Our paddles dipped in and out of the water with little effort, and Bote, our inflatable kayak, slipped across the glass-smooth water with a speed uncharacteristic of his portly profile. No wind, no waves, no current. Not real exciting for the white-water crowd, but we purely loved it.

The day had dawned solid gray, with intermittent rain showers, and we had debated for hours whether the sun was going to bless us with a ray or two. We decided to take a mid-day hike along a very nice shore-line trail, and see what the afternoon might bring.

You can tell by Karin’s smile just how upset she is with the weather. The wild roses and lupine blossoms were more than enough compensation.

Some of the plants along the path had been hit by a blight of some sort – it struck us with its unique artistry. Sorry, we have no idea of what kind of plant or parasite. Just a pretty picture.

We got back to camp with it still raining on and off, and decided that the lake was just too inviting to pass up. We are SO glad of the decision, for it was one of the most idyllic paddling excursions we’ve ever had. (With a little zooming and clicking, you can see our paddling track at www.share.delorme.com/gregilles)

The lake is dotted with islands, and we navigated between them and the shore along the southern end of the lake. We found a beaver colony, complete with mounds and a dam. The water was so clear we could see all the intricate detail of the mound construction.

The colony was guarded by a stout sentinel, who jetted across in front of our poky vessel. He sounded a huge tail-slap and dove out of sight just after I snapped the shot.

Karin climbed out for a few minutes to check out a trail-end platform and information placard. I guess you can get here by land, but our water-borne access was sublime.

On our way back to camp, we found this hidden little slough, barely a foot deep. Bote draws only about 8” of water, and we glided through, watching the clay bottom slide under us.

In and out of the brief sprinkles of rain, we paddled easily back to the campground shore, and our waiting warm, dry Howie. What a great rainy day.