Play Long and Hard
During a Short Summer
From the first weekend the lakes are ice free (usually Memorial weekend) until ice encrusts the shore in the morning (not long after Labor Day), Alaskans play HARD!
Audra was practicing with my camera when she nailed this photo of her sister crashing on a wake board. You can see the tow-rope handle (just in front of the board) and the faint color of legs still in the binders (at the boundary of dark water and the spray)! Always remember to "go loose" when you fall. (snicker, snicker)
Just a minor violation of Doctor's orders: As I recall, our model, Julie, was not yet cleared after a broken arm to be trying such stunts. We kinda took it easy on her.
I had to put at least one non-crash story here. We all like to have wipe-out pictures (especially when they look really bad), but sometimes things actually go right.
Of course, what is a summer get-together without enough food for 30 people?
Usually you can catch little fish (land locked silver salmon and rainbow trout) of the 6-10 inch variety. But during Memorial Day weekend of 1998, Dad did the unimaginable. He caught a 21 inch rainbow. After all of us wowing over the lunker (for Birch Lake), Dad went right back out and caught a 28 incher. To this day we are still in shock.
The kids aren't short of things to do either. If it floats or has a motor, they are always ready to go! Even if the going is slow.
At the end of a hard day playin', we start a camp fire, cook some hot dogs and then get into the S'Mores...you know, messy chocolate bars, sticky marshmellows, all melted and smooshed together on graham crackers. Yummy!
"See, I CAN fit two marshmellows in my mouth!"
Kids usually get pretty well coated with desert and wound up just before bed time. Oh, did I mention that these are other peoples kids? :)
Ahhhh! Hear the crackle! Feel the heat! Smell the smoke! It don't get much better than this.
Index of Alaska Pictures
