Holland and Holly (both good swimmers) are frolicking in Fish Lake just beyond the dam west of Highbanks. Me, I’m lounging on the beach as the designated adult. They had thrown a large log into the water and were trying to sit on it, splashing their feet and paddling further out into the lake.

Suddenly, screaming. “A snapping turtle! Trying to bite us! Lynn! Help!” I spring up and swim to them. Coming into view, a very large snapping turtle head poking up out of the water not far from them. The Goliath had noticed the commotion. I swear that turtle had a shell that was at least a yard in diameter, the largest I have ever seen and I grew up in the land of 10,000 lakes.

As I dog-paddled in place by their log, the turtle submerged. I comforted “he is just passing by, don’t worry.” Except he swam by underwater, inches from the girls, going in the wrong direction. And then, just a few minutes later, he swam by again from the other direction. His flippers and tail looked like a dinosaur to me as he stalked us, his jaws open.

I surmised at this point the girls were telling the truth, the turtle was after them. It had now been twenty minutes and that turtle kept coming back like clockwork. So I proclaimed “Girls, swim for it!” and we got the hell out of the water.