Home Again

No, I don't mean in the sense of being home after our camping trip - I mean being at Lily Lake again! After going for 20 years it feels very familiar and like home.--

Once everything was set up at camp everything was, for the most part, back to normal. But getting everything there was quite a feat. The quad aspect worked perfectly. Turns out they've been working on the road and it's nearly ready to reopen. But not yet - not even for quads. There was only one large puddle maybe eight inches deep to drive through.--

The day we left was extremely hectic and we didn't actually get out til almost 4 PM. It's a 2 hour drive and the gate is actually 4 miles from the lake. OK, no sweat. One of the quads ("blue") was having overheating issues so it wasn't able to be used to its full potential. There was a total of 6 quad loads (Kevin and Shirley went with us) including the 9 people, every trip took another person, a time or 2 it included 2 extra people. By the time Rach came and got me and Kevin's cooler, the last trip, daylight was burning. By the time we had everything down to the lake it was dark.--

It took another 30 - 45 minutes to complete ferrying everything across the lake. Then we had to start setting up. Hunter had been neglected for too long and was screaming a blue streak. Keith hadn't eaten enough and was so hungry he was laying down. We all had our priorities that had to be addressed. So we slapped up tents, fed and changed a baby, got a table and stove set up to boil hot dogs and got a small fire started. I'm glad Rick and Heather in particular weren't there, it was beyond what one should have to put up with to get to even the perfect camping spot. We who were there knew what to expect and just take what comes our way. OK, maybe Shirley shouldn't have been there either, but she just rolled with all the chaos, I guess living with her 2 little active boys keeps her tough as well.--

The next evening the rest of the group and only one quad load of stuff came. It was quick and easy to get them melded into the community camp. It was daylight. They didn't have a baby. Or a dog. Piece of cake. Have another beer!--

The weather was perfect, the lake was warm, there were lots of fish to catch (and release) the dog behaved, the kids behaved, all in all a good trip. Good food, barely enough beer, (Kev brought 24, Den brought 24, Rick brought 30, I brought 18 = 96) enough floats to enjoy the lake and get nicely burned. Thursday night there was a silent lightning show in the eastern sky. There was a new log in a very beneficial spot connecting the island to the mainland right where we ferry across. So now you can actually walk to the island from the launch spot. You can also jump off the new log, the water there is about 6 - 8 feet deep.--

Oh yeah, we had an elk barking from shore on Friday night!--

Dane got a little drunk on Saturday night. The kids were doing vodka shots and he accidentally took way too many shots at once. Rick and I had already turned in when the comedy routine started but we heard plenty about it. He sawed wood and talked. And sawed wood and talked. And sawed wood and talked. And slurred - like I do.--

The unloading trip was a little more eventful. As we began to quad our stuff out the rangers were waiting for us. It's not legal to take quads or any motorized vehicles beyond the road closure. We were respectful quad riders, not just out to tear things up with our quads, just to get our stuff in and out. Didn't matter. Kevin and Rach were the drivers that showed up so they got the tickets. A total of $250 in fines. It could have been a lot worse though, the quads aren't legally tabbed, Kevin has a suspended license and Rach was riding with Hunter in front of her. We're splitting the fine up 5 ways - $50 for 3 days camping, that's not too bad!--

While Rach had the rangers' (8 rangers and 4 vehicles) attention she did find out, though, that the road will be open next year. It was supposed to be this year but the funding got used elsewhere due to more flooding this past winter. Like I said, there was only one puddle left where last year there was a small river.--

Well, that's another year under our belt. I hope the garage sale lived up to the big signs we made for it. So did it Rick?