A weekend of adventure

So as usual we had an eventful weekend. We took our first successful Cherry Lake trip of the summer and spent 3 days and 2 nites. Here are the higlights:

* We saw a bald eagle on the top of a tree about 40 feet from where we were on the boat. We saw it take off and fly to another tree. AMAZING. Jim said....."Your probably will never see that again in your life...." The next day we say the eagle again, chasing a smaller bird over the water! We think the smaller bird had a fish.

* We got distracted from watching the eagle when Gracie spotted a snake eating a dead fish head! The fish head was about 3 times the size of the snake's head. Gracie and I had just been on a field trip where we learned about snakes and we knew that snakes could disclocate their jaws and eat big things.....but this thing was HUGE compared to this snake! We watched it sit there with this fish head in its mouth for hours. Finally when we weren't looking it slithered away. But not before it gave Drew enough ideas for 3 nightmares that nite!

* It was snake trip....we saw 4 other snakes and met up with someone who saw a rattlesnake close to our camp! Rattlesnakes are not common in the area. The guy who saw it had been going to Cherry for 30 years and that was only the third one he saw.

* The trout fishing was not as good as normal but we still tried at least twice a day in the magic fishing hole. My favorite part of fishing is the casting.....I love doing a great cast. I was so good at it, I kept telling Jim that I was going to get my own casting tv show, sort of like the Rachel Ray of casting.....he just shook his head. But I was serious!

* The blue gill fishing was outstanding! Drew and I fished each nite for at least an hour and pulled one in after another.

* The kids did some knee boarding and wakeboarding.....our new engine worked great! But true to the story about boats, we had trouble with the trailer....if it is not one thing with a boat it is another. Coming home one of the hubs got burning hot - and I mean BURNING HOT! We made it home and Jim took it apart the next day to find the break pad and rotor were rubbing together. I swear that man can do anything!

*We did have one major screw up for the weekend. When packing up to leave Cherry, we accidently left the kayak on the shore. I know that sounds crazy but the boat ramp was chaotic and we were so worried about running over the redneck children whose redneck parents let them play on a boat ramp, that we got distracted! We made it all the way home before we remembered it. So we had a little dinner and Jim drove back to get it.....and sure enough it was still there! Now that never would have happened in SJ! Luckily his dad was in town and rode along with him. They had fun seeing a fox, rabbits, snakes and a skunk trying to cross a cattle grade.

* We saw lots of kayakers coming down Cherry Creek. It is an early kayaking year because of the lack of snow. In one group, there were 18 kayakers!

* The kids made a Tom Sawyer type raft out of logs in the lake! It was great! They even made seats. The only design trouble they had was with an anchor. They tried tying a big rock to a rope but everytime they tried it the rock came off! I think a raft will be a new tradition.

* Of course we did kayaking and log rolling like usual. We had to hunt a bit for the perfect log, so Jim and Drew went out in the kayak and dragged back two enourmous logs (30 feet long and 3 feet in diameter!). One was like a flat sidewalk. The dog would go out and walk back and forth on it while waiting for a stick to float by!

* Lastly, we read that book about deaths in Yosemite out loud. We finished the chapter on waterfalls and read some about snow. What we are learning is......people can be really stupid! The kids have clearly learned that you must not swim up stream from a waterfall!

* We had a couple injuries which is normal: Drew fell getting into the boat and smashed up his knee, I fell getting into the boat and smashed up my arm! Glad it was nothing more serious.

Those are the highlights of the weekend.....and I wonder why I am so tired!