without a paddle

Time to recap on the great outdoor adventure we had with the Howells this last weekend. Instead of going to Bear Lake we took my sister's advice and went to a little lake called Newton's Reservoir. In order to get there we had to drive through the town of Newton, which consists of 100 south, center street, and 100north. It's one of those "don't blink" towns. We were lucky enough to get one of the few beach front campsites on the west side of the lake. I did my best to help everyone with the tent and the chairs and all but as soon as i had a spare moment i was bent over the fire pit and breathing life into a class A boyscout type campfire. Donnie and I got the legs on the grill and fired up the brickets. Before the first mosquitoes had their first bite of us we were feasting on Grilled steaks and fire cooked corn on the cob. during a frigid evening swim we came across a six inch perch that was belly up but not dead. Our decision was to take it back to shore and use it for bait the next day with another six inch perch that Donnie caught. thus was the phrase invented "That felt as weird as having a fish in your pocket."

Note to self, on next camping trip bring and air pump for the mattress. After only two light headed attacks i finished filling the air mattress. Nothing in camping beats waking up to the neighbors generator at 1 a.m. and the other neighbors dog at 7 a.m. As happens in all camping trips, something is forgotten and you just learn to live without it. for example a flashlight, change of underwear, or maybe even plastic spoons. This trip it turned out to be the Milk and Eggs that were meant for the french toast breakfast. So while chowing down on a breakfast of toast and jam the thought came up to use our air mattress as a flotation device. It worked quite well Kylee safely floated across the lake without getting her feet wet. It later served as fishing boat for Donnie and I anchored by a bucket full of rocks tied to Donnie's ankle. using the perch from yesterday resulted in a failure to catch anything but the attention of our wives back on shore.
The Day ended with the sighting of an over sized Tiger Muskie surfacing just out of casting range from our camp. It had the appearance of a Jim Hensen Puppet being towed behind a boat. That would be the fish that got away story of our trip.

Just before leaving we had a good old fashioned Weenie Roast(a few revelations were made at this point). as the sun set behind us We said good bye to the campsite and all the fish we never caught. once again we stayed up much to late for 9-o-clock church.

Jake ~ master fire builder