Woods Lake

One of the best parts of our trip to the Adirondacks was our (re) connection with Woods Lake.

We went to Woods Lake a few times when I was a kid, but I think it was more polluted and full of fish hooks and nasty stuff then, so my folks didn't go often. 

But just a mile or so down the road from my parents' house, there's a little pulloff from the road. The short drive was a perfect opportunity for Florian to get a manual shift driving lesson










during which Fozzie was the only one in the car who was perfectly relaxed. 

Once we parked, it was just a short trail of less than a mile through the woods, 


with no one else around and  acres and acres for the dogs to run through. 














And then a gorgeous lake surrounded by deep woods. 

I think Lamar was a little too tired to go for a swim, but Fozzie kept going in just for the joy of swimming a lap or two. 

The water was totally clear, and we saw some beautiful fish, dark brown with the most incredible light blue fins. 

Florian says they are bluegill. I never saw them before! I was so happy to see them just milling about in their habitat, with no nasty fisherpeople harassing them. 


At least for the moment. 

We didn't see much wildlife otherwise, but the beavers had left their mark which always makes me happy to see. 

 It was hot the first day we went to Woods Lake,

so although we hadn't brought our bathing suits that was of course no deterrent to Florian, who grew up swimming in cool mountain lakes all over the Swiss Alps. 

Like they always say, you can lead a Swiss guy to the water but you can't keep him from going in.

The water in this lake was actually pretty warm, amazingly, probably because there's been so much rain. Just like in the DC/MD area, it had been raining pretty much every day. 

As I remember my mom explaining to me when I was a kid, the lakes and streams we used to visit were so cold because at least early in the season, they were fed mostly by snow melt. 











Lots of rain, coupled with warm nights, make for water that is balmy by comparison.

So when we went back to Woods Lake, on the Fourth of July, we brought our bathing suits and joined the dogs for a refreshing swim in the clean-smelling water.












Just like when I was a kid, swimming in a lake that has a lot of muddy, mucky, weedy substrate gives me the heebie-jeebies. Not that there were likely any really terrifying things like crabs or even crayfish in there, but I am a tad squeamish about the sensation of mucky, weedy stuff that may conceal untold crawly species. 

So I was glad that the water was so clear and the bottom was rocky.

The dogs of course don't mind icky substrates, or if they do, they don't let on in any way that we could easily identify.

I think we could all agree that this lake had something for everyone. What a magical place!