Island Park

Yesterday we spent the day supports my family at the outdoor expo for the Worlds Dutch Oven Championship. I will get to that in another post here in the next week when I have pictures. While we were there we took some time to walk around and see all the booths. We even bought some cinnamon almonds and cashews (they are good but they are SOOOOO easy to make at home. Click HERE for the recipe I use). Alot of the booths were booths for far away trips. Not the kind you think of sitting out the beach. The kind where are are aiming the gun at some animal and using them for food (or a trophy mount, whatever floats your boat). There were a few other things there (Bear world, catch and release fishing, dog diving, etc.), we ran across a booth for Island park. I have awesome memories of that place and long to go there often. The only problem is: It is a long drive for a Friday-Sunday trip.

I was only 12 when my grandmother died. I was only a few months when my grandfather died (on my dad's side). My grandmother lived in a completely different state and with being the youngest of 8 children, it was very difficult for my parents to take us to go see her: Gas, food, packing all of us up, not to mention where would we stay to fit 10+ people? I love my grandma Stella. She was the best grandma I could ask for. I was devastated when she passed away. Island park is the place that i have the majority of the memories of her. We only got to see her once a year and it was always at our family reunion in Island park. My grandfather built a cabin there with my father. When my grandfather passed away the cabin went to my dad. Having a new born baby (that was me!), 7 other children and living 6 1/2 hours away my dad thought it would be impossible to take care of it properly. With much regret (now) my dad sold the cabin but every year we still went to island park. This is what I remember of it:
The best memory was heading to mack's Inn lodge. We would always go into the lodge and get candy and other goodies. We would also get tube rentals, my parents (usually my dad) would drive us up the river and drop us off. We would float down the river past the lodge and go under the bridge. We knew when we saw that bridge the adventure was over. My dad would be waiting on the bridge for us, waiting to pick us up and take us back to camp. We would do it all over the next day, and the next until it was time to pack up camp and make the long drive home. In 1989 the Lodge burnt down but the memories still remain the same, only instead of seeing the lodge, we saw the remains of the lodge: a brick fire place was the only thing that remained standing in that fire. Here is what Island park looks like now:

I have never been there during the winter but I hear it is amazing. All the pictures of the lake is the lake that we actually stayed by every time we went.

My dad had the opportunity to go back a year an a half ago to see the cabin he built with his own hands. The people who bought it from them still own it. They not only kept the original structure but they added on to it since then. My mom described my dad "like a kid in the candy store" when he saw the place. The couple was even kind enough to invite them in and in return they got information about the original structure they have been wondering about all these years straight from one of the two people who help build it.

I am hoping very soon that I will be able to take Bryce back to the place that has stolen my heart so many years ago....