Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Boating on Dale Hollow Lake

What a great day! We started out by snapping a picture of the local wildlife in the park. We haven't always seen these in the park, but they have been here the last two years. This camper was unoccupied and the vultures were all over the campsite. It was one right on the water and with the high water, there were a lot of dead fish in the grass. We then got the boat out of storage and brought it down to the campsite and Terry got the battery in and put in the plugs while I cleaned the seats and wiped down the outside. We drove down to the dock and launched her from the main ramp. The only glitch with that was that kids were swimming on the boat ramp. What a bunch of maroons. They were old enough to read the signs, but apparently chose not to. When we arrived, an adult in the group made them move. That was good. I wouldn't want to swim in that area as that is not the cleanest water in the world and with all the docks, there are underwater cables and fittings, etc. With all the high water they have had, there is bound to be debris and we did, in fact, see some. Safety is the main reason you don't swim on the boat launch.

Once launched, I parked the truck and trailer and walked around to the store where Terry brought the boat. We went inside and rented a covered slip for the boat while we are here. It is so much simpler to park it at the end of the day instead of loading up. Years ago, that is what we did every night. We got very adept at it and could do it in record time, but we now prefer a more leisurely end to the day. We haven't gotten the jet ski out yet. Don't know if we will. Terry doesn't like to ride it and it's no fun to ride by myself. We are hoping to hook up with some old friends later in the week. We used to see them down here every time we came and our kids grew up on the water together.

We went out for a ride and rode down to Star Point, probably about 10 miles away. I was reading statistics on the lake and it is 61 miles long and covers 22,000 acres. I've been told it resembles lakes in Canada. While they are allowing building up on the tops of the cliffs surrounding the lake, you still cannot build down on the water and that helps to keep the lake pristine. We were afraid it would be muddy with all the recent flooding, but it is actually quite clear.

It was enjoyable and the weather is hot which is perfect for lake weather. We arrived back to the dock and parked in our spot and came back to camp and grilled some supper. A great start to our lake vacation!

Till next time. . .

Dale

7 comments:

Brandon said...

I miss boating with you guys so much. Hopefully next summer or something we can meet up there. In a couple of years, you'll be going out on MY boat. Have fun! Love ya.

Dale said...

I was thinking yesterday that it isn't the same without you kids. Those were some great times, weren't they? We had so much fun, camping and boating. We were fortunate we could do all those things with you kids. I'm looking forward to YOUR boat!

Love, Mom

Unknown said...

A 35' Carver would be real nice.

Love also, Dad

Brandon said...

Yeah, it really was great. I remembered always looking forward to Wawasee and Dale Hollow every summer. Why do we have to grow up again? hahaha

Unknown said...

We all grow up to spoil our grandkids rotten, load them up with sugar and then go home, where it's nice and quiet.

jocelyn said...

Maybe Ronan can handle a boating vacation next year. We'll see if Grandpa is up to it. ;)

Dale said...

Maybe so, colander girl.

Love, Mom