Priest Lake

I haven't wrote that much in any of my blogs this month. I've been sort of busy. The first of the month I went to Priest Lake with my family for a week. That was relaxing because I didn't worry about my mission. We were away from everything. So, I got to read a lot out of The Lord of the Rings. Actually, I read along with a book on CD that I downloaded from the internet. After I read so many chapters, I listened to a corny, British radio adaptation of the Lord of the Rings. I read the first two book when I was a freshman in high school, but didn't read the third because he gets into way too many details about the layout of the land. I'd much rather read about the action and dialogue.

I really like Priest Lake because we get to camp right on the beach. The first day we camped up above the beach in trees because we didn't get there soon enough that Sunday. The next day, we secured a spot and moved all our things. We camp at the Lionhead campground which is on the northern tip of the lake. That campground is pretty rare because it's an actual campground where we get to camp right on the sand. Many campgrounds are just based in the woods somewhere. The portapotty is nice too. It doesn't stink because there is a fan going 24/7.

The first few days we were there, there was no water in the whole campsite. So, we had to drive to Indian Creek, another campsite for trailers and the whole thing is paved, to get water and shower. It also has a little store and a gas station. The gas station wasn't working though because the pump was pumping the gas. It took us a half an hour just to get there because the road is so windy, lots of s curves, and the last part is gravel. It was all wash-board too. That comes with gravel roads though.

We have two boats which my dad bought last year. One's a fast, little performance boat that can go 60 MPH. However, we have the wrong type of prop so it goes 50. It's very good for skiing, but bad for wake boarding and intertubing. It produces hardly any wake. So, wakeboarders are limited with their jumps. With intertubing, it's a less of a wild ride. One thing good about our boat is that it's not a gas hog. Most boats that you see are big and bulky. With ours it's light and has a big outboard engine.

Our other boat is the Hobey Cat. It's a fast sailboat that can hold about two to three people. It's fast because it sits on to pontoons instead of one main one like most sailboats. It's a lot to work to sail though. When I went this time, I had to quickly scutter back and forth under the mast which was low were I was at and try not to get tangled in the ropes in the process. Not that fun.

One night there was a thunderstorm. That was pretty fun because of all the chaos it created. We saw lighting far off the distance. It took a good hour or two to come to us. My parents and sister went to bed. I was hanging out with my brother and his friend Logan watching the lighting on the beach. They were going to sleep out there. As we sat on the Hobey Cat, the wind picked up. Evan tried to get the sail down so it won't tip over again, but the wind was too strong. Evan woke up my dad. Then, I went to the tent to grab the headlamp. When I was going to the tent, I saw the two tarps that was covering the sleeping bags fly off. One didn't fly very far, but the other few quite a ways. While I was walking back to our tent, I heard a branch snap.

The wind was so bad that we couldn't get the sail down. We abandoned the sailboat for a little while because the lighting was above our heads. The waves got so bad that it pulled the three foot stake which anchored boat and sent it on shore. Our neighbors that had lots of teenager boys helped us get the boat all the way on shore the it wouldn't be beat to death by the waves. When the wind died down, we put down the sail so it wouldn't tip over if the wind started blowing again. Next time, if we see a thunderstorm come our way, we'll get our ski boat out of the water like our neighbors and put the sail down. It was pretty exciting though.

I want to comment on somethings that you said Supergroup. First, my diagnosis changed to Asperger's syndrome. I know that I had autism as a child. Now, it just getting less and less. So, I don't know whether it will affect that much on a mission. However, it really looks like I have to go on a local mission first which will be local. Second, all young men should go on a mission for my church because it's their duty. Women don't have to. However, it doesn't matter if a guy or a girl has Asperger's syndrome because we are both treated equal on the decision. It just really depends on the person. Third, the sexual abuse did really affect and upset me. I don't know that it left scars in me; however, I won't look at somethings the same ever again. It did change my life. It made me realize how evil people can be and how they can be so stupid to reject the truth. I do forgive him, but I never want to see or even talk to him again because he's not repenting of what he did to me.