Diamond Lake Summer Home and Camping
When Dave and I were first dating we went to Diamond Lake for the day with a couple he knew from school. On our way, Jane asked her husband Gary if he had brought his jock strap. I didn’t know what one was but I was sure she said that to embarrass me. She was right. We camped at Whistler’s Bend Park a short distance to his parents’ house, we took our dog Abby who was barely a pup, she loved the freedom of sniffing about for a squirrel to chase. We had a small tent for just the three of us, a change of clothes, a sleeping bag, food, sodas, coffee, and dog food. But actually, that was a lot of things for just one night.
We were camping with our friends, Kyle and Jody newlyweds like us at the trailhead of Fish Creek Valley. There was no outhouse and it wasn’t my cup of tea. In the morning we hiked to the creek fishing poles in hand, sandwiches, sodas, and snacks in backpacks. Despite there being no outhouse at the trailhead the hike was worth it. It was a beautiful replete with wildflowers and the guys caught three trout.
One summer Dave and I took a canoe up Silent Creek a tributary to Diamond Lake; it was beautiful, serene, and silent just like its name. Serena was a few months old and she fell asleep to the sound of the oars lapping on the water. Dave and I enjoyed the time, there were no other people around it was quiet, peaceful, and private.
We camped at Christmas Valley, in the middle of nowhere when Serena was not quite a year old. We have a picture of her sitting on a platform under an old-fashioned water pump. I expected the valley to have a forest of fir and pine trees but it was high desert rocky soil, and scrub juniper. Dave had built a canopy for the pickup bed, it didn’t have any insulation and we could hear coyotes howling all night long. Dave and Serena slept peacefully but Abby trembled and I didn’t sleep a wink we only stayed one night.
Doug was just a few months old when we went camping at the coast. We had Dave’s parent’s thirty-year-old canvas tent, the waterproofing was long gone. The four of us slept in a row Doug next to one side of the tent, then me, Serena in the middle, and Dave on the other side. Doug woke up crying, his blanket and his clothes were soaked with cold rain somehow we made it through the night. We ate our campfire breakfast packed up all the wet gear and headed home. After that, we bought a new tent.
My side of the family, the Shorts, had our family reunion camping trip at Lemola Lake. Everything from the lakeside was dusty but there were outhouses. We have a picture of Doug probably six years old slouched in a folding chair his clothes filthy. He was exhausted he’d had a perfect day.
The cabin at Diamond Lake became our favorite vacation place. Most of our weekend trips were with Dave’s parents. His mom was an excellent cook in the cold cabin air she warmed dinner plates in the oven so the food didn’t get cold. Each couple there brought food to make a dinner. I was intimidated but finally decided that tacos were my best choice.
Trout fishing was good in the lake I wasn’t much of a fisherwoman but sometimes I rode along in the boat. Fresh caught fish are delicious especially when fried. Sometimes enough were caught enough so we could take some home. But I mostly I preferred to stay lakeside or in the cabin reading or worked on a puzzle. Dave’s dad commented “Margee is happiest when she is working.” I was used to being busy and productive that’s still true.
We loved taking Abby to Diamond Lake she chased squirrels to her heart’s content and ran alongside us when we rode bikes. One hot summer day she got her paws blistered from the hot pavement we felt really bad we hadn't even thought of that.
From Diamond Lake, you can see the majestic Mt. Thielsen, beyond the other side of the lake. One day we hiked up it but only made it part of the way. Serena was eighteen months old in Dave’s backpack. We were short-sighted we took only one canteen of water we should have taken two, we gave all of the water to Serena and Abby. When we got back to the cabin cans of the Squirt soda were left beside the little freezer in the old-fashioned refrigerator. The liquid in the cans was slushy and probably the best drink we’d ever had, it was the first soda for Serena. Giving soda to a little person like her isn’t recommended but we all were hot and worn out.
Dave’s parents bought two snowmobiles with a trailer, hitched on the back it carried our gear, food, Abby’s dog food, and our clothes, enough for multiple layers because it was very cold. Two people could ride on one snowmobile, our kids were sitting in the trailer and Dave and I standing on back bumper of the trailer, Eskimo style.
During spring break we took his parents' snowmobiles along with Serena and Doug and a friend of Serena and Doug’s to the cabin. We stayed a whole week, just our family and our kids’ friends, we truly relaxed. Diamond Lake is a winter wonderland; it has beautiful snow drifts sometimes we had to dig out the snow to get to the door of the cabin. Spring vacation was an expense-free vacation for us except for gas and groceries we were truly blessed.
Dave’s parents made a list of rules for the cabin and we were expected to follow them to the letter. When they were ready to sell the cabin they asked if Dave and his brother Zack wanted to buy it. The brothers said no, because they knew the cabin would never really be theirs, their parents would expect them to run it their way. However, our son Doug wished we had.
Dave and I had our all-time favorite camping trip at Dorena Lake with our granddaughters Maggie was three and Lolo was two. Our menu was simple, bacon and eggs for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, hot dogs, and pork and beans for dinner. We roasted marshmallows to make chocolate s’mores a sandwich a square of chocolate, a roasted marshmallow sandwiched between two graham crackers the perfect camping treat.
Close to the park was a farmhouse, the lane leading to it was lined with wild blackberry bushes. The berries were perfectly ripe, plump, and fresh. Our little granddaughter’s hands, faces and the front of their clothes were stained by the purple juice. Who could complain? They were having the time of their lives, and Dave and I were too.
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