"Where's Your Blog?"

Those were words that Suzie uttered last night. She was surprised that I hadn't blogged the camping events of last weekend. She's right--I should have blogged it but for various reasons I apparently did not. Sometimes time just gets away from you, you know?

I have been hearing about Lily Lake for what seems like years. Actually, it probably has been years. I'm sure I heard about it from her way back when--Back when I was just "another employee" at LaCroix Industries and we liked to share little blurbs of our weekends when we had a chance in passing. Yes, I have heard about Lily Lake countless times. I guess for that reason I was not overjoyed to go. With me, if everyone goes one way, I tend to go another just to be different. It's hard to explain, but that's me. At any rate, back to Lily Lake. As I mentioned in my little comment on Suzie's blog, it lived up to the hype. It was an amazing place!

It was a pleasant trip over on Friday after work. I rode over with her son Denny, his wife Heather, and her brother T.J. in their rig. Everyone else had already gone the previous day so we were last to show up. We had to park several miles from the actual camp area because of a steel gate across the road, but one of Denny's quads was already there, locked in his trailer behind Rachyl's Chevy Tahoe. After getting that out, he ferried us and our gear to the camp area with a few back and forth trips.

What greeted me wasn't quite as I pictured it, but it was close. I knew it was an island in the lake that we were camping on, but I guess I didn't understand that it was close enough that you could walk over on a partially submerged log. While the people used the log to walk over, the cargo was ferried over using inflatable boats dragged alongside the "walking log".

Okay, my first impression of the place didn't totally overwhelm me, but I most definitely did like it. I guess I was just thinking about how much trouble it was to actually get us and everything to the place. I guess I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I was also a little put off by Suzie a little on Friday night after I got there. She has always been the leader and organizer of her family (and has done a stellar job at it!), but she was still in that mode. I was seeing a stern-faced Suzie--Giving orders and instructions to everyone whether she realized she was doing it or not. She didn't look happy, she looked busy. The thing is, she didn't need to be that busy--All her kids are grown and (mostly) able to think for themselves. I perceived a self-imposed leadership role instead of a relaxed, happy wife that was enjoying her surroundings. That was only on Friday night. We've discussed it since then and decided that the beer and sun of the day (she got there Thursday night) had most likely contributed to her demeanor.

What greeted me the next morning was what really made that place magical. The sun peeking over the treetops, creating little wisps of rolling fog on the lake surface was truly beautiful. I was surprised that in the morning everyone congregated around the campfire where it was about 55 degrees instead of going 30 feet away to a sunny spot on the edge of the island where it was more like 70. Because it was warm and beautiful there and that's where I chose to drink my morning coffee each of the mornings we were there. I wish I had a better one, but here's a picture of the view I enjoyed each morning (click for full size):


I thought it was funny how cold it was over by the fire because of the shadows, but yet, that's where everyone chose to sit. I guess it's something about having a fire.

We did all our "bathroom duties" on the mainland, walking across the logs on the opposite side of the island from the side we arrived from. If you looked at the island from above, it would probably look like a stencil of the letter "O" because the island was joined to the mainland on opposite sides by anchored logs that we walked on to get across. There were no biting insects anywhere on that island. We occasionally experienced one on the mainland, but even those were few. There were lots of dragonflies and damsel flies everywhere though (maybe they kept the "biters" down?) and I spent a lot of time trying to capture good shots of them. The weather was fantastic and we got plenty of enjoyment from swimming and floating in the lake.

The only downside? Dust. It wasn't that there was that much dust--It's just that all the dirt that showed anywhere was of the fine, powdered variety that kicked up when you walked on it. It was funny to see the little kids actually taking "dust baths" in it. Those boys were a mess!

Looking back at it, I would say that it was a very good camping trip. I was really enjoying the place and all it had to offer, and I'll look forward to next time. Hopefully the road will be open and we'll be able to actually drive to the area instead of doing quad caravans with heaped cargo.

1 comments:

Sue Z Q said...

Thank you, much better. But I'll probably be the queen bee again next year so be prepared! Only during setup and breakdown time though, it wasn't the beer, it's my expected role. Sorry