Blue Lake

I have some very vivid memories of hiking to Blue Lake with my father. It about a 7 mile hike through the Rawah Wilderness just off of Hwy 14. I must have been around 11 when we went the first time but I insisted on carrying my own backpack just like Dad's. I remember Dad & I walking around our neighborhood for weeks with textbooks and bricks in our backpacks to get used the heavy burden on our shoulders. We spent two nights camping near the lake just the two of us and had a blast. We had pancakes and hot-chocolate for breakfast and fished for cutthroat trout until we caught enough for diner. Dad took lots of pictures which I hope to find in his slide collection some day.

We did the hike again the summer before we moved back to Iowa when I was 13. During out stay this time we scurried up the scree field to Hang Lake, just above Blue. It was the middle of summer but there were still patches of snow around the far end. We chucked snowballs at each other in shorts and T-shirts until our hands were numb. I brought my own camera along this time but I was mostly into "scenery shots" at that age

Some of my greatest memories are there because Dad took the time to be with each one of us children, one on one. As I mentally prepare to scatter his ashes this June at that very lake, I wonder how I will feel when I see it again. Since leaving for college and starting a family of my own, my relationship with my father has been more of a spiritual connection than the daily companionship of childhood. In that way, my father is still just as much a part of my life as he was before March 10th. Still, the times I miss him most are often the ones I least suspect. My father's death has only stregthened my relationship with my Mom and sisters. No matter how many miles separate us, we will always be living right next door.