Summer at the Lake

These past few weeks have truly been summer time heaven at Gunflint. The temperatures have been in the 80's and even 90's during the day. Almost every night the heat has dropped to give us wonderful sleeping. Those in the know have gotten into the habit of closing their windows during the day and opening them at night. It is amazing how this little trick keeps the house cool and comfortable.

The beach here at the lodge has been the teen center and unofficial daycare. Every child in camp has spent afternoons and evenings playing on the beach, taking out the kayaks, and building sand castles. The chairs along the beach are filled with parents just relaxing and watching the kids play. The interaction among teens is great fun to watch. During the winter we dream of afternoons like this.

For the more ambitious there is always fishing off the end of the dock. The shady weeds growing under the dock hold a fair share of bass. Grandson Zach caught enough bass off the dock for dinner one night. Since bass are great fighting fish, even the small ones are fun for youngsters to catch.

But the main attraction for one and all is swimming in the lake. When he is down at our house, grand-dog Tucker has his own system for swimming. He will be outside with us as we work in the garden. Suddenly Tucker disappears for a few minutes and then reappears soaking wet. When ever he gets hot, Tucker just goes down to the lake for a short dip to cool off. I wish is was that easy for us.

Lee and Eva recently took Tucker across the lake to Little Rock Rapids. The two of them were going to float down the rapids to cool off just as Lee did when growing up on the lake. Well, Tucker was not about to sit on shore and miss the fun. Soon he was float down right with them.

In the north country the warm temperatures of both air and water are short lived. It makes this time of year very special for both us and our guests.