My Second Home

*A tradition had been started many years before I was even born. This tradition became apart of my life, made me who I am. But it didn't start out as such a big deal. It began with my parents wanting a simple family vacation (my mom had wanted to go somewhere like San Diego, for the beach.). After doing some research they decided on Bear Lake, "one of the largest natural lakes in the Western United States".That sold it for my parents, and we have gone to Bear Lake every year since.

I have been to Bear Lake every summer of my life. I look forward to it, expect it. One year there was talk of not going, and that just about killed me. Luckily, we went. One of my first memories of being there was my older sister telling me about the bear lake monster. Of course the monster is just a folktale, but as a young child you believe everything you hear. My sister pulled out an old newspaper article that told about the Bear Lake monster; it even had a picture of it. I couldn't believe my eyes. At first I hadn't believed her, but once she showed me the picture it was as real as Santa Clause. I knew the Bear Lake Monster was real and it terrified me. That year I hardly swam in the lake at all. I was convinced that I went too far out it was going to eat me. So I stayed in the most shallow water and played on the beach almost the whole time. It wasn't until the next year that I found there was no monster in the lake, it was all made up.I then cleverly told the story to my younger siblings who were now afraid to go swimming in the lake. The pattern would go on for the rest of the siblings.

As I mentioned before, this was a tradition. Well, after many years of doing the this I noticed a pattern of our little trip. We began by loading into the van, and with 16 of us that's no easy chore. Of course, we took two vehicles, but with all the luggage it's still a squeeze. We stay at Bear Lake for about a week, and with all those people we couldn't very well eat out all the time. So about half way there we stopped at a local grocery store in Logan, to get our weeks worth of nutrients: cookies, chips, burritos, hot dogs, etc... Then, with all that crammed on top of all the people and luggage we headed onward towards our destination.

Driving into the mountains is one of my favorite parts of the drive; it meant we were getting close. It’s a beautiful drive as well: green hills with lots of trees and flowers. But the best part is reaching the top of the mountain; just over the horizon, seeing that first line of blue. Bear Lake has the bluest water I've ever seen. Some call it the "Caribbean of the Rockies" because of the turquoise tint of the water. From that point it was only about ten minutes until we arrived at the O.R.E. resort, one of the nicest in Garden City. This resort had its guests living well with nice grassy lawns, barbecue grills, playground, mini golf course, convenience store, and private pool. We had stayed at these condos ever since I could remember. My siblings and I always referred to them as “the brown condos” since all you can see are dozens of identical brown buildings when you first pull into the resort. Even though they are all exactly alike, I could still tell 'my condo' apart from the others. It was about ten over from the left and had a crooked tree in front of it.

Now it was time to unload all the groceries, luggage, and children. With all the helping hands it only took a few trips to get everything up and into the condo. After putting everything in their proper places-throwing the luggage on the floor-we changed into our swimming suits and headed for the beach. This was one of the nicest beaches in Bear Lake, and it was reserved for O.R.E. residents only. The beach had the best sand in the world (perfect for making sand castles and burying little siblings) but as many people know, the water is freezing! We always go in August so the lake has had all summer to warm up, yet it stills takes at least 10 minutes before we can completely submerge under the water.

Even though this resort is incredible, that isn't why we came. We came for the Lake. We'd spend as much time as possible in the water. At least every year my dad would take all the kids would were adventurous enough to swim out to the buoy. There are a line of red and white buoys 100 yards from the shore, marking the no-wake zone for boats and jet skis. The first few years I wouldn't dare go out there. The first time I tried I got terrified and turned around before the water was even passed my shoulders. But I remember the first time I actually did make it all the way. What an accomplishment. It wasn't easy to do; the current and wind are pushing you back in, water is splashing in your face, and the sun is beating down on you. I felt like Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to cross the English Channel. Of course her feat was quite larger than mine, but nevertheless mine was a feat.

Another tradition we have is renting a boat and riding to the other side of the lake. We call it our laguna. Its a place where no one else goes; where we can't see anyone for miles. We 'park' the boat and jump into the water. If you are unwilling to jump, my dad will push you. I suggest just jumping. There's no beach, just a deep drop off from the side of the mountain. The bottom of the lake can't be seen there. Who know whats swimming beneath you, maybe the Bear Lake monster.

The wonderful tradition of going every year continued on, but it changed a little. My parents, who grew to love it so much up there, bought two condos in Harbor Village, just a few miles up the road from the O.R.E. resort, and it had the most beautiful view of the lake and the city. We could now go up to Bear Lake any time of the year we wanted to. So we did. Any weekend the family could get off we packed up all our things and stayed a few days in our condos. This was like a dream come true. With all that time spent up there Garden City became very familiar to me.

Garden City is a little town on the south side of Bear Lake. When I say little town I mean it. The population is approximately 357 people and the city sits on about 4 1/2 square miles. Most of the shops are personally owned by the residents and run all year round. It is famous for the festival Raspberry Days and the Raspberry Shakes, which my family get every year. Pure vanilla ice cream and raspberries swirled into a smooth cup of heaven. There were numerous shops that sold these and I took it upon myself to try them from each place. I came to find it didn't really matter where I got them, they were delicious anywhere.

My father would take all the kids on a drive around the lake, across the Utah-Idaho border and around the 50 mile perimeter. This really gave me a feel for the lake and all its surroundings. I learned that the south side of the lake has much better beaches than the north. My parents picked right from the beginning. But it was wonderful to see all that the lake had to offer. It was continuously beautiful all the way around, the water as blue as ever. On one of those drives we took a road off of the main one and went back into the mountains. We found something we had never known about, what we came to call "the secret valley." Hardly any homes were back there. It had wide open spaces with rolling green hills and little dirt road that took deeper and deeper into the mountain. We all planned that we would one day build a house there and have a our own little secret get away.

Garden City and Bear Lake became more than just a vacation spot. It became my second home. Going there every year became something I look forward to and long for. It is a dream of mine to have my own home in Garden City and become part of the 357. Bear Lake has become apart of me forever, and who knows, maybe one day I'll buy a little cabin right on the beach.

*This was a paper I wrote for my English class. It is 99% true. I dressed it up a little bit to make it a more interesting paper.