We have seen many different faces of Lake Cascade over the years.

It is generally placid in the morning.

 There is usually some wave action in the afternoon and then it calms again in the evening.

We’ve seen overcast mornings and stormy nights.

When full, Lake Cascade has 23,307 surface acres of water, 86 miles of shoreline and an average depth of 26.5 feet.   

But what is under Lake Cascade?    Three towns and an old highway!

Van Wyck, established in 1882, was a bustling town.   When the Idaho Northern Railroad Depot was placed in Cascade, much of Van Wyck moved there.

Center, established in 1895, was so named because it was at the center of Long Valley.  It was small but had a store and post office.    Arling, two miles from Center, was established in 1914.   

Congress approved building the dam on the North Payette River and the remaining residents of Van Wyck, Arling and Center received eviction notices.  The Cascade Dam was built between 1946 and 1948.   The remains of Van Wyck, Center and Arling were completely submerged by 1957.

There is now a Van Wyck Campground and the former Arling school was moved to Donnelly.  It is now the Chalet RV Park Office.

And the highway?  An old section of Idaho Highway 55 goes under the lake and reappears a few hundred yards away. 

 It disappears near Kent and Pam’s cabin in Donnelly.   When the lake is low, they can walk the entire submerged route to the other side.  That sounds like something we should do!

For now,  Pam and Elko waded in just a bit!

Some osprey guard their nest at the end of the road.

We went up to Tamarack with Kent and Pam for a free summer concert.

We heard the Boise band, Voice of Reason, playing reggae.  It was quite pleasant.

Can you do more critter sightings?   This deer and I shared the road on our morning walk.

A blue heron seemed to like the morning solitude.

Not critters – Friends!   Mike and Nancy came in for a visit.    Mike is responsible for the Life is Good sand writing in the header.  Life is good!   Thanks for coming out!