My Life - The LaBolt Dam # 11

During summertime, after school and on weekends, I spent much of my time at a small dam about 3/4 of a mile from LaBolt, South Dakota.

The LaBolt Dam

Shown to the left, is a photo of the south edge of the dam, with the spillway located at the far end of the short road.

With my faithful dog Tony always at my side, we explored every foot of the area around the dam.   It was very comforting for me to be at the dam.

While here, I didn't have to interact with people.  It's not that I hated people.  I was just not comfortable talking or interacting with them.  I was most comfortable being alone, or with Tony, and exploring nature.  

The LaBolt Dam Spillway

This photo shows the spillway of the dam where the water exits and continues downstream as a small creek.  Tony and I have explored this area literally thousands of times.  60 years later I can recall virtually every square foot of the area as it then existed.

This last picture shows the bottom of the spillway and the pool of water it created.  Many, many, many hours of my time as a boy was spent sitting on the cement ledge directly below the spillway, with fishing rod in hand, while watching the bobber below. Actually, in those days, the bobber was a piece of cork, and wasn't referred to as a bobber, but as the cork.  I really didn't care much whether I caught a fish or not. It was my excuse to just sit and enjoy nature.  And think!  I discovered very early in life that I enjoyed thinking.  I though every second of the day.   I could never be bored because I would entertain myself simply by thinking!

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Next - A near catastrophe at the bottom of the spillway

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My first post
My second post
My Life Begins - I Almost Killed My Mother!! #1
My Life - Neighbor & Tomato Plants #2
My Life - A Boy and a BB Gun #3
My Life - A Boy and a BB Gun (continued) #4
My Life - The Devastation of First Grade #5
My Life - The Devastation of First Grade (continued) #6
My Life - The Devastation of First Grade Continued #7
My Life - "Buckshot"! #8
My Life - Unconscious at age 6 in a storm drain # 9
My Life - Second Grade # 10