Yatesville Lake

 There was a great deal of anticipation in the Bowes household for camping trip number three. In her research Sarah had found a state park with campsites that were only accessible by boat. Then we actually found a friend we would want to camp with who had a boat. Before you knew it, three campsites were reserved and the plan was in motion. Everything we could control, we had under control. We don't camp light, and so it took a couple of boat trips to drop off all of the supplies. Getting the supplies from the boat to the sites also involved a bit of work, so early on the kids were already a bit irritated with the labor. But we were excited for the next couple of days of camping fun right on the lake. 

Once the unloading was done and the tents were set up the kids got to work enjoying the refreshing waters of the lake. They could use the boat as a dock and were having a great time.

Sarah had to work that day, so she arrived a little later. But she got the full water taxi experience and was able to get to the camp after the heavy lifting had been completed. However, the true work had only just begun. Within an hour of Sarah's arrival, the part of the trip we couldn't control hit us hard. The picture below shows the aftermath of what happened on that Friday night. Usually we are good about taking pictures, but there was no time for it. 

The bottom line is that it started raining, and raining hard. The kids had gone out on the boat, and according to Reese they got pelted with raindrops. The captain, Tony Fields, had a lot on his hands. He had to get Reese and Jack off the tube, console Emerson who had started crying, and figure out how to get back to the campsite in a driving rainstorm. Back at the camp we had just started the fire and managed to get a canopy over it so the flames wouldn't die out. Of course that meant you had a choice - stay under the canopy and deal with the smoke or escape the smoke by getting drenched. Reports came in from the Johnson camp site that one tent had flooded and clothes were floating. This certainly didn't put our novice camper Jessica at ease, and when Emerson got back to the campsite they needed some alone time. Sarah forged on, making dinner while around her we tried to set up tarps and escape routes for the smoke. Needless to say, the first night tested bonds of friendship and survival skills. 

Like Annie sings, the sun will come out tomorrow, and on day two the resilient campers were ready to take on the lake and all that it had in store. After some morning clouds the sun came out and the beauty of Yatesville Lake was there to enjoy.

While the parents sat in chairs or napped in hammocks to recover from a poor night's sleep, the kids got back on the water with Captain Tony and his sense of adventure.

This picture here captures so much of the beauty of the location and why, despite all that happened, we would go back to Yatesville Lake in a heartbeat. The real question is, would Jessica say yes if we asked her to join us? Time will tell.