If you wanted to ice fish and weren’t on the West End of Crystal Lake there by noon, you’d have had a very difficult time finding a parking space.

The top photo might lead you to believe that people are near the Main Beach.

Not so.

Almost all are at the relative shallow and weed filled West End.

Outside of the West Beach House a hooded human was gesturing for people to keep driving.

We were on our way home from the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake’s Cub Scout Pack 158 Winter camp out at Camp Lakota northwest of Woodstock. There was no temptation for more exposure to the single digit weather

We didn’t stop.

The West Beach parking spaces were filled.

The lot at the Lakewood Village Hall was full.

The Little Store (official name: General Store) that used to be run by Noaki Kamijime before a robber killed him had no parking places left in its side lot.

It has a splendid deli and has been re-opened after extensive re-modeling for two years now.

You’d get a ticket if you parked at one of the beaches in Country Club Additions without a CCAPOA sticker.

But, it’s cold.

Some of these folks probably didn’t last the whole afternoon.

But their leaving wouldn’t do any good?