7/15/18 Sunday

Today was a chill day as we call it, in where we had nothing planned and we got to sleep in late.  I, of course, woke up earlier at 6am to work on my blogs. When I came out of my tent at 8am I and Omar helped Pablo do his dishes from the night before because his group was still sleeping. After we were done doing the dishes I changed myself to group three in order to replace Jonathan’s place. Later that morning we had the biggest breakfast ever that we have had on this trip. Group one made us blueberry and chocolate pancakes with hashbrowns and bacon and some eggs. That breakfast made the day feel less intensive and more relaxing. Overall it was nice to eat real breakfast other than cereal for a week straight. After breakfast, we got to sit and relax as, I choose to grab a chair and sit in the shade and watch Caleb, Taylor, and Jake up play baseball with pine cones and a piece of plywood they found on the ground. At noon I witness something so moving and strong, Warren sailor, Jim wind, Francis all elders of the Spokane tribe came to play their drums and their own songs of their tribe for us. Even though I did not understand what they were saying it was just so majestic to have had the opportunity to witness such an event that not a lot of people get to see in their lifetimes. But what surprised me more was the Yakama Tribal song that my partner Jake up sung as I with others played the drums.  

Later that day Warren Sailor took us on a tour of the Spokane's tribe fire tower were I met Rey Reyes the care keeper. The tower itself was really about 40 ft tall and its views were incredible, I could even see where our camp was located at. His job was also to report any fires that occur in the forest. He even told a story about how the last man that worked there quit because he reported that he spotted sasquatch.  After that Warren took us to swim to the Spokane River. To be honest, the weather and water were perfect but what I did not like was how we did not last not even an hour in the water. Towards the end of the day, Warren returned to camp just after dinner showed us a forty minute he that he produced about the Spokane Natives. The movie explained how the Spokane Natives were betrayed by the government. The Spokane Tribe were river people and lived off the Spokane river but after Collie Dam was built it ruined their way of life. Throughout this trip, it seems that the reservations that lived near rivers have had problems with the government.