When you are present at or near a lakeshore with other persons around, particularly, a beach, you never know what conversations you will overhear. When camping this past week we spent some time at the Hartman Creek beach, and part of Tuesday morning at Marl Lake. Marl Lake lacks a beach, but has a T shaped pier that juts into the small deep lake; the pier takes one to deep water in which you could dive in. Because Marl Lake lacks a beach, it does not attract children like the Hartmann Creek beach. This difference in demography informs what you may overhear sitting on the lake shore.
Hartman Creek has a very long beach and swimming area with some trees behind the beach. It is sufficiently busy that during most of June though August there is a daily concession stand that rents kayaks, Maui mats, paddle boards and even the most inefficient method of transportation known to man--a paddle boat. A well-used hiking trail goes around the lake. I think many locals tend use this beach during the day. The campground has about 100 sites, and my wife diligently counts the campers as she walks the loops and found the same number of campers from Sunday late afternoon to Wednesday--about a third of the sites occupied. In a week or two it will be near capacity most every day of the week for the summer.
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| Marl Lake, 2024 |
Sunday afternoon saw more families at the beach, than any other day we were present. During the week it tended to be moms and their young children, mostly preschool age, but there were times with some say under ten. Schools in the region were, I believe, still in session. I was walking into the water one day and a little boy said Hi Uncle Sylvester, and I said hi back, his mom explained he thought I was his uncle, although that guy she said has a full beard. The two names most often mentioned when were at the beach were Elliot and Thomas Daniel. I am not sure why the parents just did not say Tom or Thomas, but they always referred to him as Thomas Daniel as if he was in some sort of big trouble. The very few times I got into trouble my mother referred to me as Thomas David. Maybe they have another Thomas in the family so they use a middle name to mark the difference. Tom Daniel does not sound as telling as Thomas Daniel. Anyway, any of us kids growing up, knew mom was upset when the full first and middle name were used. It was fun listening to the interactions and watching the kids play at the beach, partly because it brought back memories of us at the beach when our boys were young, and now because we have two grandsons, giving us, perhaps, a glimpse into the future. One young boy, perhaps four, not either of the two mentioned, got into trouble as he was crouching in the water and his mom asked to him to stand. She noticed the water level and she said "You do not go any further out (ie deeper water) unless you have your life jacket on. The young boy preceded to back slowly into the deeper water, which did not go unnoticed by the eagle eyed mother. She did as a mother would be expected to do, yelled and said dad would come and get you if you don't obey.
One other time as I was walking into the water a young child said hi to me and I said hi. After swimming and I returned to the picnic table, the wife asked if the child had said hi to me first or had I said hi first. I noted he had said hi first. She said "you know not to say hi to a child unless they say hi first," and I said yes I know that. I know my grandson says hi to people when he is at the store with my son, and my son says, often, particularly at Menards, people never respond back. I think that denigrates the child, so I make an effort to respond back when a person says hi.
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| Snapping turtle laying eggs along one of the roads June 2026 |
The Hartman Creek State Park beach will see a variety of people, but it attracts families more than young adults, or older teens. Marl Lake seems to be a magnet for older teens and young adults. Because it is the upper lake on a chain of lakes, and connected by a shallow river to the next lake it is a popular spot for canoeists and kayakers as they take a few hours to paddle the chain. Some plan for lunch at the Marl Lake area. It is a rather tight area before the steep hill with two picnic tables and a couple benches. Last year, when there in July, one could not do much at the pier because so many water craft were tied up. Even though it lacks a beach it attracts sun bathers and this is where the conversations overheard are completely different than at Hartman Creek.
When we arrived at the Marl Lake I went swimming and talked to a couple in a canoe for a bit. My wife went for a walk on a short path that circles the main DNR holding. While she got gone, I heard a great deal of chatter. Six girls, perhaps 17 to 19 or 20 were coming down to the pier; they wore standard issue bikini suits, with the bottoms that pull up thee middle of their rear end. They gathered at the end of the dock to mainly sunbathe. I got out of the water and the wife, who had now gotten back, and I sat at the picnic table and read a bit. An older man, perhaps in early 60's took position on the opposite T top from them and a few other girls arrived with paddle boards and put in the water. A few minutes later, three young ladies arrived who also took position to sun bathe on the dock. During the time, I think I saw 12 or so girls, the one man, but only one boy who was with his assumed girl friend wo went paddle boarding together.
The conversations started as soon as the six got into position. They talked so fast, most at the same time, and in a high pitch I don't know how any one could keep it straight, much less figure it out. The six chatty girls could not contain themselves, while the other three who later arrived were generally quiet. The conversation of the six involved one of them I assumed age 17 who wanted to start on the pill to avoid her periods and perhaps as birth control, but her mother would not let her; a friend said, well in a month you can make your own decision. Of course, she may still be on her parents health plan which may complicate that decision. The conversation then moved, as one would expect of girls with raging hormones, to boys some who were college students, but at least one was not, and he was a firefighter. When the fire fighter was mentioned, most of the girls shook their heads in a yes motion. They were swooning over the firefighter.
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| Geese on Hartman Creek Lake beach, June 2026 |
I asked my wife for clarification a couple times and she said, Well, if you got hearing aids, you could hear everything they have to say." I then realized this may be a time, with their tell all TMI in a public setting that I am glad I did not have a hearing aid. I am not sure why I need one, when I have my wife. I think the conversation changed at some point to less personal hygiene topics, and their difficulties with boys they dated. One complained about her a boy texting other women while cuddling her. I don't think my hearing was the problem, I realized that I just don't speak girl talk like my wife can. It is almost a foreign language. For example, I do not speak Swahili, and would not understand anything a Swahili speaker said. I do not speak girl talk and hence do not understand it.
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| Pier at Marl Lake (Google images), the six girls were were on the right side of the T We were sitting at a picnic table just to right of where photo was taken |
A couple of the chatty girls took time to bravely get in the water, well for a few minutes anyway. For the children at Hartman Creek, one girl, about 5 or 6, got in near the edge, and complained about how cold it was; fifteen minutes later she was telling her mom to get in the water as the water was nice and warm.
Meanwhile the girls at Marl Lake did not seem to care that me and the other man were present. Maybe they figured their foreign girl language would keep us out of the loop, without realizing I had my own interpreter sitting next to me. The man near them turned up his radio to perhaps block out their chatter a bit. It also made me wonder what the other three girls who sunbathed and were quiet for the whole six girl group exchange thought of the whole situation. I think they were a bit older. Perhaps it brought back memories to them. The girls all had skimpy suits on, and most with the derriere exposed, but for the crack. I wondered if they had sufficient sun screen to avoid hot cross buns. They tended to use the spray sunscreen lotion. The younger children, particularly the boys, had long sleeved shirts on the beach and in the water.
The great thing about camping is that you get these little life experiences that bring back memories, or set about overhearing something you would never expect to hear. I never expected to hear a conversation among late teen girls about their monthly cycle and their boy problems, or their desired hunks, like that firefighter they all swooned over. I have seen older women swoon over young men, particularly at the pool. The last time being last month when a Division 1 college swimmer from McFarland, now at the University of Louisville (the Louisville team placed 12th at NCAA nationals) trained during our swim time. The women liked the view of his sculpted body, and perhaps other parts.
To say, that each lake provided a different view into the human condition would be an understatement. Demographics, one will find out, can play a large part in what you hear in the chatter on the lake shore.
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