Lake Santeetlah, NC 8/20/23 - 8/23/23 (No camping)

Greg & I were invited, by our SC friends Bob & Debbie, to visit them at their lake house on Lake Santeetlah in Western NC. We decided to leave from GA instead of FL, so it would only be a 6.5 hour drive (vs 9 hours).

We headed to GA on Friday & got the grass mowed. I was tasked with snacks for Cocktail Hour(s) on the boat so I spent most of Saturday prepping items for that purpose.

We left on Sunday, around 8:00a. Traffic through Atlanta wasn't that bad for a Sunday so we arrived a little before 3:00p.

I had been there in August of last year, you can read about that visit here August 2022 Lake Santeetlah Visit.

View of house from the lake.

We went for a short boat ride before an early dinner of ribs, potato salad & devilled eggs. We went to bed fairly early because we had a very early morning of fishing on Monday. 

This lake is surrounded by the beautiful Nantahala NF & has many varieties of fish (most are deep water). 

Bob had charted a 1/2 day fishing trip for us from a young guy named Jarrod who runs a 1st class operation - Smokey Mountain Fishing Guide Service. He met us at the dock at 6:15a! It was obviously still dark & making our way down the many stairs was quite the challenge (turn the D**N lights on Bob!). 

It's a loooong way down.

It was a bit cool, which we relished since we had come from 98 -100 degree days. Daylight came & all was very quiet on the lake. Then we saw a bald eagle catch a fish - made our day! It quickly heated up & the fishing began. We caught seven fish total (a large mouth bass, 4 white stripped bass, a large crappy & a steelhead trout) & a few others that got away. We finished around noon & Jarrod filleted our fish which we had for dinner that night ... delicious! Here are a few pics from the morning.

After fishing (& getting up so early) we decided to just have boat snacks at the house & Bloody Marys & Beers for lunch. And then ..... naps for all, before dinner.

The next morning I went for a walk through the neighborhood & then we just lazed around. Debbie cooked a delicious crab casserole for breakfast & the guys went fishing (on their own) for a couple of hours while Debbie & I packed up our snacks for an afternoon boat ride.

We rode over to the marina & shopped a bit & then while just cruising around the lake I spotted a fawn crossing the inlet to an isolated wooded area of the NF. Bob cut the motor to the boat & we could see Mama deer waiting on shore for the baby. Bob said it had to have been 250+ yards from where they started.

Continued cruising & since the weather had warmed up, we stopped & took a dip & swam in the wonderfully clear, cool lake. Here are a couple pics from the afternoon.

Afterward we took showers & headed out to dinner at Tapoco Lodge. On the way, we stopped at the Maple Springs Overlook to admire the view. Ironically, one of the guys that works at the Lodge was at the observation deck showing some friends the view as well. His wife offered to take our group pic.

It was to great to just get away without any real agenda. We had a wonderful time & hope to be invited back again next year!

Note1: We survived the ride home through Atlanta & avoiding Macon.

Note2: Laugh of the trip ... screwedsomewood to it ... I've never heard of that kind of tree.

Camping & Reading

Or rather, RVing. My sister & BIL took their new RV 5th wheel to a nearby lake for 3 weeks of living the lake life. I invited myself down last weekend for a 4 night stay. It's a very nice RV with 2 bedrooms & 2 baths, living, dining & kitchen. It even has an outdoor kitchen with small gas grill, sink & small fridge.

The lake is one from my childhood. At one point it housed 2 separate swim/camp parks, long gone now. My parents, aunts, uncles, cousins & myself spent many summer days at 1 of the parks. As a teenager I had a friend that had use of a family home on the lake. It was owned by her grandparents & each of the kids families had use of it for 2 weeks each summer. I learned to water ski on the lake. It took a full day of me trying over & over again but I finally got it. I remember the yelps from the end of the dock when I finally stayed up to ski around the lake. My 1st roomate's family used to camp at the same park & she & I would go down for the weekend for days of lounging around on the large dock & more water skiing.

About 1/3 of the lake has vacation homes scattered along the shore. The other 2/3 is owned by the military & is used as a training facility. They have cabins that military personnel can rent. They also have 2 full service camp grounds with concrete pads with water, electric & sewer hookups. However, you have to be a member to be able to camp there. And you have to be military or sponsored by someone that is or was military to become a member. My sister & BIL are sponsored by my BIL's uncle. They pay a small annual fee for the privilege.

The 2 public parks are long gone, bought by a developer, so the general public doesn't come anymore. There are several families of friends that all go at the same time. Their kids are all grown but they come & go while their parents are there. My BIL has 2 jet skis & one of their friends brings his motor boat & paddle boat. They anchor them just past the end of the dock so they are easily available. All the girlfriends bring various floats & tie them all together. They spend the days just floating, talking & gossiping.

Each family eats breakfast & lunch on their own but they all get together for dinner. My BIL brings his big charcoal grill & usually cooks the meat & the other families contribute sides & desserts. After dinner we either rode the golf carts around or went for a slow sunset boat ride.

I got up each morning around 6:00a & went for a brisk 1, 2 or 3 mile walk. I then sat down under the awning or went out to the end of the dock to read. After breakfast we usually went down to the floats to soak up some sunshine. I would then read some more usually while sitting in the shade on the dock. After lunch I read some more, floated some, went for paddle boat rides, jet ski rides or boat rides. As the afternoons turned hot I usually napped for about an hour. I'd then get up & read some more & then help prepare supper. Then just before bed, I'd read some more. I made it through 2 books! It was a wonderful way to spend a few days with people I love.