During our first summer, we used our neighbor’s lake to teach swimming and just enjoy. However, we had the ideal site in our meadow to build our own lake and unlimited spring water to fill it and keep it full. Amazing how fortunate we were to have an ideal location with plenty of land and water to create our own lake. Serendipity??
A dam was built with a spillway and a 12-inch pipe outlet. I intended in the future to build our own water Pelton wheel generator with enough capacity to supply all the electricity camp would ever need. From our lake downhill to Richardson Creek was a 500 ft drop. On and in the lake, we taught swimming, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, and even water ballet. Never to be forgotten was a big raft we placed in the center of the Lake. What fun a raft and water can be.
The neighbor who allowed us to use his lake was also the man who sold us the land for camp. Carl Parks was a successful Chippo Logger and a professional bear and mountain lion hunter. He had a large Alaskan Husky he would take on his hunting expeditions. Whenever this dog broke free of his leash, he hunted the dogs of his few neighbors. It was a serious problem. The husky killed several dogs, which our neighbor paid dearly for. So he kept the husky chained because he realized his dog would be shot on sight by those who lost their dogs.
IN THE NEXT POST—What happened when our dogs encountered the husky on our walk to Richardson Creek.