This year Hunter, Noah and Abbie were able to do swim team in the summer. Thanks to Papa for the great photos!
Some shots of Hunter
Some shots of Noah
Some shots of Abbie
Today we went to another small swimming-only local lake called Scout Lake near the town of Sisters. Its a very small lake but lots of space to spread out and have your own space and the water was crystal clear. We got lucky with some 'natural entertainment'. There was a huge log floating out in the lake that you could walk on and jump off. Great fun.
The boys swam their hearts out at their last meet.
August is the prime month for visiting mountain lakes in the cascades. The weather is still warm and the water has also warmed up! This weekend we decided to try Three Creeks Lake at the base of Tam McAuthor Rim. The last time I was here was for an early season hike in late June of 2012 when there was still a decent amount of snow. To reach the lake turn south on Elm Street in downtown sisters and drive for about 18 miles until the road ends at the lake - pretty easy. There are a couple campgrounds there as well and the lake has some nice open beach areas wth shallow wading areas for the kids.
Here are the kids playing in one of the 'three' creeks that flow into the lake. The water is ice cold!
On the way back through sisters we stopped at the famous sno cap for ice cream.
Last friday I took the kids to Paulina Lake inside Newberry Crater. This week after Hunters swim meet we went up to East Lake, which is the sister lake inside of Newberry Crater. (see this picture - the lake on the right side is east lake)
Here is a panorama of the lake from our spot on the beach
We hung out on the beach and also rented a boat for a ride around the lake. Great fun.
A cool old sign by the boathouse
Some pictures from today's final swim meet of the summer for Hunter. He got first in the breaststroke, and second in the freestyle for his age group. The ribbon ceremony is Monday. He loves to swim!
Kelly wasn't feeling well, so I wanted to get the kids out of the house this afternoon. I decided to try Tumalo State Park. We have never been there before, and I was pleasantly surprised. Its a nice shallow river and its only about a 15 min drive from our house. We hung out for a while in the late afternoon and then headed over for some dinner at Taco Del Mar.
This weekend the weather was warm so we decided to head up to the Cascade lakes to cool off for a swim with our neighbors - the Rice family. Our destination was the beach at the south end of Elk lake about 38 miles from town. To get there you pass elk lake resort, pass the campground and look for the sign not far past the campground indicating the day use area on the left.
We stopped and picked up sandwiches at Subway and then we were off! We arrived around noon and we were not the only ones looking to enjoy the nice weather. The beach was full but due to limited parking (we got one of the last spots) it keeps it from getting too crowded.
Elk lake like many of the cascade lakes has the mountains as a backdrop. At this beach South Sister dominates the backdrop. The water was actually pretty warm as well considering it is still only mid-July.
Here is a short movie Kelly shot from the beach: