Heatwave

We, like the rest of the country, are suffering from above-average temperatures. Hardly anyone around here has a pool; it rarely gets hot enough to make maintaining one worthwhile. Last year it stayed so cool that we never switched from flannel to cotton sheets on the bed.

Drinking water alone doesn't seem to combat the heat, so I've been making pitchers and gallons of lemonade and peach iced tea. Finally, a use for all those bags of lemons I keep buying!

Yesterday we decided to head out to the lake to cool down. Lake Crescent is a 10-mile-long glacial-carved relic of the last ice age and is fed by mountain snow. At more than 600 feet deep its crystal clear waters rarely warm up enough for comfortable swimming, but it rarely gets this hot here, either.


We got to the lake in the afternoon, after many people had already headed for home, so we were able to stake out a private bit of beach. We were soon joined by two teenaged girls who squealed with the chilly water before becoming acclimated to it. Their presence drew a crowd of boys who splashed and hollered in that particularly manic way of teenaged boys, while the girls ignored them to chat with the one boy who wasn't screeching like a fool.

After they all left we lay on the beach, soaking in the now-tolerable rays of the sun and enjoying the quiet. I was reminded that this is a rare place, with the ocean, mountains, rivers, lakes and beaches all within easy reach.