I had a very unique opportunity last weekend; I got to fly in a float plane up to a mountain lake and camp/hike/fish. I have been to Lake Isabel 3 previous times and all three involved a good 4 wheel drive and a brutal hike. The trip always takes at least 5 to 6 hours of driving up Hwy 2, taking the Reiter Rd, driving across a creek, taking your rig as far as you can and then and hiking. This time, we started from Lake Washington and after a 30 minute flight over Bellevue, Carnation, and Gold Bar, we were on the water.

The last time I was there was 3 years ago while I was in the worst season of my life. Working at a job I hated for a guy I couldn't stand, wondering why there were no ministry doors open. I think I literally spent the entire trip complaining about my boss. I was emotionally unhealthy to say the least. I will spare you the details, but that trip really started the chain of events that lead me where I am today.

This time around, I think I spent the whole trip in amazement at the fact that I get to do what I love for a living at a church that blows me away. What a difference.

So Tim and I got up to the lake on Thursday afternoon and got our gear to the shore. After the plane left it was unbelievably quiet. It was pretty peaceful except for the biting flies but they calmed down after some liberal doses of bug spray. Once the sun went behind the mountain and shade hit the water, the fish started surfacing. I put on a little black dry fly and caught a couple beautiful brook trout. Brookies are the most beautiful trout I've ever seen. I will believe that until I catch a Golden trout. None of them were very big, 9" was the largest but they were fun on a fly rod. We camped on the beach that night and got up in the morning. Did a little fishing, did a little exploring and in the afternoon, the plane came and picked us up. We flew back to the Renton airport and went home. It was a beautiful trip and a great getaway.