It is definitely hot here!
We kayak and swim during the day (and the GHL reads a book...) and we sit around enjoying the sunsets.
We haven't had any campfires, Duh, because of the the heat but looks like you would have to be careful drinking your glass of wine around the fire. "Here let me move your chair out of the smoke....." It wouldn't be hard to put the fire out at the end of the evening.
We have company that swim past the site and honk at us from time to time.
But over all it is pretty quiet here. We have neighbors but since there aren't as many electric sites in this area Remi can WOOF occasionally and not bother anyone.
The area with most of the non-electric sites is very very quiet.....
This is the clear water that Dale Hollow is noted for. It helps to see the bottom sometimes.
Remi found a spot that he liked next to the rocks. He blends right in.
And that worked just fine until a really big boat went by the first time and the wake splashed extra hard right next to him. He woke up and noticed that! This is a picture of him asking me if I thought he was safe.....
This is a picture of me real worried about the wake from the boat.....
The GHL tried out her Advanced Element kayak with the boat wakes and declared that it rode the waves just fine. I think she is liking the way it paddles more and more. And taking it farther and farther.....
This is what we look like from the kayak.... And now you understand why I have not stayed too hot. Once I swim the breeze of the lake helps. It got hot enough today that we made Remi swim a little in his life jacket so that he could be cool like me. But I promised I wouldn't take a picture of him all wet......(Just imagine a long drowned rat look.)
I got to go out in the Sea Eagle this morning...real early like. I really didn't mind the ride. Going down the river back home a few time has helped me understand that I really am safe.
And I do get to see and hear interesting things.
We got to stop and get out on the island (where the big noisy birds were.)
The GHL told me that when she first camped at Dale Hollow Lake she was 3 or 4 years old and they stayed right there on that island. You could do stuff like that back then. She last camped there after she got married and had young kids. I don't think they allow camping there anymore..... She told me there also used to be arrow heads you could find on the beach (when the water is down so as to have a beach) There also used to be a foundation of the old house that was there before they created the lake and flooded the valley. When she was growing up, she and her big brother would study the old COE maps and find a lot of the old foundations and homesteads along the lake.
Here is a picture of the big fancy dock. I think she actually went there today for lunch.
SHe said that they had some sort of turtle feeding station set up next to the outside dinning area.
The turtles she saw there did swim up looking for food. ...She didn't have any to give them but took their picture anyway.
We have seem a bunch of turtle out in the lake in front of our camp site and while we were kayaking. You just notice a little dark blob coming out of the water and it looks around and then sinks back down again. WIth all the speed boats, pontoons, and ski doos going around I thought for sure we would see turtle parts but apparently they know the vibrations and duck.
Oh, these are pictures of some of the cabins at the dock.
They are the same cabins from when the GHL was just a little girl. She knew the family that owned the original Sunset Dock which she said back then was more just a small fishing dock with one small counter inside to eat at...not like this fancy thing with a zillion houseboats, etc. Anyway she said the cabins were always pretty neat but then they looked out over small pretty little coves and now the small coves have been filled in to make parking lots so if you sit on the porches now you can see cars and long covered boat slips with fancy "toys" in them. The GHL said a house boat would be fun but can you believe it, they don't allow dogs on their rental boats. That does it for me anyway!
Tomorrow is our last day here before we go to the fancy dog park in western TN. If the weather is nice the GHL will probably head out again tomorrow AM early before the extreme heat and while the lake is calmer. Don't tell Remi, she said that if it isn't too hot she might "let" him kayak with her and I'll stay back and guard the rig. He does look cute in his life jacket.
Over all I think that Remi is enjoying life at the lake as much as I am.