Moon Lake, Part Deux

Not too long ago, I posted a shot of "Moon Lake" (aka Penley Lake). When we went flying the other day, we flew over the lake and got to see it from a different perspective.

There isn't much information available on-line about Penley Lake. I found that it is a saline lake, similar to Mono Lake in California and the Great Salt Lake in Utah. There is some kind of brine shrimp that apparently lives or lived in Penley. Only four lakes in Washington state have this kind of shrimp.

There also used to be a sodium sulfate mining operation at Penley in the mid-70's. The deposits were  crystalline cylinders, ten to thirty feet in diameter extending straight down. Those mining areas are probably what we are seeing when we drive by it and also from the aerial view. Apparently mud was trapped inside the crystals and made it too costly to mine so the business went belly up. The mining building and hopper are still there along with remnants of the mining operation.

Camera Critters #74 - Water Baby

A few weekends ago when I had that little beach to myself with the dogs on Banks Lake, I was very surprised by how much Jelly loved the water. To the point where she just laid at the edge of the surf and soaked up the sun while the tiny wavelets lapped around her.

Sunbathing

Little Buddy even went swimming and I was shocked. Too bad I didn't have the camera with me to get a picture of that!

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Skywatch Friday #59 - Sunset at Banks Lake

Last Saturday, we spent the afternoon at Banks Lake near Grand Coulee, Washington. Banks Lake is ringed with basalt cliffs and is a very scenic area.

Basalt Cliffs

Karl and his friend, Sean, were kayak fishing while I had a wonderful little beach practically to myself. The dogs and I played in the warm lake water and explored the shore area.

I found sixteen golf balls which I took back to the Okanogan house for whacking around our property. Then you go hunting for them in the tall grasses. It reminds me of an Easter egg hunt.

I watched the sun set across Banks Lake. The smoke from the Oden Road fire near Okanogan had drifted that way and added to the brilliant colors in the sky.

Sunset from the Beach...

...And a Few Minutes Later

Then the mosquitoes came out and it was time to leave!

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