Aug. 26 - Bull Lake

Just about 1/2 mile away (seemed a lot longer drive when I was little!) from the old cabin road is the turn off for Bull Lake.  My grandparents used to haul all us little kids (and dogs!  and equipment) to this lake.  We'd swim and canoe and float around on innertubes.  The best of times!  Except...this one time I was canoeing with a certain cousin who will remain unnamed...  She started rocking the canoe, all the while telling me about freshwater sharks!  I have always been way too gullible!!!  And...I have, since then, always been very afraid of (and fascinated by) sharks...

 Ouray Bear's first time in his mom's favorite ol' swimming hole.

 We weren't the only ones there.  A couple from Sandpoint, ID, and their super cute little dog - Lilly - were already ensconced on the dock when we arrived.  The lady went in for a dip - and took Lilly with her!  But Lilly's little still-puppy feet knew how to paddle, and she made it out OK.  Isn't she adorable?  And she had a personality to match.

 Senny checks her out - "are you OK?!"  You can just hear Lilly respond with a flippant "oh yeah, I do this with my mom ALL the time!"

 And there she goes, literally FLYING down the dock ramp!

And now we come to the part where I tell you there didn't used to be that painful-to-walk-on ramp!  There used to be just the dock - a nice, easy to use, comfy dock.  But they've changed much about this spot (unlike our cabin).  It's now an official picnic spot/campround, replete with winding roads all over the place, a serious bathroom (but that's a good improvement, right there!), and a dock ramp you can't walk on barefoot!  It's still beautiful and minimally visited.  And their changes are fine - I just miss the simpler facilities, the simpler experience, the simpler times...

 Ouray and Seneca - a moment of shared boredom and suffering.  "Can you believe Mom had to go and ruin this place by posing us for another dang photo?!!!"

 "Oh well.  Just grin and bear it..."

That pretty pond again - different time of day, different look.

And with that, we'll part with the past once again.  And, as Bob Hope would say, thanks for memories...