| Gary Keyes was one of my first real friends. The Keyes family had pizzaz wild for the time. His dad, Reid, was an action-packed guy. He worked for Underwriters Labratory. His garage was packed. He had one of those all-in-one machine shops. He was also our local scoutmaster; Troop 59, Boy Scouts of America. He enlisted me to join just prior to summer-camp. It was held at Huntington Lake, Camp Ojato. It was utopia! The terrain is largely granite, like Yosemite. We crossed Huntington Lake in barges. That lake is big. The camp was truely isolated. We did overnight hikes to the south and east. I recommend going over Potter Pass. You'll find warm lakes with granite islands. I had no backpack. Mr Keyes helped me tie a rucksak. Mammoth Pools, to the south, had icy-cold water. He rousted all us kids out to the wilderness somehow. We went to Tahoe in the snow. We went camping quite a lot. The Keyes family outings were more intense yet. We did nude beaches. We shot off fireworks. For being such regular folks, they were radical. |