They Should Have Named it Bug Lake

A long exposure of the bugs swarming by Diamond Lake

We arrived at Diamond Lake at about 6:15 pm as it only takes us about 1 ½ hours to get there from where we live. The weather was perfect, the campground was quiet, and the lake was beautiful. Everything seemed to be going so well...then we got out of the car. Mosquitoes!! They were vicious and would attack with no conscience. It seems silly, but I was caught completely off guard by the blood sucking insects. We brought along bug repellent but I still went home with 18 bites on my body, they got me mostly on my shoulders through my shirt. There were pine beetles too, and though they don't hurt anyone, they are UGLY! One landed on my daughter's foot and I can still hear her screams.

Aside from the bugs we enjoyed the weekend camping with my husband's parents, or Boppa and Meemaw as my daughter calls them. The adjoining sites were spacious and ours was near the bathrooms – which is very handy with a four-year old. We ate great food and enjoyed chatting by the fire. That first night was a little rough sleeping in our trailer. There were no water or electrical hook-ups so we couldn't run the heater. We were up half the night trying to make sure the kids were warm enough and re-evaluate our sleeping arrangements. By the second night things went much better and we all stayed warm and slept well.

The next morning we thought it would be fun to take a walk on the path down by the lake. It was a great day for a walk but, uh oh, more bugs! There were swarms of tiny bugs, I don't know if they were midges or gnats, but their were millions of them and it made it impossible to see or breathe. So we wandered around the campground instead. After a light lunch and nap time we packed up and headed to the boat ramp and resort area. We rented a paddle boat and hung out by the water. I was amazed at how many people were there.

After we packed up on Sunday we headed over to Crater Lake, it was only ten miles away! There were no mosquitoes at that altitude thankfully, and we had lunch and wandered around the rim a little bit. All in all we had a great time, although you wouldn't know it by the expression on my daughter's face. It was like she was four going on 15 on this trip. Moody, whiny and emotional (as you can see from the photos below). At least my son appeared to enjoy it. I bought him some Hot Wheels and he loved to push the black Audi around and make car noises.

I'll give Diamond Lake 4 out of 5 stars. It loses points for no hook-ups, but it isn't it's fault there were so many bugs!

"I don't want to walk anymore Mom!"

"I don't want to go out on the boat!"

"No, I won't smile!"

"I don't want my picture taken!"

"Life is great! I love Crater Lake! Camping is fun!"