state parks project, part 14: summit lake

After we were done exploring Mounds, we made a radical departure from our usual MO: We figured out a place to eat ahead of time that was nearby and acceptable to all parties. This is a way bigger deal than it sounds. Usually, we just wander around and figure we'll find food along the way, and we all end up hungry and cranky and exhausted. But this time we stopped relatively close to lunchtime, had some delicious hot sandwiches, then made our way to Summit Lake State Park near New Castle.

We definitely picked a good day for our travels! It was sunny but not too hot, with a sky full of big puffy clouds. The boys (and the man!) seem fine no matter what the temperature is when we go exploring, but I am a much happier camper when it's more on the cool side (which partially explains why it's been a couple of months since last time we went state parking), so I couldn't have asked for better weather.

Summit Lake turns out to be your basic state park, with a big lake, beach, wooded areas, and some more marshy places. We took a hike that went through the woods, then wound around the lake for a while, giving us some great views along the way. The park does rent kayaks, but sadly (for me!) we didn't have the time to go out on the water and do a hike, so we decided to stick to the land route. We met a couple groups of fishermen along the way, and Henry asked them all if they caught anything, to which someone from each group would respond with the number and type of fish caught. Which is funny to me because none of us know much at all about fishing, so unless there was a big tarpon or something (yes, I know that's a saltwater fish!), we wouldn't even know to be impressed.

We did manage one wildlife sighting, though: this pair of turtles sunning themselves (or possibly getting it on; we weren't close enough to tell) on this fallen tree trunk.

The quick review on Summit Lake is that it was a very nice place to spend an afternoon, but we didn't see anything that distinguishes it enough for us to make a return trip. But I bet a lot of people feel that way about Potato Creek too, so maybe if we lived in New Castle, Summit Lake would feel like the best of the state parks.

P.S. Liam would like you to know that he is not that much shorter than his father now. :)

See also: SPP1, SPP2, SPP3, SPP4, SPP5, SPP6, SPP7, SPP8, SPP9, SPP10, SPP11, 
SPP12, SPP13.