Takhlakh Lake

I was so brave this last week. The weather this summer has been so perfect. We have been trying to squeeze every bit of fun out of these last few months as reasonably possible. So in the spirit of having more good times I loaded up the car and took the kids and the dog camping all by myself. We went with our camping friends the Bakers and Huillets and we were lucky enough to have my good friend and Emily's best friend Judy and Kaityln come with us. This was our destination - Takhlakh Lake. The most beautiful lake I have ever been to. It was perfect. Just the right size (small enough for me to swim out and rescue Kate when her Kayak capsized). Beautifully tree lined. Clean, calm and remote and you just can't beat that beautiful reflection of Mt. Adams! We camped here for three nights. Just kicking back and enjoying the scenery and company.


Here is the group of kids: Rachel B., Hunter H. w/ Rebekah H., Rachel H., Adam B., Emily w/ Sara, Emily B., Chase, Sarah B., Kaitlyn F., Katie and Levi H.

Little Joshua H. was taking a nap and missed out on the photo. The kids had a blast with each other.

They fished. Emily caught a fish, watched Adam clean it and then it was cooked over the fire and Emily ate it all up. YUCK!
They leisurely kayaked and canoed around the lake all by themselves.
Even Katie got over her fear of water (this summer has been huge - more of that later) and enjoyed the boats. Mom was enjoying watching her too, until her kayak tipped and I had to swim out and bring her back to shore!
Sara and Chase really enjoyed all of the wild blueberries and huckleberries growing along the lake. One day we decide to take a break for the leisurely lake side life and went on a hike. Adam and Karin had found a trail that led to an old lava flow. So off we went letting the dogs have the fun of the forest. It was so cool. Almost prehistoric feeling. Here we all were walking on the top of this huge lava flow with burnt toothpick trees all around us. It was totally cool. I didn't get a great shot of the amazing view. You will just have to trust me that it was pretty spectacular. We could see Mt. Adams, St. Helen's, Mt. Rainier and even Mt. Hood off in the distance.

I just love Washington wilderness. I am so glad we have such wonderful friends to share it with and that we have had wonderful weather to enjoy it all in this summer.