Lake Arrowhead

After taking one son and his family to Mexico, we took another son and his family to Lake Arrowhead for a weekend. Yes, we need to take third son and his family somewhere soon.

I think it’s been over 20 years since I’ve been here, and it’s only 80 miles from home. A gem of a lake. This is our view from our rented house. First time we used VRBO, not a bad experience, although, the bedroom situation wasn’t quite what we expected. Luckily the two bedrooms there were connected worked fine for the kids.

We started out in the village where we promptly took a boat ride on the Arrowhead Queen. I learned that although the lake was started as a reservoir for the farmers in the San Bernardino Valley, a law suit ensured that didn’t happen. It became a playground for wealthy weekenders instead.

Enjoying the views and the breeze. Earthquake damage threatened the dam that holds in the water. Residents got together and bought the Lake which is now owned by Lake Arrowhead Association. So, it’s now privately owned, with rules on boating and fishing. They also found an engineer who helped save the dam, by building a smaller dam and creating a small lake on the other side of the original dam. The pressure from both sides stabilized the dam.

We had two very cute captains steering the boat. There were others, but since they aren’t related to me, I felt no need to take their pictures.

Carved bears and eagles are very common in mountain communities. It was fun to find this owl totem pole. If you look carefully you’ll see the photographer reflected back in the glass.

There were also photo opportunities with dinosaurs. The Village is cute, definitely touristy. We enjoyed an early dinner overlooking the lake. As well as a concert in the evening. There seems to be a circuit of cover bands that go from one community to the next giving free summer concerts.

The waterfront stores sell duck food. Not surprising that this mom and her chicks came by to eat. As did carp and trout.

Our unit had a large balcony with a swing, a jacuzzi, a fire pit where we roasted marshmallows as well as a Bbq.

I brought a 1000 piece puzzle, we finished it the first day. So the next day, another one was bought and also finished within one day. Even the boys got in on the puzzle work.

We bumped into a friend who took us out on his motor boat. The boys had another chance to drive a boat. Then we went for a walk along the lake. The whole lake front has one dock after another.

The blue tower was meant to be where the was intended to flow down to the Valley, it doesn’t get used. The lake is only fed by rain and snow, no rivers near here. So there were many years of drought, and the level dropped. The last few winters have been better. This last winter brought the kind of storms that raised the level by 6′ in a very short period of time. The lake is back to it’s original height.