At The Blake's cabin

I remember when at Priest Lake..  I would spend weeks in the summers of the mid to late 50's at the Blake's cabin (on Hunts Creek at its outlet) and it was said that the cabin was the 3rd oldest cabin on the lake. The Blakes were my Aunt Shirley's parents. There was no electricity and no refrigeration. They used the creek as the fridge; burlap bags tied to a limb and submerged in the creek held anything that needed refrigeration. I remember waking up between the flannel sheets to the smell of the wood cook stove cooking bacon and huckleberry pancakes. I remember Uncle Carl tapping on my bedroom window and holding up the huge silver he had caught early that morning. I remember Stell Blake running out the back door, grabbing the broom on her way, and chasing a bothersome black bear right up the tree ! Then she'd pry a piece of pitch off the side of the tree and chew it like we would chew gum ! I remember learning to swim there---but stay away from the outlet of the creek--it was so cold ! I remember we would all travel in their old metal boat (looked like the African Queen, but on a smaller scale) across the lake on Saturday nights to the Linger Longer Lodge for a fancy dinner. I remember the painting of the old French trapper that hung over the cabins huge fireplace. That trapper's face scared me so much that I was afraid to look at the bedroom window when they would send me to bed for the night. My wonderful childhood memories of Priest Lake are so very special. But now its at Hills Resort or my good friend Al's that I continue to enjoy my passion --------- Priest, upper Priest, and all of its peace and beauty.

Rob McDougall
2009