The Hazard Chronicles

The sun sinks low in the sky, casting the world in shades of amber.

The gentle caress of water on the shoreline marks time,

subtly,

for the nocturnal ballad of insects.

Perfume fills the air:

pine, violet, honeysuckle, lakewater.

The universe seems to be putting itself to bed

with a heavy-yet-satisfied sigh of contentment.

It's been a good day.

This is the backdrop. The orchestra under the stage. The lighting. The ambiance. Each element is meant to go undetected while at the same time shaping the action on the main-stage.

And what is that action?

Laughter

    Story telling

        Games

            Memories

Friends and family sit around a campfire and re-live the adventures of the day. It's been long, and full of activity. Full of fun.

            ...Man, I feel like I'm in a John Denver song.

*****

We really did have a wonderful weekend though, and I really do think that these sorts of outings are the stuff memories are made of. At least the good ones. Brandon and Kendra were able to come up to our house on Thursday afternoon and stay through the whole weekend. In that time, we did a lot of boating, a lot of relaxing, and a few other little things on the side.

On Friday we went across the lake to a boat-access-only campsite that was a perfect little gem I am sure we will return to a lot. It had big open spaces for running around and playing, two playgrounds, a beautiful little beach, good fishing, and trails going into the woods for exploration. The campsites themselves were well-kept, and had running water and toilets. Seriously, it was about as perfect as we could have asked for.

It would be impossible to describe the weekend in a way that would do it justice. Let's move on to some photos.

Lots of fun on the water.

...And lots of fun off the water.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday were all spent boating. We'll probably go out sometime this week again as well. It's nice when house-to-launch time is less than 10 minutes.

You know- writing this made me think about a conversation I had with a mentor of mine in dental school.

Me: I'm moving to Coeur d'Alene.

Mentor: Why? You can make more money in other places.

Me: Because if I lived other places, I would spend all that money to travel to Coeur d'Alene every weekend.

I love this place.

*****

Besides time on the Lake, we did a few other things. We got a sitter on one night, and the adults all went and did an escape room together. We actually went about five minutes over our time limit, which is disappointing, but we had a lot of fun with it. We also did dinner beforehand, and novelty ice cream afterwords. It was a good night.

*****

We also went up to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and went on a bike ride along the river. It was a great day for it- sort of cool, with a slight breeze. We ate a picnic lunch at the half-way point, and threw rocks into the river.

I think these two need to get more sleep

*****

Besides these main activities, we had lots of conversation, good backyard barbecues, and fun times at the park/splash pad. It was a great weekend.

*****

I had also promised some more pictures of the camp the kids were at last week. Here you go.

*****

Have a good week!