Basic Backpack - Frenchman Coulee Waterfall

Most of us had never been to Washington's desert, and none of us had camped in it, so we had few expectations.  Whatever expectations we had were far exceeded. We were blown away by the ideal weather, gorgeous scenery, fascinating geology, and jaw-dropping wildlife. 

We started at the top of Frenchman Coulee and descended past the waterfall to the coulee floor. We gawked at the towering basalt cliffs all around us.  Rounding the corner, we entered Echo Basin with more walls of towering basalt cliffs. 

What's a desert without sand dunes? Continuing past Echo Basin, we found sand dunes.

We followed the trail down river as far as we could and camped on the sandy alluvial deposits at the base of a small valley.  That night we listened to the yap of coyotes and the hoot of great horned owls while the Milky Way blazed above us. 

The next morning we followed two deer up the valley and gained the top of the cliffs.  The views across "Wanapum Lake" (what Gaia calls the stretch of the Columbia River impounded by Wanapum Dam) to the basalt cliffs of Vantage were spectacular.

We retraced out steps from the first day, except this time we walked along the top of the cliffs instead of along the bottom.  Surprisingly, we came across a silica deposit studded with chalcendony  and several small ponds and marshes. 

In addition to owls, coyotes, deer, geese, ravens, and canyon wrens, we came across evidence of jaw-dropping wildlife.