[Lakegeezer]

In the spring, sometime in the early 1980's (has it really been that long!?), four of us camped out on one of the small islands in the southern part of the lake. It was one of the more memorable camping trips I've been on. We pulled the boat up on a small sandy beach and pitched a tent about 50 feet back from the shoreline. We used a fuel stove for cooking and had a small camp fire in a fire pit that we found. In the morning, there was a series of weird loud noises. We woke up to see a bunch of hot-air balloons floating by, 100 feet or so above the water. After breakfast, we cleaned up all evidence that we had been there and left. Nobody else was on the island, and we never got close to the only house that was there. Camping like that is special, and if you are going to do it, you should respect the land you are using, and the tradition of not spoiling it for others. If you get caught, there is a 50/50 chance you will have to leave - but if you are careful, they will never know. Getting away with it is part of the fun - at least it was for us.