Suuummmmertime and the Livin' is Eaaaaasy

Well,  down in the lowlands the spring has been wet.

Grass has been growing at a fast clip...... ha! Sorry about the lousy writing!


Long summer days mean more growing time.

But there just isn't much time spent cutting grass on a floating resort.

Go figure.

Well maybe a few patches get out of control.

The nurse logs supporting these cabin are a part of Ross Lake history.  These are a few of the old growth trees that had to be cut down when the dam was built. As the water began to fill the reservoir that is now Ross Lake, loggers constructed floating platforms for housing and work stations and used the felled timber for supporting, floating the structures.

As the water rose up the steep sided canyon, the platforms would be floated over to what ever area was closest to the loggers.

When the logging was completed the founder of the resort bought the buildings - the floating camps - and Ross Lake Resort was born.

Question from a reader: So what happens 50-60 years later and these logs wear out?

Well, the simple answer is they don't really wear out.  They perhaps get water logged, and as additional weight is added to the cabins when they are remodeled and modernized new supports may have to be added.

Question from a reader:  Do you mean more trees are cut down?

No of course not! That wouldn't happen.

Tom and Will are both good divers and when more floatation is required they add pre-made floats.

Question from a reader: Huh, dude you mean totally like my old coffee table from college - a big wooden spool that held wire, or my old end table - an empty keg of beer - way to function man, LOL?


No of course not!  We use something a little less 60's & 70's old timer and quit trying to disguise your age and yourself with expressions from different generations!

Statement from a reader:  TMI and quit trying to be so gnarly you old f...!


Hey! Knock it off Son or no allowance this week and stay out of those old photo albums!

Here is a picture.

These plastic barrels are filled with water through a precise measurement process to achieve as close to neutral buoyancy as possible then Tom and Will drift them into position using their own form of navigation and lift techniques - sort of a Ross Lake Resort version of GPS and applied physics.  They sort of guess to see what works best.


Using an air line from a compressor they then pump the new floats with air forcing out the water until poiinnnnnggggggggg - the cabins are floating nice and high and as level as possible.

Pretty cool - especially when you have been in the water for as long as they have been. Tom and Will I mean

If you drive up on the haul road you may see the old tugboat buried in the ground.  Next to the tug is the next generation of floats.  Large black pvc pipe sealed on both ends and with valves for the air and water these will take the place of the white plastic in the future and will be less labor intensive.

An innovative suggestion by one of the regular guests created this new concept.  We all have a vested interest in the history and future of the resort even if it doesn't include beer keg end tables.