Camping at Paulina Lake

Everyone dreams of a camping vacation near a peaceful lake high in the mountains. Right?
You know...relaxing in the sun, reading, kayaking on the lake...
Well, that was our hope for the only vacation we planned for the summer. Judging by the picture above (taken by Bev), it looks pretty wonderful, doesn't it? Well, it WASN'T! We never saw so many mosquitoes in our lives! My sister-in-law Bev was loaded with her "ammunition!"


Kristin applied some anti itch cream in order to deal with the 50 or more mosquito bites she acquired!










We decided to spend as much time away from the campground as possible. This was a nearby obsidian flow.




















These are Red Cross Bills. They are different colors because there is a male, a female, a 1st year male, and a juvenile.











This is the beautiful Paulina Falls.































This butterfly (moth?) was stunning!


I think these were horse flies on this dainty flower.















We went to East Lake (where there were NO mosquitoes) and kayaked,
watched the ospreys,













relaxed,
and swam.

















We went to the Lava Lands Visitor Center.
While there, I saw my first Clark's Nut Cracker.

















We went to the Lava River Caves and explored.



















We enjoyed the view from the top of Pilot Butte.











It was at that point Bill regained phone reception. This was a work call!
Jesse used up some of his pent up energy running around.