Bass Lake

It was our year to organize a location for a camping trip with my Dad's side of the family.  

 Our camp site at Bass Lake was large enough for the RV's and tents, a pen for anut Ruthies dogs,  our kitchen set up for preparing dinner and washing the dishes and a fire pit.

It lacked running water and flushing toilets.  But no worries we still had a place to display the quilts aunt Bev raffles off each year,

a place for the arts and crafts she brought for the kids to do,

a location for the luau themed wedding reception for my cousin Stacey and her husband Travis,

and of course somewhere to set up the big screen and projector for movies.

You know, pretty much your basics for every camping trip!!

While the actual site was a bit dry,  the lake was close by and it is beautiful up there.  I snuck off in the mornings for a run along the edge of the lake or to ride my bike along the winding road to the dam.  It  felt so good to start off the day breathing the crisp mountain air and to see what the lake looks like when it is actually smooth.  There is a 5 mph speed limit on the lake form 8pm to 8am.  After that the lake is a mass of boats and jet skis and waves the size of which I usually see only at the beach!

Most of the adults in our group spent the day at the beach on the shore of the lake or hiking in Yosemite.

My boys wanted all the time they could get on the tubes behind the boat.

I was happy to accomodate them.

They went wild out there trying to see who could get the most air  crossing the wake or who could hold on the longest.

Jason, Garrett and I got out early enough one morning to get in a few turns each on the wakeboard and knee board before the lake tunred into an ocean, and that was a blast.

 But other than that my days were spent pulling the crazy kids on the tube until they literally konked out!

Me and my three boys were the last ones to leave the lake at the end of the trip.  We had a handful of mishaps that none of us will soon forget.  The first happened about an hour after Jeff left and I filled up the boat with gas only to realize that I didn't have my purse!  Um...oops! Then when it was time to pull the boat out, I had a few more moments of desperation.  Logistically it was a nightmare that I hadn't anticipated.  We were offered help from a man, the likes of which my children have never come into contact with.  In my panic I took the help that was offered and ended up with a few missing chunks and scrapes on the prop of the boat.

My guys and I treated ourselves to dinner at a yummy Mexican resturaunt when we had finally gotten out of the lake.  I am sure we did more laughing than eating that night, but it wrapped things up just right.  No one but Garrett could keep a straight face and ask the waitress who Nino's children were and why did they have their own menu?  We went home with a little too much sun on our cheeks and full tummies, and that's always a perfect ending if you ask me!

Summer's Sunset

Some days you're the boss of the whole wide world

Some days you are totally triumphant

Some days are just smooth sailing

Some days you're flying high

And some days you just FEEL like you are!

Some days everyone is smiling

And then before you know what happened, its over!

Done...

Kaput!

Some days it's better to just dive in and admit defeat

Because none of us can control the seasons, and summer can't last forever.  

Wave goodbye to this years sunny fun

Because no matter how hard you hold on

It's time for this summer's sunset

Momma Always Said...

"If your friends jumped off a cliff would you?" Come on, admit it, your mom said it to you too!   The obvious and correct answer was always no.  

Not long ago I turned that one on it's head, when my friend Kerri and I took our kids up to Dinky Creek to meet another friend who was staying there for the week.  The activity of choice was cliff jumping into the icy cold creek!   

This mom actually said,"Your friends and brothers are doing it, why don't you?!" Actually it didn't take much convincing at all, although I did capture a few nervous faces before they made the plunge.  

The younger boys started out small and then got a little braver.

The older boys just went straight to the top.  

Little Drew has no fear!
How refreshing it was to leave the heat of the valley and head to this beautiful place for a bit of daring fun!

Finders Keepers...

For 8 days we watched and waited for someone to come and claim the massive towable sitting on the shore of Bass Lake at the beach where we spent our days.  It was the highly desirable HO Molecule. Sold out at many stores, and with a hefty price tag of up to $500.   It was faded by the sun, but still fully inflated.  There was a tear from one end to the other on the outside cover.  Nothing a burley upholstry machine couldn't handle.

As we loaded and unloaded kids from the boat to the beach Jason and I looked longinly at it.  No one at the beach knew who it belonged to, and those who had arrived before us had seen it sitting there long before we came.  For all intents and purposes it was broken and abandoned.  On our last night at the lake, when we were all sleepy and more than a little silly, someone suggested we go get the molecule from the beach.  We giggled and laughed and hopped into the car.

We laughed even harder but much more quietly as we caught ourselves tip toeing over to where it was.  Jeff, who had not been with us all week,  kept asking, "Are you absolutely sure its abandoned?   Would any reasonable person believe it's abandoned?"  We were all adamant in assuring him that yes, it was without a doubt abandoned, but still wanted to carry out our mission in stealth mode.  We snickered and giggled as we laid across it to let the air out and then quickly shoved it into the back of the Rickard's car.

We arrived back into camp and proudly showed off our aquisition.  Just as the last of the pictures were being taken, two headlights started heading into camp.  Without a second thought, Jason and I grabbed the Molecule and scrambled into the bushes like a couple of kids caught with our hands in the cookie jar.

Yes, absolutley it was abandoned.  Tara and Jeff laughed at us as my cousin Rebecca and her husband Pete stepped out of their car after a long day at Yosemite.  Jay and I just looked at eachother and shrugged.  Still resolved that any reasonable person would believe that it was abandoned, but now feeling a bit foolish for hiding in the bushes.  Especially when we realized that the tube had slipped out of the cover,  as we had headed for the hills.

$65 and 3 days later, we had ourselves the most fun towable around.  The adventure of the aquisition was half of the fun, but what do you think? Should we have left it there on the shore, and if so would it still be there?  My concience is clear.  Finders keepers, loosers weepers!