The Dosewallips Van Slam

Leane and Richie

“Right, What’s a Dosewallips?”  Or, “What’s a Van Slam, for that matter?” Well, the Dosewallips is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.  The name comes from a  Twana Native American myth about a man named   Dos-wail-opsh who was turned into a mountain at the river’s source.

A Van Slam, on the other hand is a term made up by my daughter Leane.  I think she coined the phrase a couple of years ago when they got their VW Westfalia camper van to go traveling with Suzie and me, in our VW Eurovan camper.  Since then we have enjoyed many happy travels with our little campers.  Here are some photos and a little movie from our campout at Dosewallips State Park:

Kani Ka Pila

In the image above, Richie and I are enjoying a little Kani Ka Pila time.  That’s an Hawaiian tradition of family and friends gathering for an informal music circle, often featuring ukuleles.  On this trip we were joined by my old friend Dave.  Dave is a fabulous harmonica player and can instantly play any song you can sing.  What a treat that was for us!

Evening settles in on our camp

Classic cartoons on an outdoor screen

Leane making Glow Stick figures for the dudes

Flame On

We had a wonderful evening with family and friends.  I’ve known Beth her whole life and it was such a joy to spend some time with her and her dudes.  Every time her dad (Dave) and I get together, Dave almost automatically begins to recite the same old stories, recounting all of our adventures from years gone by… Beth and I agreed… We’d be so disappointed if he ever stopped retelling the tales.

Hood Canal

Returning on the ferry

Reflections

Upon reflection… Did I just type that?  Anyway, it was a wonderful weekend with wonderful friends and family.  I realize that our dudes are growing up really quickly and that’s cool… As long as I still have one of them small enough to take naps in my front pack.  After that, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.

Kat

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