Camas Meadows

Blog for Camas Meadows Lodge™. Located on Camas Meadows Natural Area Preserve outside of Leavenworth, Washington. http://www.camasmeadowslodge.com All materials and photos copyrighted 2006-2017©

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Mornings are Priceless at Camas Meadows!

This past weekend the weather brought snow showers and unfortunately mostly cloudy weather. But given our easterly location clouds do not stay long at Camas Meadows. Tuesday morning dawned with fog in meadow, sunshine on Three Brothers, and blue sky above. On mornings like this it just gets better and better.


By the time the coffee was done and poured the fog had started its retreat. We could see the aspen grove in the middle of the meadow and now there was more blue sky visible.


Quickly by the second cup of coffee the fog was almost gone from the meadow and Tip Top could be seen with its trees covered in fresh snow.


Soon those magic moments of early morning were gone and so was the coffee. So we put on our cross-country skis and ventured out into the meadow and the sunshine.



All the pictures were taken from our deck. So you can experience the beauty of a Camas Meadows morning while lounging around in your pajamas! The warm cozy fire and the view make that coffee taste extra special.

It has been a mild winter with little snow after the snowstorms and cold of December. Spring is coming soon. If your looking for skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, building snowmen, or any other activity that requires that white stuff book your reservation soon.

The snow should be here for another two or three weeks, but with temperatures in the high 40's during the day and low 20's at night the snow is slowly retreating. As soon as our night time temperatures stay above freezing the snow will be going fast.

Monday, February 02, 2009

The Mysterious Ice Sheets of Camas Meadows


Every year at Camas Meadows the seasons are slightly different. Just when you think you have seen it all, something new comes along. This is our twelfth winter at Camas, but our first with the mysterious ice sheets.

This winter we had substantial snowfall and record cold temperatures in December. This was followed by a rain on snow event in January. After this, all the snow and rain ceased and we had warm, sunny days followed by clear, cold nights. We suspect this particular timing of events led to the appearance of the ice sheets at Camas.

The ice is about six inches thick and found along all the water courses in the meadow. We have not tried ice-skating or playing hockey with the neighbors on the sheets of ice, but they are interesting to follow while skiing around the meadow. When spring comes, we suspect that the snow on the meadow will melt first; but then what will happen to the ice sheets?? Will they float and create abstract displays of ice dams?

In December, with the cold temperatures and snow, it looked like a late spring for sure. January, however, proved to be quite different. We ended up with warm sunny days and cold clear nights. What will February bring?? The first week is forecasted to continue the January pattern.

So spring might be early this year at the meadows. For those of you looking for skiing, snowshoeing, snowball fights or building snowman do not wait to long. Those winter opportunities could just melt away.

This coming weekend is the full moon. Camas Meadows at night under a full moon is something else!

We are booked President’s Day weekend. But other weekends are still open. Winter break week is still open and we will honor the 3 for 2 mid-week special. Winter at Camas Meadows is always a treat.