bear lake

we went to bear lake last saturday. bear lake is great fun. and it is actually a very interesting place so i will share a few fun facts:

• bear lake straddles the border of utah and idaho and is the second largest natural lake in utah
• it was formed by fault subsidence which is continuing to make it deeper on the eastern side of the lake
• bear lake is known as the "Caribbean of the Rockies" because of the beautiful turquoise-blue water - the result of calcium carbonates suspended in the water (and it really is beautiful. it amazes me every time we come to the top of the pass of the canyon and i get that first glimpse of the lake, sparkling in the summer sun.)
• because of the chemical properties of the lake, it is home to several endemic fish species. it used to have many species unique only to this lake but after the bear river was diverted into the lake the chemical makeup changed just enough to render many of the species extinct. now it is home to four species of fish that occur no where else in the world. introduced species find it hard to thrive in the unique water of this lake.
• bear lake was an annual rendezvous site for mountain men and native americans
• bear lake is a popular place to swim, jet-ski, boat, sail, fish and more.
• the lake is typically icebound in winter

so there you have it. more than you ever wanted to know about bear lake.

bear lake is very high this year. the water is almost right up to the road. usually we drive down here and drive for several yards before parking, then walk a few more yards to the edge of the lake. this year it was hard to even find beach.

excited to go swimming.

playing in the sand. this is one reason why bear lake is so awesome. sandy beaches! the kids love playing in all that sand.

see that ornery face lincoln is making? he made that face whenever he was touching sand or water. so i guess the beach is not his favorite place to hang out.

another reason we love bear lake is its shallow shores. the kids can wade for quite a ways.

the kids loved floating in their life vests.

building a stick forrest.

when we got to bear lake we knew there was a chance of rain. we anxiously watched the clouds make their way over. we figured we'd pack up when it started to sprinkle. instead we decided to pack up when all of a sudden our canopy flew off toward the water in a gust of wind. luckily it flew right to ethan and he was able to grab it before it went into the lake. we were pelted with sand as the wind whipped all around us and we tried to pack up as quickly as we could. maria was a rock-star. without anyone asking she helped ethan pack everything up while i changed babies in the van. hudson cried hysterically because the sand was blowing on his face and in his eyes. it was sad, but i had to laugh as he walked toward me with arms stretched out like a zombie, eyes closed, crying, trying to make his way through the sand to me and the van. i kept yelling at him, "hudson, just walk forward. you're fine. i'll grab you." it still makes me giggle a little. it was an impressive storm. i'd always heard people remark how quickly a storm can develop at bear lake, and they weren't kidding (and this was probably nothin').

our day at the beach didn't last as long as we had planned but we had a lot of fun for the short time we were there.

it poured all the way home through the canyon. we stopped at the jardine juniper trailhead to let little ones use the bathroom. it was so beautiful i had to step out of the van and take a picture. nothing like a bit of rain in the mountains (so long as your not in a tent, of course. i don't care who you are or what you say - i've been in many tents in the rain and they ALL leak.) and by the way, it smelled wonderful. you could smell the grass, trees, dirt, and especially the sagebrush really well.

it was a great day.