considering we were the only ones there, the axe welding murderer would have had easy pickings with our room lights the only ones in the lodge leading him straight to us.
The new day dawned, we were still alive and had survived the night and had an amazingly sound sleep in the complete silence and darkness of Silver Lake. The day outside our window however was cold, damp and totally fog bound, we could not even see the far bank of the lake let alone Mt St Helens. With the first sliver of light through the curtains The Operator was up and out on the jetty for just one more fish before we leave.
Rosie pried the fishing rod from The Operators hand and we left The Silver Lake Resort…fishless. The Operator was disappointed he hadn’t joined the ranks of the lucky that were immortalized forever on the office walls of The Silver Lake Lodge fishing hall of fame. You win some, you loose some, unfortunately on this side trip we were treble losers as we caught no fish, the Mt St Helens Visitor Centers was closed and the Mountain did not show her face.
Never mind, one piece of luck in our favor, we were lucky to see Mt St Helens from the skies when we flew from Vancouver to Portland and she was mighty! Check out the gap in the North Face which was blown off in the eruption and note how stumpy and short the cone is now after the blast.
Mt St Helens – WOW!
Leaving The Silver Lake Resort, we are only a two hour drive away from our last stop, Seattle. Rosie and The Operator have been looking forward to this city as it has been on their bucket list for a long time! Come and explore it with us.
