Olathe Lake

First I would like to say thank you to all the folks that responded about our doggie Brandy. We are still very tearful and sad. How can the passing of a pet be as emotional as if we had lost one of the human people in our family?

I think the answer lies in the fact that a dog is truly your friend. The dog has no judgmental aspect to his unconditional friendship. He doesn’t see you as fat, or bald, or behind on your house payment. If you don’t have enough for him to eat or more than an old rug for him to sleep on, he is still your undying buddy.

When you are gone, he waits patiently by the door for you to return, and his whole day is made perfect by your return. His enthusiasm is almost uncontrollable. That is what we will miss without our dog. The house seems empty.

It was overcast again today and it began to rain about 6 AM. Will it ever become sunny? But then by noon, I gained enough confidence to get the scooter out and head for old Olathe, and our Newest Wal Mart. I didn’t go directly there, but rather took the round about way. Just riding for the fun of it.

It began to rain fairly seriously, and I made a bee line for Wal Mart. I had lunch at the Subway. Shopped a little until the sun came back out.

I headed West to the Olathe Lake city park. The roads were still wet.

It was hot as the sun came back out in full force. The steamy mist cooked off the blacktop pavement. Part way around I stopped and walked down to the lake. The dam is across the lake, and the spillway is the little concrete thing to the right of the long dam.

There are numerous little shelter houses scattered throughout the park. This one had a swing to the right just out of the picture. There was a porta potty by the parking lot.

At the South end of the lake, the dam is not as visible from here.

Across the water is the sailing club building. This road must have gone across before the dam was built.

So I rode around to the sailing club landing and spotted these Asian folks doing something out on this landing pier.

He threw the contraption into the water, and pulled it back out.

There I timed my shot a little better, its a net.

The thing hangs all limp, but with his proper wrist action he spins the net out into a circle before it hits the water.

When he got it pulled back in, the little gal in the pink would grab the flopping little fish and toss them into the bucket. They were mostly small little minnow fish. I couldn’t imagine what they intended to do with them. Perhaps bait, or maybe fish soup.

I looked up Kansas fishing rules, and cast nets are legal as long as it is for bait fish under 12 inches in length. Both of these guys had nets and they were throwing them as fast as they could. They must have a (financial) purpose, as it was deadly serious to them.

This is the boat ramp. There is no beach on this lake, so the girls were using the dock as a sun bathing and swimming facility. They weren’t too keen on my camera, so they turned their backs to me. The signs restrict the lake to 5 mph and no wake, boat operation. Its alright to put in your speed boat as long as you just idle around the lake.

At the far end, this is the spillway over the dam. I’m not sure it has ever seen water.

But the water coming out of the lake goes under the road here, and there is a rushing water noise in the distance. I parked the bike to investigate.

I could only walk part way back to the lower spillway, but this is how the water exits the lake.

I tried to zoom in, but there were too many trees in the way. Getting closer would have required swimming, and the water was fairly cold. I passed.

Olathe Lake is a much older facility, but would still make a good picnic park. No camping is allowed. The park closes at midnight, and has gates over most entrances.

I have yet to find any overnight facilities around Overland Park, or Olathe. We do not allow vagabonding here. Move along, you hear! The city, you gotta love it.

Retired Rod