The Old Swimmin Hole

We decided that we needed to boat our behinds off today.  We were out before 10 AM, and before it became unbearably hot.  It seemed cooler as we headed down the middle of the main channel, but the heat was still there.  We just were not as aware of it as we were moving right along.

The kids like to swim in different places all over the lake, and every now and then I stop at Snake Island.  So today was a Snake Island day.  This is a very small strip of land that is out in the middle of the Western curve of the lake at about 7 mile marker.  There are three islands in a row, and at various times folks have attempted to build homes out there.  But without enough land to make a septic system work, sewer becomes the issue.

Snake island is so small that there isn't enough land to build anything at all.  It is about a mile in all directions to connected land, so electricity is also impossible as well.

Years ago, some of the locals over on the mainland placed a gas grill and some cheapy plastic lawn chairs out there.  Most folks arrive by a small boat, and have no way to remove the items from the island.  So every now and then, we will boat past late at night and see a camp fire and tents.

But today we were the only folks to tie up along the gravel bar on the West side.  The wind was from the South at a fairly good clip, so we anchored out away from the beach and let the rope pay out as we beached.  Ben hopped off the bow and quick like tied the bow to one of the trees at the waters edge.

We have some heavier rope that we use as dock ropes when we are tied in rough water, so those came out.  Tied to the middle of the pontoon, we strung those out to another tree farther South.  This stabilized the pontoon on the beach, so we could swim without worrying that the boat would get loose.

There are large piles of rocks on each end of this little strand of land, so loosing the boat in the wind is not an option.  We swam for about two hours.  People came and left along the West shore as we actually had the premier spot to tie up.

Finally we were all shrivelled and cold, so we pulled away too.  We boated down to about the 20 mile marker where the lodge of the four seasons has a golf course along the shore.  By then we were hot again and swam some more.

When you spend a lot of the day on the water, it is quite tiring, and it kills the grandkids.  They get so tired they they can't sleep, so tonight was difficult getting everyone to bed.

We can't have these kind of days once the temperatures fall, so today makes memories for the rest of the year!!

Retired Rod