Hiking has been such a central part of our vacations anywhere we go.  We get to see so much of an area through hikes and its a chance to be outside.  Even though fishing dominated our Sun Lakes vacation, we were able to get in one hike.  This lake is below Banks Lake in the Coulee Corridor of Central Washington.  The road isn't paved and you need to go through Sun Lakes National Park to get to the trail head and boat launch area.  As we ventured out with our dog, we were reminded by the signs to watch for rattlesnakes which we didn't see any.  Doesn't mean they weren't there.  The sky was barely dripping water which kept the mosquitoes away and made the hike in enjoyable.  We hiked along the eastern shore and is was apparently quickly why it was called Deep Lake.  There wasn't much of a shelf below the water line and then it looked as if it went straight down to darkness. 
 Deep Lake has a recorded depth of 115 feet and 100 ft in the middle of the lake.  It runs through a narrow canyon with steep walls on the sides making climbing out a bit difficult.  Since we were there in early June and it had been a very late spring, the whole area was in bloom.  As we hiked along the edge of the lake, we started to climb the steep sides over looking the water.  It seemed to stretch out curving around a bend after another.  At one point I noticed painted numbers on the side of the canyon walls opposite us and realized it must give boaters and others a point of reference if needed.  The trail markers were white with blue reflectors and we could see one at a time until the dusty path at our feet started to dim and the white markers had vanished.  A climb to a bluff overlook and we turned around to make our way back to the car.  The echo from the opposite canyon wall had the dog peering out trying to spot the person on the other side calling her name, until the pack of coyotes made their voices known.  They echoed all around us bouncing from wall to wall and then it was silent.  I tried in vain to spot them on the bluff but they remained hidden from view.  

About 20 minutes from the trail head, we introduced Ann to wading.  It was apparent that swimming was not going to be her thing at all.  Maybe wading would entice her to swim a bit.  Her big thing with water was to find the largest head-sized rock at the bottom of the shallow spot and bring it to shore.  Fetching sticks wasn't as big of a draw as the green slimy water moss covered rocks on the bottom.