Random musings on Bennington Lake

-Bennington Lake is a 6 min drive from our house with over 20 miles of trails.
-We had driven by the access road all summer and seen a dude who rents paddle boards-- we wondered why and for what.
-This time of year, it's not a very big lake.
-We saw some canoe fishermen.
-The website shows a fuller lake, a greener background.
-The gender neutral restrooms were super CLEAN .

-The area abounds with hikers, bikers, dog-runners, walkers (what's the difference between a hiker and a walker?)
-Why don't horses have to bag their poop out?

-Soil and Water Conservation District signs, JUST LIKE IN MAINE where Judd was on the board.
-Engineers R Us....... SO many big job machines:  some identifiable, some unidentifiable, some indefatigable -- my Maine man just stood and gawked, stymied by some of the big equipment and it's uses.

We picnicked on a breakfast of boiled eggs, boiled new potatoes and salsa. I hear Judd say hi to someone and remark that we don't know anyone in Washington.  It was his counterpart-robot-teacher at the other school in town. They were out for a  dog walk.  We commenced our hour long hike around the lake. Later the locals  told us: watch out for  ticks and rattlesnakes. Oops!


At the Fair this week, we spoke with an Army Corps of Engineers intern and she enlightened us about what the heavy equipment up by the lake was.  In the spring, water is diverted from Mill Creek into the lake to prevent flooding in Walla Walla (which used to be a thing until the reservoir was completed in 1942.) The lake is stocked with rainbow trout each spring and only paddling, rowing, wind or electric boats are allowed. The big contraptions keep indigenous fish out of the lake. And some of the big metal grates were to keep tree-size debris out of the creek. An engineer's paradise!








HEY ! We found out what those not-wheat crops that are all dry and shriveled this time 
of year (for miles and miles across the horizon. ) Garbanzo beans !!  On our walk through the neighborhood, we saw one of the pods exploded and then we read a confirmation! 
Who knew?