Saturday, September 1, 2012

We Didn't Start the Fire: Butt Lake 2012

There are certain places in this world that are special and if you're lucky, really lucky, you get to know these places, spend time with them, see them as so much more than a dot on a map. Butt Lake is one of those places for a lot of people. I've written about it before (Essential Butt Rules of Camping & How to Be Camping Chic) but every summer for the past fifty years my family of friends has traveled to Butt Lake to spend two magical weeks together.
I always joke that I want all my nearest and dearest to live on the same street and for two weeks out of the year I get my wish. I get to wake up next door to my cousins. I get to see friends I've known since before I was a redhead :) I get to have breakfast with my grandpa, joke with my uncles, and make dinner with a troop of "aunts." But, most importantly, when I'm at the lake I get to be with a roving pack of the most lovable wackadoos it's ever been my pleasure to get into countless shenanigans with.
This year was a very different Butt Lake because of the Chips fire and no, to quote the song, we didn't start the fire. We were evacuated from our campgrounds in early August and as we drove away we hoped that our Butt Lake would stay un-charbroiled. Unfortunately, recent reports say that our home away from home was not so lucky. When I heard the news, I'll be honest- I cried. My heart broke for the people of Chester (the nearby town) and it broke for what has been lost. But, then I realized something. It's not really the lake that I go for (don't get me wrong, it's beautiful and I love it), but that's not what makes it special. It's the people and the memories that make it magic and hey, magic always has a way of making a comeback. So, no matter what, our wild rumpus will continue- crazy hats, inner tubes, and all. Here's to Butt Lake 2013.

1 comment:

  1. Drove up to Butt Lake to check on the fire damage on 9/17/2012 here's a link to the video we took on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dlkeBNydvw

    Mark & Cynthia

    Concord Ca

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