GUN BARREL CITY -- The 100-degree-plus heat of August is turning it into another long hot summer, but Cedar Creek Lake's water level is still holding up.
Although the lake level has dropped 1.83 feet, there still is plenty of water to float your boat or let you cool off with a swim. A cool breeze continues to blow off of the lake, making it seem a lot less hot in the shade than the thermometer registers.
Several families took advantage of Tom Finley Park to wade and swim in the water at the park's beach this week. While fathers went in the water with the kids, mothers sat in the shade under the trees at picnic tables watching.
The breeze seemed to also be keeping mosquitoes and other bugs from pestering people sitting at the tables. That's an important consideration in light of the large number of West Nile Fever cases documented in Dallas, but it is still a good idea to use mosquito repellent when outside.
The park is one of the few places on the lake where people who don't own lakeside property can enjoy the water. The day use park offers a boat ramp, picnic and swimming area.
It is adjacent to the Causeway on Highway 334 that runs between Seven Points and Gun Barrel City.