"Soap Lake" comes from the word Smokiam, the Native American term for "healing waters" which the Indians would use for themselves and their animals. The lake was abandoned when the area was settled by pioneers.

The lake is dead.

Nothing grows or lives in the water, which seems strange considering its healing properties. The mud..."silt"...goes up to your thighs and leaves a weird coating on your skin. The locals say there is still some medicinal value in there but I'll have to admit some reluctance. The place seems to me more of a desert Pet Cemetery.

Soap Lake--the town--is small and seems to know a thing or two about a depressed economy.

Next to the trailer park is a small empty park with a flag pole standing at the corner. At the top of the pole flies the American flag; at the bottom a modest stone placard which reads:

"Dedicated to the veterans of all wars."