Bugs in paradise

Koa at Camp Cleveland, trying to see what the bear was reading.  We left the Clevelands, with plans to meet later this summer in Washington state for some exploration of the Olympic Peninsula.  Spent some time at Linda's, painting and orgainizing the removal of paintings and stored stuff from her house to be taken back to Az.  From Linda's to Vermilion Valley, where we have a cabin with the best view of the lake.  We hung my boat hammock in the pines, Koa wanders though the resort making friends with the other dogs, and we feel we are home.  We have been coming up here for some 20 years, to the 8000' level, either camping or staying in the cabins, fishing for elusive trout, and hating to leave.  We would come over from Hawaii, pick up our van from where  ever it had been left and explore the Sierras.  Finding this valley was a fluke as the road was unpaved, not even a proper forest road way back then, single lanes cut out of the side of the mountains.  Passing an oncoming car is enough to create heart attacks, but the trip is lovely, over Kaiser Pass at 10,000' and dropping down and up to Mono Hot springs, and then further up the Lake Edison.  We bought an apricot/berry pie, had a beer and settled in, to wait for Bridget and Dave to arrive the next day.



These strange red flowers bloom out of snow and are startling to see.  There is so much water and late snow melt up here, that these are still showing up.  The lake is almost full and with snow melt coming down from the higher elevations, filling faster than water can be let out of the dam.  It is magic seeing it like this as the last year we had to drive quite a ways on the beach to launch the kayaks. 



Biscuits and gravy for our first breakfast.  Dave and Bridget came up with their kayaks on the top of their jeep.  They stay in the tent platforms and eat with us as we have a kitchen.  Well, sort of - the dishes on the table are where Robert has to wash them as it turns out the sink in Cabin Four is not installed.  At least we can get water from the bathroom/.



The view from our cabin - a small pontoon ferry brings and delivers hikers from the John Muir trail, (left at the photo) twice a day.  The hikers coming off the trail seem sun blasted and ready for the incredible pies that are made at the small restaurant.  We kayaked out beyond the small island, investigating bays and tried to get back before the afternoon westerly hit.  We had gusts coming back - building muscles.



Bridget at the tent cabin above our area.  Koa sits at the end of  the building to keep an eye on B & D as well as us at our place.  It is hell for a herding dog to have his peeps separated.  I married B & D at Lake Powell quite a few years ago - we all stood on a rock offshore and had the Book of Common Prayer ceremony and we explored Lake Powell for their honeymoon.

Exploring one of the bays, developed with the rise of the lake level.



The creek that drops down from the lake at 9,180', called the Devil's Bathtub.  Robert and I climbed the trail when we were younger - and a difficult trail it is as it disappears a lot.  We got lost coming back one year as heavy snows had wiped out the trail, and we followed the creek to the shoreline and happily back to the resort.  The resort only has four cabins, several tent cabins and camp grounds for hiker, as well as a few places where small rvs can hook up.  The restaurant has outragous prices, but the pies are worth every penny, er, dollars.  There were fishermen all along the entrance to the lake, all day long, from the looks of their coolers, as they had heard there was trout.



Dave in the pareu that Linda bought on the beach in Bali.  He spent a few hours fishing the creek with the hordes, and then he and Bridget hit the afternoon winds to get to camp.  Need strong arms to paddle into the winds as we are all feeling that today.  This is a very quiet 4th of July up here, and we feel blessed to have a few more days here, fighting the mosquitos and flies.  Robert and I went for a hike along one of the high creeks this morning, and were chased back out as we were breathing bugs.  It is a real testament to how much we have loved and still love this place that we return often, despite the bugs in the morning and evening.  Gong to bed smelling like Off is something you get used to.