Saturday, August 22, 2009

Bear Lake

We went camping at Bear Lake and it is a beautiful place. I can see why all my wealthy neighbors (ok some of my neighbors) had bought cabins there. Makes me want to move near there, so we could go visit whenever we wanted. I had visions of hiking through the mountains, backpacking around with Kristen, and maybe Kay when he gets big enough. It reminded me of the time when I went deer hunting with the Miller's when I was in high school. Sure I was totally clueless on how to find a deer, and I knew that even if I saw one, I'd probably miss it, and if I did kill one, I'd have to gut it, but I liked being out in Nature and I was willing to learn about what I didn't know. I really loved it when we went shooting in Wyoming after our unfruitful expedition, and I was impressed that I was able to hit a small box at a long distance. It was farther away than I thought, so far that I fired the shot and I thought I had missed. I wasn't wearing earplugs, because the noise from the rifles (two .30-.30's and a .303 Enfield) didn't hurt my ears. I had to take a knee to steady the rifle, I remember seeing the sight moving around, I finally got it settled just a smidge beneath the box. I kept it there for a second, then I raised it a hair as I pulled the trigger. I heard a boom, then as soon as that sound evaporated into the cold air, I could hear a quiet hiss as the bullet traveled through the air. There was no echo of the rifle shot, because there weren't any hills big enough for the sound to bounce off. Nothing happened for a second and I assumed that I had missed, but then I heard a distant thud and the box jumped straight up into the air, spinning backward like an empty mousetrap when it goes off. This box was bigger than a six pack of coke, but not much. Maybe an eight-pack. I was pleasantly surprised that I had hit it in one shot.

Anyway, that was the nostalgic past. This week we stayed at a KOA campground in Garden City. Kristen said it was a nice one. I liked the showers and the running water and the real toilets that flushed. I didn't like how KC decided to talk to himself and whine for a couple hours in the middle of the night, after he had done the exact same thing the night before. I didn't like how he threw a fit for the first half of our canoe ride, making it so Kristen had to hold him while he flopped around in frustration.

But once he calmed down (slept) the canoe was really fun. I learned that the paddler who weighs twice as much as the other should sit in back. I also learned that I really should lose some of my excess pounds before I become a canoe or kayak fanatic. When the fat kid sits in the front of a canoe, then any attempt to propel the vessel forward makes it twirl like a fat ballerina in slow motion.

I also learned that there is a front and a back to a canoe, and that when you sit in the front seat and face backward, it makes my legs go numb and cramp. But it was fun, and who says you should afraid of sore muscles anyway?

Now. How about some pictures.





Here is KC and Kris the lovely woman relaxing in the Garden City Park. We had dinner there when we arrived in town, before we went looking for a place to sleep for the night. KC really likes strawberries, so we let him at some.







Then we walked down a path to the lake Itself and wow, what a blue lake.










More pictures to come. . . .

1 comment:

Sue said...

I am glad you guys had a fun time. It's good that you could get away before school started. I hope Kris can get a job or work at the lab.