Zeden Lake
Let's start by getting the name right. The last letter of the alphabet is pronounced by our American friends as "zeee" but the Canadian prononciation is "zed" like the word "sled". The reason I point this out is that the lake was named after a Royal Canadian Airforce photographic survey aircraft that either crashed or sunk on this lake. The aircraft was G-CYZN and referred to as "ZN" which in a word is "Zeden".
Monday around at five minutes to two we had made our way over the only moderately washboarded two kilometre road from the highway and the scene above is what we saw. It is not a big lake, probably just around a couple of kilometres across with a magnificent forest all around. I suspect that they wet years we have experience might account for what looks like some drowned trees on the north shore line but otherwise really beautiful setting. To the right of where this image was taken there is a tight little road to a campsite and we at first thought that was the campground. Then we drove down toward the boat launch and behold the second picture in the series shows a row of camp sites parallel to the water's edge.
Oh yes, this is a great place. about four trailers are parked at sites obviously campers with seasonal camping in mind because there was no one else there other than the single fishing boat.
We mad the turn and headed back to the highway. We had drained our water supply and if we intended to camp there were would have to take on some water. I had been running light because the motorhome is new to us and we did not understand our consumption and we wanted to keep the vehicle light because hauling water around costs gasoline. The water on board had been tankered all the way from some obscure town in Utah. Back on to the highway we headed north to the Caribou Creek Lodge where the folks helped me take on some water and we indulged ourselves with really killer chocolate ice cream cones. (The ice cream cones were huge and the price .... $2.14 each)
We came back and picked out a campsite. the ground was level, I put down some pad for the jack system because we expected rain. The sun was out and everything right with the world. Check out the two pictures from inside the motorhome, when do you ever see anything like that?
A neighbour set up camp next to us and there is a shot of "Tom" putting his handy dandy kayak in the water and making a tour around the lake. After supper I walked the twenty paces or so down to our own beach and you can see the amazing sand and bottom of the lake. We had to go in. Now it is June and the water is still pretty crisp but so crystal clear it sucked us in.
The next big event was sunset. It was indeed a big event. At this time of the year at this latitude it really doesn't get dark. The sun sinks below the northern horizon and twilight edges only briefly toward darkness then to twilight once again.
On the second day we simple enjoyed ourselves. The luxury of the site the silence, the calm was definitely restorative in every sense of the word. Late afternoon the sky was steadily growing darker and at supper the picnic table was wet and we were eating inside as the rain came and a northwest wind whipped up the little lake producing a white foam along our beach. But at ten in very light rain I was determine to venture once more into the water and got nearly to my waste before the chill made me realise I had no need to prove anything to myself or to the two other people at Zeden Lake so a hasty reteat to the motorhome and into a hot shower. As it turned out it was a cool shower. We had over taxed the battery system even though we have an excellent built in generator and the water heater had shut down without me realising it until the warm water turned cool. Living and learning is what it is all about.
It rained heavily into the night then off and on until the camp stove was stowed, the pads picked up and we were on our way home.