Camping in our own backyard

With high gas prices, I wanted to make our first camping trip fairly close to home. Right here in Douglas County we have a wonderful campground run by our Parks & Rec Department at Lake Topaz. For $10 a night you can camp under the large cottonwood trees and swim in the nice warm water. They have hot showers and clean bathrooms with flush toilets. That is a very important feature to me. Ted and Gary are great camp hosts and they'll even deliver bags of ice right to your site.

Two things I would recommend; lots of bug spray and camping during the week when it's quiet. The weekends get pretty crowded and too loud for my taste. Our family spent this last week there.

Tuesday afternoon the lightning started the fire that was named the "Jackass Fire." There were thunder showers every afternoon, but we were safe inside our trailer because of the rubber tires.

We enjoyed floating out to the rope swing that hangs on a nearby tree. Jenee, only 6 years old, was very brave to jump off that rope over and over again. I was on my turtle float catching her each time she landed. I told her if I saw a water snake, we'd have to paddle back to our camp site, so we didn't look for them even though we know they are there. The brave boys next to us were catching them and letting them wrap around their arms. (It must be a boy thing). Happy camping.

n Have you noticed how popular sandals are this summer? Or are they called thongs, flip-flops, shower shoes or zorries? It seems like the stores are full of all kinds, colors, shapes, heights. I headed down to one of our large retails stores which carry yarn. We found some beautiful "fancy fur" yarn that was "bursting with kernels of color." I am sure there are lots of different ways to decorate these sandals, but here is how we did it. I measured a piece about 6 yards long. I started from the center with half the strand and wrapped it around and around the sandal strap until I got to each end and then I tied a knot several times. This is an easy and inexpensive gift for all your friends. This is a very easy craft that takes hardly any talent. How about giving it a try?

n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.