Mini-vacation at Lantana Lodge -- Day Three

Somehow we managed to go to bed earlier Saturday and get up later Sunday. Must of been the peace of mind from knowing we didn't have scorpions in our bed -- or we had so much fun Saturday we were really tired.

Breakfast at the restaurant was another stuff yourself affair. Sharon ordered pancakes, and they were huge. So was my omelet. Lots of running in my future.

We decided to forgo another day's sail in favor of hitting the hiking trail. Hikers, cyclists and horses share the trails, with horses always having the right of way. The trail was sanded, in spots heavily so. I took it that was for the horses' benefit, but the heavily sanded spots made for slow going.

We saw more tracks -- criss-crossing lines made by lizard tails, the occasionally thin, slithery track that probably belonged to the slender, green snakes like the one Sharon spotted, possibly a deer track and a rabbit track. Makes you feel like you're in the wilderness.

Riders and mounts take a dip in the lake.

We heard voices ahead and figured we'd have to get out of the way of some horsemen, but we came to a clearing where we could see people riding their horses in the lake. This may be why I'm not such a big fan of lake swimming. 

The morning passed by too quickly, and we had to leave. The lodge was a wonderful place, and I would be happy to come back another time. Rates are reasonable and include your daily fees for the state park units, food at the restaurant was good, and as I mentioned before, the whole atmosphere was peaceful and relaxing. And no, I'm not being paid to puff the place.

We decided to stop off at Cabela's on the way back, having never been to one, and just for fun we fired up the GPS to guide us on the trip. Really, it's a simple hop over to the interstate at Sanger and then a straight shot, with the store plainly visible and signage directing you to the sportsman's amusement park. But Ronnie, as I decided to call the GPS in Sharon's car, took us on the most amazingly tortured route to the interstate. I wonder who programs these things.

I had wondered about bringing the boats but needn't have. Boat trailers and RVs dotted the parking lot. We passed the pond that I assume they use for fishing demonstrations, crossed the bridge and saw a large, yellow, corrugated tube contraption sitting in front of the store -- a storm/survival shelter. And it was on sale! Just $69,999. Shoot, for that price I wanted to buy two, but we don't have a place to store the other one.

You can walk through the shelter. The beds seemed kind of small for adults. I suppose you could put a sleeper sofa in there.

The store is huge. We'll spend a good bit of time wandering about and not see the whole thing. We didn't find what we wanted at the price we wanted to pay, but it was interesting just to see all the stuff.

All good things must come to an end, or so someone said, and we had to return to life as usual. Laundry, grocery shopping, putting everything away, but it was all the more bearable because of the trip to the lake.