Lake San Cristobal
The Whole Gang
What a fisherman!
Ghost Dog
Mark teaches Leslie to fly fish
By the stream
Ooops, Burke fell in!There are lots of pictures that I wanted to put up because this was such a bittersweet week in Lake City. There was lots of laughter, tears, memories, stories told and retold, good food, fellowship, lots of ice cream and reminders of what lies ahead.
This was the first vacation that we have gotten to be with Aaron, Leslie, Adam, Kirstin and Burke all together in Lake City. Add to that our old and dear friends, Steve and Paula, their daughter, Jenni, son-in-law, Steve and grand kids, Bennett and Ana. We enjoyed having them all together so much and it was so much more special knowing that this will most likely be the last time for all of us to be together.
Mark, of course, can fish under any condition, circumstance or health issue. He has no balance, walks with a cane, can no longer wade in the stream and can not stand very long, but he can out fish everyone every time!! He caught a 19 inch brown trout on the side of the road without a net and managed somehow to get him on land and not lose him in the process. Amazing! I on the other hand couldn't seem to catch anything big enough to keep.
Burke, had an unexpected dip in the stream. He was walking on some rocks in a flat area by the water and lost his balance and fell in - into the mud, water and moss. Not so fun in the very cold water!
Aaron had a rough start to the week - spending several hours in the local medical clinic being treated for pneumonia. He finally got some new medications and was feeling better after a few days time.
I put the picture of the Ghost Dog up there because for the last several years every time I go for a walk up to the cemetery behind Rocky Top Lodge this dog will come out of the woods and walk with me and when we are done she will go back. I have loved her company and everyone always said that she wasn't real because they never saw her. But this year everybody saw her. What a great dog - I have asked over the years all along the road who she belongs to and no one has claimed her! I just think that she has been God's special gift to me and I treasure the walks together.
I walk to the cemetery because I have always loved the quiet beauty of the place. It is a primitive, natural spot up on a hill side under huge trees. This is the place that we have chosen to be buried and so this time we met with the county treasurer one morning to pick out our places. We picked out a beautiful spot under two big trees. Because we have spent so much time in Lake City over the years and have such wonderful memories of our times there with family and friends, it was a natural choice for us. I wrote on Caring Bridge that even though I know that we won't really be there, that we wanted a place to mark that we had lived. I love to read the headstones in the cemetery there and see a small part of the history of this place that we love.
We were talking about how many of us there, Mark had taught to fish. Almost everyone! And now Leslie has had a turn at learning from a great man and fisherman. We don't know if she will continue to fish or not but at least she has had a chance to be a part of a long line of students.
Lake City has been the tradition of our family for over 30 years. We have been there with our parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, siblings, kids, now grand son, and friends. We have made great friends there - the Merediths who owned the Texan Resort where we stayed for many years before they sold it; the Hartmans who own the Soda Fountain where we have eaten way too much ice cream; the Inges who own Rocky Top Lodge where we have stayed for the last five or so years; Dan and Marion who own Dan's Fly Shop where we spend a lot of our money on flies and lots of gadgets for me!; Chris and Ken Carter who raise Cairn Terriers and many others. They have all become very dear to us and we feel like we are home while we are there. I know that many of them are praying for us and we are so grateful.
So, all in all it was a great week - hard but good. I know that it will be a week that we will all look back on with great joy and with memories of God's great goodness, kindness and amazing love.
This was the first vacation that we have gotten to be with Aaron, Leslie, Adam, Kirstin and Burke all together in Lake City. Add to that our old and dear friends, Steve and Paula, their daughter, Jenni, son-in-law, Steve and grand kids, Bennett and Ana. We enjoyed having them all together so much and it was so much more special knowing that this will most likely be the last time for all of us to be together.
Mark, of course, can fish under any condition, circumstance or health issue. He has no balance, walks with a cane, can no longer wade in the stream and can not stand very long, but he can out fish everyone every time!! He caught a 19 inch brown trout on the side of the road without a net and managed somehow to get him on land and not lose him in the process. Amazing! I on the other hand couldn't seem to catch anything big enough to keep.
Burke, had an unexpected dip in the stream. He was walking on some rocks in a flat area by the water and lost his balance and fell in - into the mud, water and moss. Not so fun in the very cold water!
Aaron had a rough start to the week - spending several hours in the local medical clinic being treated for pneumonia. He finally got some new medications and was feeling better after a few days time.
I put the picture of the Ghost Dog up there because for the last several years every time I go for a walk up to the cemetery behind Rocky Top Lodge this dog will come out of the woods and walk with me and when we are done she will go back. I have loved her company and everyone always said that she wasn't real because they never saw her. But this year everybody saw her. What a great dog - I have asked over the years all along the road who she belongs to and no one has claimed her! I just think that she has been God's special gift to me and I treasure the walks together.
I walk to the cemetery because I have always loved the quiet beauty of the place. It is a primitive, natural spot up on a hill side under huge trees. This is the place that we have chosen to be buried and so this time we met with the county treasurer one morning to pick out our places. We picked out a beautiful spot under two big trees. Because we have spent so much time in Lake City over the years and have such wonderful memories of our times there with family and friends, it was a natural choice for us. I wrote on Caring Bridge that even though I know that we won't really be there, that we wanted a place to mark that we had lived. I love to read the headstones in the cemetery there and see a small part of the history of this place that we love.
We were talking about how many of us there, Mark had taught to fish. Almost everyone! And now Leslie has had a turn at learning from a great man and fisherman. We don't know if she will continue to fish or not but at least she has had a chance to be a part of a long line of students.
Lake City has been the tradition of our family for over 30 years. We have been there with our parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, siblings, kids, now grand son, and friends. We have made great friends there - the Merediths who owned the Texan Resort where we stayed for many years before they sold it; the Hartmans who own the Soda Fountain where we have eaten way too much ice cream; the Inges who own Rocky Top Lodge where we have stayed for the last five or so years; Dan and Marion who own Dan's Fly Shop where we spend a lot of our money on flies and lots of gadgets for me!; Chris and Ken Carter who raise Cairn Terriers and many others. They have all become very dear to us and we feel like we are home while we are there. I know that many of them are praying for us and we are so grateful.
So, all in all it was a great week - hard but good. I know that it will be a week that we will all look back on with great joy and with memories of God's great goodness, kindness and amazing love.
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