This morning at 9:30 a.m. the temperature was 68 degrees, the sky was sunny with virtually no clouds and it was windy. The wind was a good 12-18 mph out of the NNW which was created a series of whitecaps rolling toward the shoreline in front of the house.
After a light breakfast I took a bike ride down W. Shores Rd. It was good to get out and get moving without the intense heat and humidity of the past few days. The wind was enough to keep most of the deer flies from settling on me and also kept it cool enough to make it a pleasant 5-mile ride.
Throughout the afternoon the wind continued to blow hard, at times topping 20 mph out of the NNW. White caps rolled across Sucker Bay, and I only spotted two boats brave enough to battle the large waves.
I spent the day on shore. John Newman arrived at his cabin next door at around 4:15 p.m. and at 7:00 p.m. invited me over for some malted beverages and conversation. I showed up around 8:30 p.m. and stayed way too late.
As the night progressed the wind died down and the humidity began to climb. It should be a hot day tomorrow.
No fishing today. Good night from Leech Lake.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
July 29, 2012 -- At Leech Lake
If the US Weather Service is to be believed, it's supposed to be between 90 and 95 degrees here at Leech Lake today. At 8:30 a.m., the temperature was 74 degrees, and I don't think it dipped much below 70 degrees during the night, so it might indeed be a "cooker" today.
The wind was out of the WSW at 8-15 mph, the sky was mostly sunny with some high, hazy clouds. A warm and pleasant summer Sunday morning, if not a bit muggy.
After a hearty Sunday breakfast, I went next door to the cabin to open up the garage so Tom and his friend Skip could take one of the ice-fishing houses that are being stored there into Bemidji where it will be auctioned off as part of fundraiser to raise money to help Skip's grandson who is in need of heart surgery. As it turns out, the little boy will be having surgery at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University in Palo Alto not more than 20 minutes drive from our house in San Jose. Small world.
I helped Skip and his son Caleb load the ice-fishing house into Skip's pickup truck and just that little bit of movement had us all covered in sweat as a result of the 85 degree heat and high humidity. I think that 90 degrees or even higher is a real possibility. The wind did pick up to 15 mph out of the WSW and that helped cool things off a bit; if you were just standing still.
After Tom, Skip and Caleb left I set about some work at the cabin. I applied water sealant to the permanent wood portion of the dock that leads out to the boat lift. Sitting in the hot, baking sun had me sweating in the hour it took to apply the sealant.
I then mended the fish-holding basket that I keep my catch in. Earlier, I had released the jumbo perch I had hooked a couple of days ago deciding to have something grilled for dinner instead. It was during the process of releasing the perch that I noticed that some of the wire meshing had torn and that there was a hole the size of plum in the bottom of the basket. It wasn't big enough for a jumbo perch to squeeze through, and certainly not big enough for a keeper walleye to escape, but I used some wire to repair it just the same.
At this point the temperature had climbed to 89 degrees and the humidity was up over 75% with a dew point in the 70-degree plus range; very muggy. I was so hot that I decided to take a ride on the ATV to cool off. On my way past Malay's on the way back to the house I spotted Tom who was taking a break from mowing his lawn. He too was covered in sweat. We decided the best thing to do was sit still and enjoy a couple of cold, malted beverages. And that's just what we did.
Once home, I sat out on the back deck and read. The wind was blowing hard enough to keep any bugs and flies at bay, and it was much cooler than being in the house. I made it through "The Merchant's Tale" in Geoffery Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I still have five more "Tales" to complete before I finish this epic work of poetic literature.
Later in the evening, after a beautiful sunset, I grilled a pork steak and had that and a variety of sides for dinner. I then settled in and listened to some music and surfed the web for a while before calling it a night. The wind never let up today keeping me off the water, but maybe tomorrow I can get out for some fishing.
Good night.
The wind was out of the WSW at 8-15 mph, the sky was mostly sunny with some high, hazy clouds. A warm and pleasant summer Sunday morning, if not a bit muggy.
After a hearty Sunday breakfast, I went next door to the cabin to open up the garage so Tom and his friend Skip could take one of the ice-fishing houses that are being stored there into Bemidji where it will be auctioned off as part of fundraiser to raise money to help Skip's grandson who is in need of heart surgery. As it turns out, the little boy will be having surgery at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University in Palo Alto not more than 20 minutes drive from our house in San Jose. Small world.
I helped Skip and his son Caleb load the ice-fishing house into Skip's pickup truck and just that little bit of movement had us all covered in sweat as a result of the 85 degree heat and high humidity. I think that 90 degrees or even higher is a real possibility. The wind did pick up to 15 mph out of the WSW and that helped cool things off a bit; if you were just standing still.
After Tom, Skip and Caleb left I set about some work at the cabin. I applied water sealant to the permanent wood portion of the dock that leads out to the boat lift. Sitting in the hot, baking sun had me sweating in the hour it took to apply the sealant.
I then mended the fish-holding basket that I keep my catch in. Earlier, I had released the jumbo perch I had hooked a couple of days ago deciding to have something grilled for dinner instead. It was during the process of releasing the perch that I noticed that some of the wire meshing had torn and that there was a hole the size of plum in the bottom of the basket. It wasn't big enough for a jumbo perch to squeeze through, and certainly not big enough for a keeper walleye to escape, but I used some wire to repair it just the same.
At this point the temperature had climbed to 89 degrees and the humidity was up over 75% with a dew point in the 70-degree plus range; very muggy. I was so hot that I decided to take a ride on the ATV to cool off. On my way past Malay's on the way back to the house I spotted Tom who was taking a break from mowing his lawn. He too was covered in sweat. We decided the best thing to do was sit still and enjoy a couple of cold, malted beverages. And that's just what we did.
Once home, I sat out on the back deck and read. The wind was blowing hard enough to keep any bugs and flies at bay, and it was much cooler than being in the house. I made it through "The Merchant's Tale" in Geoffery Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I still have five more "Tales" to complete before I finish this epic work of poetic literature.
Later in the evening, after a beautiful sunset, I grilled a pork steak and had that and a variety of sides for dinner. I then settled in and listened to some music and surfed the web for a while before calling it a night. The wind never let up today keeping me off the water, but maybe tomorrow I can get out for some fishing.
Good night.
July 28, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
Unlike yesterday, this morning was sunny and warm. The temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 73 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny with just a few big, white fluffy clouds and the wind was relatively light at 5-10 mph out of the WSW.
I enjoyed a several cups of coffee while sitting on the back deck. It was just a week ago that Kathleen and I drove from St. Cloud so Kathleen could catch her flight to San Francisco. Although it's only been 7 days, it seems like she's been gone for a long, long time. I sure wish we could figure out a way to live here at Leech Lake year round.
I surfed the web for a while reading about the Olympics and other news before deciding to go fishing. I made a sandwich, gathered some cold drinks and then went next door to the boat lift. With the wind blowing out of the SSW I motored out past Second Duck Point and let the wind push the boat north up Sucker Bay and out from shore toward the middle of the bay.
I fished for about 90 minutes and in that time I caught only one medium sized pike and possibly the smallest fish I've ever caught using a jig; a tiny 2 1/2-inch perch that was no bigger around than my little finger. I'll give the little guy credit, he was willing to hit a bait that was the same size as it was, a 2 1/2-inch pearl white Gulp Alive! minnow.
Once back on shore I finished eating my sandwich then set to work applying Thompson's water seal to the stairs next to the harbor. That took me about an hour, and by the time I was done, I was hot and sweaty from working outside in the hot sun and a temperature of 85 degrees. It was time for a plunge in the lake.
I took a very enjoyable and cooling camp bath that truly did cool me off. After drying off and coming inside it was time for A Prairie Home Companion on MPR. It was a compilation show with bits and pieces I've heard before, but it was still fun to listen to.
With Garrison gone for another week I made dinner and then settled in to do some reading online and listening to music. I sure wish Kathleen was here to play dominoes, cribbage or Scrabble with me. We do have fun playing games in the living room.
An uneventful, but pleasant evening on the shores of Leech Lake.
I enjoyed a several cups of coffee while sitting on the back deck. It was just a week ago that Kathleen and I drove from St. Cloud so Kathleen could catch her flight to San Francisco. Although it's only been 7 days, it seems like she's been gone for a long, long time. I sure wish we could figure out a way to live here at Leech Lake year round.
I surfed the web for a while reading about the Olympics and other news before deciding to go fishing. I made a sandwich, gathered some cold drinks and then went next door to the boat lift. With the wind blowing out of the SSW I motored out past Second Duck Point and let the wind push the boat north up Sucker Bay and out from shore toward the middle of the bay.
I fished for about 90 minutes and in that time I caught only one medium sized pike and possibly the smallest fish I've ever caught using a jig; a tiny 2 1/2-inch perch that was no bigger around than my little finger. I'll give the little guy credit, he was willing to hit a bait that was the same size as it was, a 2 1/2-inch pearl white Gulp Alive! minnow.
Once back on shore I finished eating my sandwich then set to work applying Thompson's water seal to the stairs next to the harbor. That took me about an hour, and by the time I was done, I was hot and sweaty from working outside in the hot sun and a temperature of 85 degrees. It was time for a plunge in the lake.
I took a very enjoyable and cooling camp bath that truly did cool me off. After drying off and coming inside it was time for A Prairie Home Companion on MPR. It was a compilation show with bits and pieces I've heard before, but it was still fun to listen to.
With Garrison gone for another week I made dinner and then settled in to do some reading online and listening to music. I sure wish Kathleen was here to play dominoes, cribbage or Scrabble with me. We do have fun playing games in the living room.
An uneventful, but pleasant evening on the shores of Leech Lake.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
July 27, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
At 8:30 a.m. the temperature was a cool 65 degrees, the sky was mostly grey and cloudy with just a few tiny patches of blue and the wind was out of the NNW 8-12 mph. It looked like it had rained overnight because the ground was wet and there were a handful of puddles in driveway.
I made a pot of coffee and while it was brewing I checked the four boards on the north side of the house that I stained yesterday. They looked good, and the color was a perfect match. Therefore, I called Sherwin-Williams in Bemidji and put in an order for 20 gallons. That should be enough for Joe and I to stain the entire house, although I made need to order more when it comes to staining both the front and back decks.
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games have their opening ceremony in London tonight, but since I don't have TV I'll have to follow the games (to some degree) online.
After breakfast and a little work around the house, I decided to go fishing at roughly 1:45 p.m. The wind had shifted as the day went on and was now coming out of the WSW at 10 mph. The temperature had warmed to 72 degrees and the sky was mostly blue with big, billowy white clouds filling most of the sky. The water temperature remained quite warm at 79.7 degrees.
I started fishing just north of Second Duck Point in 10 feet of water. I was still using a black Northland Fireball jig and again I tipped it with a large leech. I had several bites, and caught a few rock bass, but it seemed I was losing more leeches to the small fish than I was actually catching fish. So decided to change tactics.
I continued to use the black Fireball jig, but rather than using a leech as enticement I switched to a 2 1/2-inch Gulp Alive! minnow in silver pearl color. I hadn't yet used any artificial bait while fishing for walleye and perch (other than trolling crankbaits) and thought I'd give it a shot.
Almost instantly I caught a beautiful 11 1/2-inch jumbo perch while jigging right in front of the house. I put it in the live well and will have it for dinner either Saturday or Sunday evening. I continued drifting and jigging until I got to the Malay's, but the weeds are so thick there that I needed to relocate.
Even though I'd caught a few nice perch since switching to the Gulp Alive! minnow, I thought I would motor up to the Birches and fish there for a while; it'd been a couple of weeks since I'd fished up there.
After a short time, maybe 20 minutes, I hooked into a good sized fish. I could tell right away it was a northern pike and quickly adjusted the drag on my Shimano Stella reel in order to fight it better. I played the fish for about 5 minutes before getting it along side the boat. I could see it wasn't the typical hammer-handle that is so plentiful in the lake, but a big northern, roughly 30-inches long.
I quickly slipped on my Lindner fish glove so I could more easily grab onto the slimy pike but the fish was so big that my hand would not reach around the fish. At that point, the pike made another mad dash for the depths of the lake and in doing so snapped my line. Although I didn't get the pike in the boat, which I was trying to avoid anyway, it was the largest northern that I've caught on Leech Lake in a long time; maybe ever.
I finally came ashore just before 5:00 p.m. after nearly 3 full hours on the lake. Once I switched to the Gulp Alive! I started catching more fish. Now I'm going to have to rethink using leeches.
Tom Malay and Bro Brosdahl were supposed to stop by this evening to look at the ice fishing houses that they have stored in my garage, but I never heard from either of them, nor could I reach Tom when I called him. Oh well, I guess it wasn't that big a deal that they needed to see them after all.
I made a tasty dinner of fried chicken, then spent the evening listening to music and watching a DVD. I was a good day on the water and I'll most likely spend more time fishing Leech Lake tomorrow.
Good night.
After breakfast and a little work around the house, I decided to go fishing at roughly 1:45 p.m. The wind had shifted as the day went on and was now coming out of the WSW at 10 mph. The temperature had warmed to 72 degrees and the sky was mostly blue with big, billowy white clouds filling most of the sky. The water temperature remained quite warm at 79.7 degrees.
I started fishing just north of Second Duck Point in 10 feet of water. I was still using a black Northland Fireball jig and again I tipped it with a large leech. I had several bites, and caught a few rock bass, but it seemed I was losing more leeches to the small fish than I was actually catching fish. So decided to change tactics.
I continued to use the black Fireball jig, but rather than using a leech as enticement I switched to a 2 1/2-inch Gulp Alive! minnow in silver pearl color. I hadn't yet used any artificial bait while fishing for walleye and perch (other than trolling crankbaits) and thought I'd give it a shot.
Almost instantly I caught a beautiful 11 1/2-inch jumbo perch while jigging right in front of the house. I put it in the live well and will have it for dinner either Saturday or Sunday evening. I continued drifting and jigging until I got to the Malay's, but the weeds are so thick there that I needed to relocate.
Even though I'd caught a few nice perch since switching to the Gulp Alive! minnow, I thought I would motor up to the Birches and fish there for a while; it'd been a couple of weeks since I'd fished up there.
After a short time, maybe 20 minutes, I hooked into a good sized fish. I could tell right away it was a northern pike and quickly adjusted the drag on my Shimano Stella reel in order to fight it better. I played the fish for about 5 minutes before getting it along side the boat. I could see it wasn't the typical hammer-handle that is so plentiful in the lake, but a big northern, roughly 30-inches long.
I quickly slipped on my Lindner fish glove so I could more easily grab onto the slimy pike but the fish was so big that my hand would not reach around the fish. At that point, the pike made another mad dash for the depths of the lake and in doing so snapped my line. Although I didn't get the pike in the boat, which I was trying to avoid anyway, it was the largest northern that I've caught on Leech Lake in a long time; maybe ever.
I finally came ashore just before 5:00 p.m. after nearly 3 full hours on the lake. Once I switched to the Gulp Alive! I started catching more fish. Now I'm going to have to rethink using leeches.
Tom Malay and Bro Brosdahl were supposed to stop by this evening to look at the ice fishing houses that they have stored in my garage, but I never heard from either of them, nor could I reach Tom when I called him. Oh well, I guess it wasn't that big a deal that they needed to see them after all.
 |
| Tonight's sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake |
Good night.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
July 26, 2012 -- On Leech Lake
This morning the sky was grey, the wind was 10-15 mph out of the NNW but was shifting to the WNW, and the temperature was a much cooler 70 degrees. In fact, with the wind blowing it was actually a bit chilly and I had to put on a long sleeved shirt.
After some work around the house, I decided to apply some of the stain I picked up at Sherwin-Williams on the patch of the house that I power washed a couple of days ago. The house had had time to dry after the power washing and torrential rains, and with the nice breeze blowing I thought it would be a good day to apply a test coat.
Using a small roller, which coincidentally was the same size as the cedar planks that make up the siding of the house, I applied stain to the bottom four boards on the north side of the house. From the very early looks of the stain, it is a good match to the original color and should do fine. But to make sure, I will give it 24 hours to dry thoroughly.
As is often the case when you paint the house, or wash the car, a light rain storm moved in at 2:15 p.m. and dropped a light, but steady, rain for nearly an hour. By 3:30 p.m. the rain had stopped and the sun popped through the still very heavy and dark cloud cover.
Using this brief break in the weather, I decided to go fishing. I got the boat off the lift, motored out to a spot in 12 feet of water directly in front of the Giza's cabin and let the 10 mph WSW wind push me toward shore and north toward the boat lift.
As I have for the past several times on the water, I used a black (with red eye) Northland Fireball jig tipped with a large leech. But unlike my past four or five times on the water I was skunked. I didn't even get a bite. So after 45 minutes or so, and with storm clouds and rain again moving into the area, I headed back to shore.
I wasn't in the house 5 minutes when another light, steady rain began to fall. With the heavy rain we had a couple of nights ago, coupled with the rain off and on today, the grass, the plants and the trees were literally shining a bright emerald green.
By 6:15 p.m. the wind had shifted yet again and was blowing out of the NW and with the change in wind another mild storm front rolled in. At 6:30 p.m. a light, steady rain was falling. While the rest of the nation is baking in unprecedented drought and heat we here at Leech Lake are staring at 113,000 acres of water while a gentle soaking rain falls. Climate change is a bitch.
Tom Malay called me this evening and asked if tomorrow evening he and Brian "Bro" Brosdahl could come by and look at the ice fishing houses that the two of them have been storing in my garage. Bro wants to donate one or two of them to a fundraiser for a friend of his who has a grandson who needs heart surgery and is scheduled to make a trip to California for the required procedure.
I do plan to be around tomorrow evening and look forward to hosting Tom, my friend, and Bro a fishing legend here in the northwoods. Bro has been featured in In-Fisherman magazine and on the magazine's TV show, as well as appearing in/on numerous other TV fishing shows, magazine articles, sports shows, seminars, etc. I once met Bro years ago on the water while fishing on the north end of Sucker Bay, but we were both in boats and just chatted while fishing for largemouth bass. Tomorrow, if all goes as planned, I'll meet him face-to-face.
I went out fishing one last time at 8:15 p.m. I only fished for about 45 minutes, and caught only one measly rock bass. I came in just around 9:00 p.m. and again no sooner did I get inside the house than it started to rain. The shower only lasted a few minutes, but once again everything outside was wet, green and fresh. The level of oxygen in the air is high, and it feels amazing to take a deep breath. I could really get used to the northwoods life.
I spent the rest of the evening online, listening to classical music KCRB out of Bemidji, and reading. A wonderfully soothing evening. Good night.
P.S. One last item. My granddaughter Ashley attended the Yahoo summer picnic in Silicon Valley today -- her stepmother works there -- and she met the new CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer.
After some work around the house, I decided to apply some of the stain I picked up at Sherwin-Williams on the patch of the house that I power washed a couple of days ago. The house had had time to dry after the power washing and torrential rains, and with the nice breeze blowing I thought it would be a good day to apply a test coat.
Using a small roller, which coincidentally was the same size as the cedar planks that make up the siding of the house, I applied stain to the bottom four boards on the north side of the house. From the very early looks of the stain, it is a good match to the original color and should do fine. But to make sure, I will give it 24 hours to dry thoroughly.
As is often the case when you paint the house, or wash the car, a light rain storm moved in at 2:15 p.m. and dropped a light, but steady, rain for nearly an hour. By 3:30 p.m. the rain had stopped and the sun popped through the still very heavy and dark cloud cover.
Using this brief break in the weather, I decided to go fishing. I got the boat off the lift, motored out to a spot in 12 feet of water directly in front of the Giza's cabin and let the 10 mph WSW wind push me toward shore and north toward the boat lift.
As I have for the past several times on the water, I used a black (with red eye) Northland Fireball jig tipped with a large leech. But unlike my past four or five times on the water I was skunked. I didn't even get a bite. So after 45 minutes or so, and with storm clouds and rain again moving into the area, I headed back to shore.
I wasn't in the house 5 minutes when another light, steady rain began to fall. With the heavy rain we had a couple of nights ago, coupled with the rain off and on today, the grass, the plants and the trees were literally shining a bright emerald green.
By 6:15 p.m. the wind had shifted yet again and was blowing out of the NW and with the change in wind another mild storm front rolled in. At 6:30 p.m. a light, steady rain was falling. While the rest of the nation is baking in unprecedented drought and heat we here at Leech Lake are staring at 113,000 acres of water while a gentle soaking rain falls. Climate change is a bitch.
Tom Malay called me this evening and asked if tomorrow evening he and Brian "Bro" Brosdahl could come by and look at the ice fishing houses that the two of them have been storing in my garage. Bro wants to donate one or two of them to a fundraiser for a friend of his who has a grandson who needs heart surgery and is scheduled to make a trip to California for the required procedure.
I do plan to be around tomorrow evening and look forward to hosting Tom, my friend, and Bro a fishing legend here in the northwoods. Bro has been featured in In-Fisherman magazine and on the magazine's TV show, as well as appearing in/on numerous other TV fishing shows, magazine articles, sports shows, seminars, etc. I once met Bro years ago on the water while fishing on the north end of Sucker Bay, but we were both in boats and just chatted while fishing for largemouth bass. Tomorrow, if all goes as planned, I'll meet him face-to-face.
I went out fishing one last time at 8:15 p.m. I only fished for about 45 minutes, and caught only one measly rock bass. I came in just around 9:00 p.m. and again no sooner did I get inside the house than it started to rain. The shower only lasted a few minutes, but once again everything outside was wet, green and fresh. The level of oxygen in the air is high, and it feels amazing to take a deep breath. I could really get used to the northwoods life.
I spent the rest of the evening online, listening to classical music KCRB out of Bemidji, and reading. A wonderfully soothing evening. Good night.
P.S. One last item. My granddaughter Ashley attended the Yahoo summer picnic in Silicon Valley today -- her stepmother works there -- and she met the new CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer.
 |
| Ashley in the middle, Marissa on the left. |
On Leech Lake -- July 24/25, 2012
Tuesday, July 24 was a hot day. It reached into the high 80s with mostly sunny skies and an off-shore breeze blowing from the east at 8-15 mph. I had work related things to do for some of the day, but still managed to get out on the water for a bit of fishing.
As I was putting some cold drinks into my cooler preparation for a warm trip onto the water, I noticed a boat inside my harbor. In the front of the boat was a woman who was leaning over the bow of the boat picking weeds out from around the boat lift. I stepped outside and asked if everything was OK; since boaters are allowed to use any harbor on the lake in times of distress. She replied that all was fine, and that she was a marine biologist working with Bemidji State University and that she and her intern (who was manning the tiller motor in the back of the boat) were looking for samples of Eurasian milfoil, an aquatic invasive species that has been known to grow so thick as to choke the life out of the other native aquatic plants and make it difficult to even motor a boat through it.
As it turns out, she did find some Eurasian milfoil floating in my harbor, but none actually growing there, which was some good news. Of course the bad news was finding some at all. They then made their way next door to the Newman's harbor and again found some of the invasive species floating in his harbor. Their only advice to me was if I see any Eurasian milfoil floating in my harbor, or anywhere else, to take it out of the lake and throw it far enough onto shore where it will be sure to dry out and die. And if I happen to see any growing, to pull it out and again make sure it dries out and dies. At this point, they told me, Eurasian milfoil is in the lake and there is no way to completely eradicate it.
Within 10 minutes of me first spotting the boat in my harbor, the two biologists were speeding their way north on Sucker Bay to pull out the boat at the new boat landing where Maple Leaf Resort used to stand. Now it was time for me to do some fishing.
The water temperature, which has bounced a degree or two above and below 80 degrees for weeks now -- was exactly 80 degrees.
With the wind out of the east, not ideal fishing conditions by the way, I motored out into 9 feet of water between the house and cabin and let the wind push the boat out to the middle of Sucker Bay. I decided to forego the drift sock and just let the wind push me as it may.
I tipped my black Northland Fireball jig with a fathead and within 10 minutes had hooked into a beautiful 11 1/2-inch jumbo perch. I put it in the live well for a future meal. I fished for about another hour and caught several more perch, but no more jumbos, a couple of small pike and a few rock bass. It's been some time since I've hooked into a walleye. And from what I'm hearing from the owners and dock hands at Birch Ridge Resort, the walleye fishing as reported by the guests of the resort is very difficult. Basically no one is catching walleye.
I came back on shore just before 4:00 p.m. The temperature was hovering near 85 degrees and it looked like it might rain. I decided to clean the perch right away to make sure it was fresh, although I ended up not eating it for dinner tonight. Definitely tomorrow night.
It was a quiet night and one that had me missing Kathleen. Even if we weren't in the same room or weren't actively engaged in conversation, just knowing she was here at the lake with me made me happy. Hopefully she'll be able to return sometime soon.
-----------------
During the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 25 the had a big thunderstorm. The extremely loud claps of thunder directly overhead shook the house and woke me from a deep sleep. I lay awake in bed and watched a tremendous light show with bright flashes of lightning happening every couple of seconds followed by crashes of thunder. At the same time a torrential rain was falling. The next morning I would learn from a couple of my neighbors, who have rain gauges set up outside, that more than 2 1/2-inches of rain fell during the night.
By 8:30 a.m. the rain had stopped, but the resulting humidity from downfall just hours early, left the dew point at roughly the same as the temperature -- 75 degrees. Just a simply walk down our road left me soaked in sweat. The skies were mostly grey and the light wind was out of the NNW at 5-8 mph.
I spent the morning hours taking care of some personal business issues, but by mid-afternoon I was set to go fishing. I checked on the fatheads, but unfortunately all had perished despite being in a minnow bucket in the lake. I guess the warm water temperatures and the bouncing from the waves during the night were too much for them to handle. The leeches I had purchased at the same time as the fatheads, however, were in fine condition. So once I had motored out to my usual spot on Sucker Bay, I tipped my black Northland Fireball jig with large leech and began fishing.
The water temperature remained at 80 degrees.
I fished for about an hour but caught nothing more than a few medium-sized pike, rock bass and small perch. No jumbos or walleyes. I did enjoy eating my lunch on the water. A good sandwich always tastes a little better when it's eaten on a boat while fishing. And a cold cream soda tastes better when sipped on a boat too.
I came ashore around 3:30 p.m. in preparation for a work call at 4:00 p.m. After my work call and follow-up emails, I went down to visit with Lainy and Tom Malay. With all of the activity at our house during the past few weeks, I've not had much of a chance to visit and catch up with my Peninsula neighbors. We had a good conversation and I'm now up to date on all the happenings on Otter Tail Peninsula.
I did not eat the jumbo perch for dinner last night, but I did enjoy it tonight. I modified my beer-batter recipe by adding some Panko crumbs to the batter which gave the perch fillets a bit of crunchy texture; which I enjoyed. The fish was accompanied by sides of Minnesota wild rice and buttered green beans. A tasty, and somewhat healthy, meal.
After dinner I did a bit of reading, watched a beautiful sunset from the dock and then watched an old Sherlock Holmes movie on DVD. Given my interrupted sleep from the night before -- because of the storm -- I tried out early and went to bed before midnight. If the weather permits, I plan to do some test staining of the house to see if the color I got from Sherwin-Williams in Bemidji matches the current color the cedar siding.
Good night from Leech Lake.
As I was putting some cold drinks into my cooler preparation for a warm trip onto the water, I noticed a boat inside my harbor. In the front of the boat was a woman who was leaning over the bow of the boat picking weeds out from around the boat lift. I stepped outside and asked if everything was OK; since boaters are allowed to use any harbor on the lake in times of distress. She replied that all was fine, and that she was a marine biologist working with Bemidji State University and that she and her intern (who was manning the tiller motor in the back of the boat) were looking for samples of Eurasian milfoil, an aquatic invasive species that has been known to grow so thick as to choke the life out of the other native aquatic plants and make it difficult to even motor a boat through it.
As it turns out, she did find some Eurasian milfoil floating in my harbor, but none actually growing there, which was some good news. Of course the bad news was finding some at all. They then made their way next door to the Newman's harbor and again found some of the invasive species floating in his harbor. Their only advice to me was if I see any Eurasian milfoil floating in my harbor, or anywhere else, to take it out of the lake and throw it far enough onto shore where it will be sure to dry out and die. And if I happen to see any growing, to pull it out and again make sure it dries out and dies. At this point, they told me, Eurasian milfoil is in the lake and there is no way to completely eradicate it.
Within 10 minutes of me first spotting the boat in my harbor, the two biologists were speeding their way north on Sucker Bay to pull out the boat at the new boat landing where Maple Leaf Resort used to stand. Now it was time for me to do some fishing.
The water temperature, which has bounced a degree or two above and below 80 degrees for weeks now -- was exactly 80 degrees.
With the wind out of the east, not ideal fishing conditions by the way, I motored out into 9 feet of water between the house and cabin and let the wind push the boat out to the middle of Sucker Bay. I decided to forego the drift sock and just let the wind push me as it may.
I tipped my black Northland Fireball jig with a fathead and within 10 minutes had hooked into a beautiful 11 1/2-inch jumbo perch. I put it in the live well for a future meal. I fished for about another hour and caught several more perch, but no more jumbos, a couple of small pike and a few rock bass. It's been some time since I've hooked into a walleye. And from what I'm hearing from the owners and dock hands at Birch Ridge Resort, the walleye fishing as reported by the guests of the resort is very difficult. Basically no one is catching walleye.
I came back on shore just before 4:00 p.m. The temperature was hovering near 85 degrees and it looked like it might rain. I decided to clean the perch right away to make sure it was fresh, although I ended up not eating it for dinner tonight. Definitely tomorrow night.
It was a quiet night and one that had me missing Kathleen. Even if we weren't in the same room or weren't actively engaged in conversation, just knowing she was here at the lake with me made me happy. Hopefully she'll be able to return sometime soon.
-----------------
During the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 25 the had a big thunderstorm. The extremely loud claps of thunder directly overhead shook the house and woke me from a deep sleep. I lay awake in bed and watched a tremendous light show with bright flashes of lightning happening every couple of seconds followed by crashes of thunder. At the same time a torrential rain was falling. The next morning I would learn from a couple of my neighbors, who have rain gauges set up outside, that more than 2 1/2-inches of rain fell during the night.
By 8:30 a.m. the rain had stopped, but the resulting humidity from downfall just hours early, left the dew point at roughly the same as the temperature -- 75 degrees. Just a simply walk down our road left me soaked in sweat. The skies were mostly grey and the light wind was out of the NNW at 5-8 mph.
I spent the morning hours taking care of some personal business issues, but by mid-afternoon I was set to go fishing. I checked on the fatheads, but unfortunately all had perished despite being in a minnow bucket in the lake. I guess the warm water temperatures and the bouncing from the waves during the night were too much for them to handle. The leeches I had purchased at the same time as the fatheads, however, were in fine condition. So once I had motored out to my usual spot on Sucker Bay, I tipped my black Northland Fireball jig with large leech and began fishing.
The water temperature remained at 80 degrees.
I fished for about an hour but caught nothing more than a few medium-sized pike, rock bass and small perch. No jumbos or walleyes. I did enjoy eating my lunch on the water. A good sandwich always tastes a little better when it's eaten on a boat while fishing. And a cold cream soda tastes better when sipped on a boat too.
I came ashore around 3:30 p.m. in preparation for a work call at 4:00 p.m. After my work call and follow-up emails, I went down to visit with Lainy and Tom Malay. With all of the activity at our house during the past few weeks, I've not had much of a chance to visit and catch up with my Peninsula neighbors. We had a good conversation and I'm now up to date on all the happenings on Otter Tail Peninsula.
I did not eat the jumbo perch for dinner last night, but I did enjoy it tonight. I modified my beer-batter recipe by adding some Panko crumbs to the batter which gave the perch fillets a bit of crunchy texture; which I enjoyed. The fish was accompanied by sides of Minnesota wild rice and buttered green beans. A tasty, and somewhat healthy, meal.
After dinner I did a bit of reading, watched a beautiful sunset from the dock and then watched an old Sherlock Holmes movie on DVD. Given my interrupted sleep from the night before -- because of the storm -- I tried out early and went to bed before midnight. If the weather permits, I plan to do some test staining of the house to see if the color I got from Sherwin-Williams in Bemidji matches the current color the cedar siding.
 |
| Second Duck Point in the foreground, Duck Point in the background at sunset (Notice the moon beginning to set) |
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Mid-July Update -- Departures
All good things must come to an end, as the old English proverb goes, and on July 8, the departures from Leech Lake began. In fact, it was early on the morning of July 8 that we got Ashley to the Minneapolis airport. She had an 9:00 a.m. flight, so we needed to leave St. Cloud by 6:30 a.m., which is tough when there are three women needing to get ready for the day as well as a three year old boy who is sleepy and would prefer to stay in bed.
After dropping Ashley off at the Delta gate, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden and I drove into St. Paul to meet Kathleen's cousin Maraeka for breakfast. From there, we all went to the St. Paul Farmer's Market, which is quite impressive and then on to the Mound River neighborhood to see Maraeka's house. We had a very nice visit with Maraeka, but by 3:00 p.m. it was time to drive back up to St. Cloud.
------------------
Three days later, it was time for Kathleen and I to take Melissa and Jayden to the airport. Jayden loved his time in Minnesota, including catching his first big fish (a largemouth bass), riding on the ATV, swimming in the lake, playing ping pong (he stood on a stool to reach the table), having a fire in the fire pit, seeing his great-grandma and great-grandpa, and seeing his other great-grandma. When it was finally time to part ways at the airport, Jayden started crying and saying he didn't want to leave us. Whoa, that was hard. We didn't want him, or Melissa, to leave either, but the had to.
Eventually Kathleen and I got ourselves together and began our drive back up to Leech Lake. We were very fortunate to be able to spend another full week together, alone, at the lake. Kathleen and I swam, rode bikes, made delicious meals, drank coffee out on the back porch, played games and took boat rides. Kathleen even went fishing with me and she caught a decent-sized northern pike and a 14-inch walleye, which we threw back into the lake.
In all, it was bliss; our oasis on Leech Lake. But as this post began, all good things must come to an end. On Thursday, July 19, after a full day of riding bikes, Kathleen going for a run (and doing 10 laps of lunges) swimming in the lake to cool off and clean off, we packed up our things, loaded the truck and began our drive to St. Cloud. Kathleen had a very hard time saying goodbye to the lake, and all of its peace, quite and joy. Fortunately, she has a very good job in California, one that she does enjoy, and it was time for her to go back to it.
Once again Kathleen spent a considerable amount of time in St. Cloud providing hours upon hours of care for her aging mother. After all, the primary reason Kathleen was in Minnesota was to take care of her mother. Her brief respites at Leech Lake were a bonus.
Finally it was time for Kathleen to make her way down to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. I drove her down on Saturday, late morning, and after a very difficult goodbye, we parted ways -- she toward her flight to San Francisco, me to the truck and the 5 1/2-hour drive up to Leech Lake.
--------------------------
Departures are often difficult. They're especially difficult if you are leaving behind a place you truly love, such as Leech Lake. They get more difficult still if you're leaving behind someone you love (or they are leaving you). So through pursed lips, Kathleen made her way to California and I to the northwoods of Minnesota.
It's amazing how slow the weeks can take prior to such a getaway. Each day both Kathleen and I would count down the time until we could be together at Leech Lake. We would talk about all the things we wanted to do together, all the fun we'd have. And then at last the first day of vacation finally arrives. I remember seeing Kathleen as she made her way off the plane in Bemidji in early June. It seems like just yesterday. And then, in the time it takes to put a fathead on jig, the trip is over and we're headed in opposite directions.
Now it is once again time for reflection and planning. What do we want to do with our lives going forward? Where do we want to be? How do we balance our needs with the needs of others (kids, grandchildren, parents)? Somehow we'll find a solution that will work. But whatever we end up doing, it will not diminish one little bit the incredible time Kathleen and I spent together at our oasis on Leech Lake.
After dropping Ashley off at the Delta gate, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden and I drove into St. Paul to meet Kathleen's cousin Maraeka for breakfast. From there, we all went to the St. Paul Farmer's Market, which is quite impressive and then on to the Mound River neighborhood to see Maraeka's house. We had a very nice visit with Maraeka, but by 3:00 p.m. it was time to drive back up to St. Cloud.
------------------
Three days later, it was time for Kathleen and I to take Melissa and Jayden to the airport. Jayden loved his time in Minnesota, including catching his first big fish (a largemouth bass), riding on the ATV, swimming in the lake, playing ping pong (he stood on a stool to reach the table), having a fire in the fire pit, seeing his great-grandma and great-grandpa, and seeing his other great-grandma. When it was finally time to part ways at the airport, Jayden started crying and saying he didn't want to leave us. Whoa, that was hard. We didn't want him, or Melissa, to leave either, but the had to.
Eventually Kathleen and I got ourselves together and began our drive back up to Leech Lake. We were very fortunate to be able to spend another full week together, alone, at the lake. Kathleen and I swam, rode bikes, made delicious meals, drank coffee out on the back porch, played games and took boat rides. Kathleen even went fishing with me and she caught a decent-sized northern pike and a 14-inch walleye, which we threw back into the lake.
In all, it was bliss; our oasis on Leech Lake. But as this post began, all good things must come to an end. On Thursday, July 19, after a full day of riding bikes, Kathleen going for a run (and doing 10 laps of lunges) swimming in the lake to cool off and clean off, we packed up our things, loaded the truck and began our drive to St. Cloud. Kathleen had a very hard time saying goodbye to the lake, and all of its peace, quite and joy. Fortunately, she has a very good job in California, one that she does enjoy, and it was time for her to go back to it.
Once again Kathleen spent a considerable amount of time in St. Cloud providing hours upon hours of care for her aging mother. After all, the primary reason Kathleen was in Minnesota was to take care of her mother. Her brief respites at Leech Lake were a bonus.
Finally it was time for Kathleen to make her way down to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. I drove her down on Saturday, late morning, and after a very difficult goodbye, we parted ways -- she toward her flight to San Francisco, me to the truck and the 5 1/2-hour drive up to Leech Lake.
--------------------------
Departures are often difficult. They're especially difficult if you are leaving behind a place you truly love, such as Leech Lake. They get more difficult still if you're leaving behind someone you love (or they are leaving you). So through pursed lips, Kathleen made her way to California and I to the northwoods of Minnesota.
It's amazing how slow the weeks can take prior to such a getaway. Each day both Kathleen and I would count down the time until we could be together at Leech Lake. We would talk about all the things we wanted to do together, all the fun we'd have. And then at last the first day of vacation finally arrives. I remember seeing Kathleen as she made her way off the plane in Bemidji in early June. It seems like just yesterday. And then, in the time it takes to put a fathead on jig, the trip is over and we're headed in opposite directions.
Now it is once again time for reflection and planning. What do we want to do with our lives going forward? Where do we want to be? How do we balance our needs with the needs of others (kids, grandchildren, parents)? Somehow we'll find a solution that will work. But whatever we end up doing, it will not diminish one little bit the incredible time Kathleen and I spent together at our oasis on Leech Lake.
Early July Update -- Part 2, The Aftermath
We awoke on the morning of July 3 without power, but to a beautiful day. The sky was sunny and blue with just a few big white fluffy clouds. The temperature was in the high 70s with a little breeze blowing from the north.
The ground was wet from the previous night's torrential rains and littered with branches of all sizes. Our back section of dock hung in lake, the flag pole was missing, as was one of our lawn chairs. Slowly, we all made our way outside to assess the carnage from the most damaging storm to hit northern Cass County in recent memory.
Luckily, we were spared serious damage. I began picking up the branches that lay strewn across the lawn, front and back. Jayden came outside and joined me in picking up branches. "Grandpa," my little 3-year old grandson said to me, "today's a good day for a clean up." He was right.
Jayden and I spent close to an hour picking up branches that ranged in size from little twigs to branches 10-inches in diameter and weighing 40 pounds or more. By the time we were done, I was soaked in sweat. The humidity was much higher than I originally suspected and the temperature had risen quickly and was up over 80 degrees. It was time for a swim in the lake. And I needed to look for the lawn chair and flag pole anyway, so going into the lake was something I needed to do.
Without electricity, we didn't have a well-pump. Without a working well-pump, we couldn't take showers. And since we were schedule to, and needed to, leave the lake for St. Cloud within a couple of hours, Ashley and Kathleen joined me in the lake for a "camp bath;" using biodegradable soap of course.
I was able to locate flag pole and managed to wrestle it onto the dock. I also found our lawn chair, although the headrest was missing and will probably never be found. While I was busy Kathleen and Ashley finished getting cleaned up and made their way to the house to get dressed and finish packing.
No sooner had I dried off the Kathleen cried out that the guys from Shore Brothers were here to fix our dock. Talk about fast service! The storm hit the previous night at 7:15 p.m. and by noon the following day Mark and his team were out helping people get their docks, boat lifts and other shoreline equipment back in order. Mark said his list of people who needed docks and/or boat lifts fixed was two-pages long.
In no time, the fast-working team from Shore Brothers had my dock back together and the flag pole back in its proper place. Interestingly, the stairs that Rick and I had attached earlier in the summer stayed in place and completely weathered the storm. I'm glad we did such a good job.
Mark waved goodbye and motored his barge/forklift north on Sucker Bay to assist the next person on his long list. We finished packing up.
Without electricity the food in our refrigerator and freezer wouldn't last much longer than a day and since we were heading down to St. Cloud today, and we had no idea when the power would come back on (it didn't come on until late-afternoon or July 6) we had to unload everything from both fridges, load as much food as we could take with us, and take the remaining frozen stuff down to the Malays.
Some time ago, Tom got a gas-powered electric generator and he was currently using it to keep his refrigerators and freezers working. Lainy offered some room in one of the big freezer units for us to store some of our frozen items.
Ashley climbed on the ATV to take a couple of big bags of frozen items down the Malays when Jayden came running out of the house crying. He wanted to come with us. I asked him if he wanted to climb onto the ATV with me and Ashley and he responded with "you betcha." Just a few weeks at Leech Lake and the little guy is already talking like a Minnesotan.
We unloaded the food at the Malays, came back to the house and finished packing. It was then time for Ashley, Melissa and Jayden to complete the difficult task -- saying goodbye to the lake for this summer. We're making our trip to St. Cloud so the kids can say goodbye to Grandma Nonnie (Kathleen's mom), the Coyles (Tim, Sandy, Conner and Jackson), and the Petersens (Kathleen's sister Mary, her husband David and their daughter Brita).
At last the truck was fully loaded with the kids luggage, our overnight bags, coolers of food and miscellaneous items. I started up the truck engine, cranked the air conditioning to high in hopes we might cool off, and slowly made our way down the driveway. The kids said goodbye to the house, cabin and lake and we were on our way south.
-------------------
The devastation we witnessed as we drove down Sucker Bay Road and Highway 2 was beyond description. Thousands of trees -- birch, pine, ash, basswood (linden), and maple -- were snapped in half, or completely up rooted. Trees of all sizes, from small saplings to huge 80-foot tall, had been toppled. It reminded me of the way broken weeds look after I've driven the ATV through a heavy patch of overgrowth back in the woods. Only these weren't weeds, they were fully mature trees.
All eight miles along Sucker Bay Road trees were downed on both sides of the road. The devastation continued along US Highway 2 as we drove west toward Cass Lake. On both sides of the road thousands of trees were broken off, snapped and otherwise destroyed.
Norway State Park/Campground was shut down, with hundreds of ancient red and white pines felled by the storm. The big sign out in front of Stony Point Resort was blown down and broken. Trees all along the biking trail leading into Cass Lake were cracked in half and lay bent over as if they were paying homage to the winds that howled through the night before.
The canopy of the Shell gas station in Cass Lake suffered serious damage and the entire city of Cass Lake remained without power.
By the time we were a few miles south of Cass Lake on Highway 371, evidence of the storm began to wane. There was an occasional tree down here or there, but nothing like the thousands of downed trees on Ottertail Peninsula and along Highway 2 into Cass Lake. And once in the small town of Walker -- located on the southern shores of Leech Lake -- everything appeared to be fine and normal. The town had power, there were no downed trees or power poles or any other visible damage from the storm.
We continued south on Hwy. 371 toward St. Cloud. We did make a stop in the tiny town of Nisswa, where there are dozens of little shops and businesses devoted to selling tourists a taste of the Northwoods. The kids love stopping here to buy souvenirs for their friends and to pick up a couple of little items for themselves. As it turned out, the town of Nisswa was hosting its Fourth of July parade a day early, and it was set to begin at 7:00 p.m., just two hours after our arrival in town.
We didn't think we'd stick around for the parade, but because of it the town was full of people, many more than the average number of summertime tourists. I found a place to park the truck and we all made our way down the quaint main street that runs through the heart of the small village.
It was, unfortunately, unbearably hot. The temperature was in the mid-90s and the humidity was up around 75%. Everyone in town was overheated and was seeking shelter in the air conditioned shops that lined both sides of the main street.
We were in only our second store when suddenly the lights went out. The proprietor of the store quickly had everyone shuffle out of the cool, and now dark, confines of his shop back into the sweltering hot sunlight. We went next door to the next little shop, but it too was shuttered due to the power outage.
We went across the street to get an ice cream cone at the semi-famous Chocolate Ox, but it was also shooing people away and locking its doors. Apparently the overload of all the shops cranking their air conditioning and the incredible heat of the day blew out the power in the entire town of Nisswa, and just 90 minutes before the town's big Fourth of July parade.
Deciding it was best to keep moving on toward St. Cloud, we all went back to the truck, backed out, waited for the traffic cops to wave us through the now dark traffic signal and out onto the highway. Once again we were driving south toward St. Cloud.
At last, we made it to Kathleen's mom's house, unloaded the truck, put away the food we had brought with us in coolers, unpacked a bit and settled in. It had been a long day and everyone was tired so we went to bed early. With the heat expected to be in the mid-90s again on July 4, and with extremely high humidity, we decided to skip going to the Fourth of July parade in St. Joseph in the morning, and instead, waited until after dark to take Marge to see the fireworks over the Mississippi River in downtown St. Cloud.
-------------------
We had a wonderful Fourth of July holiday, spending time with Marge Coyle at her house with Kathleen's sister Mary and her husband and daughter, Tim and Sandy and their boys, plus our family. At sunset we drove downtown St. Cloud and found a spot on a bridge over the Mississippi River to watch the fireworks. As it turned out, there was a tornado watch for the area as well as a thunderstorm warning, so we saw man-made fireworks in one part of the sky and a spectacular natural lightning show in another.
The next day, Mary and her crew, as well as our family, all drove up to Nisswa so the kids could get in a little souvenir shopping. The power was back on in the city and we spent the better part of five hours shopping, having pizza and just enjoying each other's company. Melissa and I spent most of the time keeping Jayden occupied since shopping and a three year old don't really mix.
By the evening of July 5, Mary and her family went back down to the Twin Cities, and we focused our attention on spending time with Kathleen's mom. Ashley flies back to CA in just a couple of days, and she wants to see her great-grandma as much as possible.
More in the "Departures" post.
The ground was wet from the previous night's torrential rains and littered with branches of all sizes. Our back section of dock hung in lake, the flag pole was missing, as was one of our lawn chairs. Slowly, we all made our way outside to assess the carnage from the most damaging storm to hit northern Cass County in recent memory.
Luckily, we were spared serious damage. I began picking up the branches that lay strewn across the lawn, front and back. Jayden came outside and joined me in picking up branches. "Grandpa," my little 3-year old grandson said to me, "today's a good day for a clean up." He was right.
Jayden and I spent close to an hour picking up branches that ranged in size from little twigs to branches 10-inches in diameter and weighing 40 pounds or more. By the time we were done, I was soaked in sweat. The humidity was much higher than I originally suspected and the temperature had risen quickly and was up over 80 degrees. It was time for a swim in the lake. And I needed to look for the lawn chair and flag pole anyway, so going into the lake was something I needed to do.
Without electricity, we didn't have a well-pump. Without a working well-pump, we couldn't take showers. And since we were schedule to, and needed to, leave the lake for St. Cloud within a couple of hours, Ashley and Kathleen joined me in the lake for a "camp bath;" using biodegradable soap of course.
I was able to locate flag pole and managed to wrestle it onto the dock. I also found our lawn chair, although the headrest was missing and will probably never be found. While I was busy Kathleen and Ashley finished getting cleaned up and made their way to the house to get dressed and finish packing.
No sooner had I dried off the Kathleen cried out that the guys from Shore Brothers were here to fix our dock. Talk about fast service! The storm hit the previous night at 7:15 p.m. and by noon the following day Mark and his team were out helping people get their docks, boat lifts and other shoreline equipment back in order. Mark said his list of people who needed docks and/or boat lifts fixed was two-pages long.
In no time, the fast-working team from Shore Brothers had my dock back together and the flag pole back in its proper place. Interestingly, the stairs that Rick and I had attached earlier in the summer stayed in place and completely weathered the storm. I'm glad we did such a good job.
Mark waved goodbye and motored his barge/forklift north on Sucker Bay to assist the next person on his long list. We finished packing up.
Without electricity the food in our refrigerator and freezer wouldn't last much longer than a day and since we were heading down to St. Cloud today, and we had no idea when the power would come back on (it didn't come on until late-afternoon or July 6) we had to unload everything from both fridges, load as much food as we could take with us, and take the remaining frozen stuff down to the Malays.
Some time ago, Tom got a gas-powered electric generator and he was currently using it to keep his refrigerators and freezers working. Lainy offered some room in one of the big freezer units for us to store some of our frozen items.
Ashley climbed on the ATV to take a couple of big bags of frozen items down the Malays when Jayden came running out of the house crying. He wanted to come with us. I asked him if he wanted to climb onto the ATV with me and Ashley and he responded with "you betcha." Just a few weeks at Leech Lake and the little guy is already talking like a Minnesotan.
We unloaded the food at the Malays, came back to the house and finished packing. It was then time for Ashley, Melissa and Jayden to complete the difficult task -- saying goodbye to the lake for this summer. We're making our trip to St. Cloud so the kids can say goodbye to Grandma Nonnie (Kathleen's mom), the Coyles (Tim, Sandy, Conner and Jackson), and the Petersens (Kathleen's sister Mary, her husband David and their daughter Brita).
At last the truck was fully loaded with the kids luggage, our overnight bags, coolers of food and miscellaneous items. I started up the truck engine, cranked the air conditioning to high in hopes we might cool off, and slowly made our way down the driveway. The kids said goodbye to the house, cabin and lake and we were on our way south.
-------------------
The devastation we witnessed as we drove down Sucker Bay Road and Highway 2 was beyond description. Thousands of trees -- birch, pine, ash, basswood (linden), and maple -- were snapped in half, or completely up rooted. Trees of all sizes, from small saplings to huge 80-foot tall, had been toppled. It reminded me of the way broken weeds look after I've driven the ATV through a heavy patch of overgrowth back in the woods. Only these weren't weeds, they were fully mature trees.
All eight miles along Sucker Bay Road trees were downed on both sides of the road. The devastation continued along US Highway 2 as we drove west toward Cass Lake. On both sides of the road thousands of trees were broken off, snapped and otherwise destroyed.
Norway State Park/Campground was shut down, with hundreds of ancient red and white pines felled by the storm. The big sign out in front of Stony Point Resort was blown down and broken. Trees all along the biking trail leading into Cass Lake were cracked in half and lay bent over as if they were paying homage to the winds that howled through the night before.
The canopy of the Shell gas station in Cass Lake suffered serious damage and the entire city of Cass Lake remained without power.
By the time we were a few miles south of Cass Lake on Highway 371, evidence of the storm began to wane. There was an occasional tree down here or there, but nothing like the thousands of downed trees on Ottertail Peninsula and along Highway 2 into Cass Lake. And once in the small town of Walker -- located on the southern shores of Leech Lake -- everything appeared to be fine and normal. The town had power, there were no downed trees or power poles or any other visible damage from the storm.
We continued south on Hwy. 371 toward St. Cloud. We did make a stop in the tiny town of Nisswa, where there are dozens of little shops and businesses devoted to selling tourists a taste of the Northwoods. The kids love stopping here to buy souvenirs for their friends and to pick up a couple of little items for themselves. As it turned out, the town of Nisswa was hosting its Fourth of July parade a day early, and it was set to begin at 7:00 p.m., just two hours after our arrival in town.
We didn't think we'd stick around for the parade, but because of it the town was full of people, many more than the average number of summertime tourists. I found a place to park the truck and we all made our way down the quaint main street that runs through the heart of the small village.
It was, unfortunately, unbearably hot. The temperature was in the mid-90s and the humidity was up around 75%. Everyone in town was overheated and was seeking shelter in the air conditioned shops that lined both sides of the main street.
We were in only our second store when suddenly the lights went out. The proprietor of the store quickly had everyone shuffle out of the cool, and now dark, confines of his shop back into the sweltering hot sunlight. We went next door to the next little shop, but it too was shuttered due to the power outage.
We went across the street to get an ice cream cone at the semi-famous Chocolate Ox, but it was also shooing people away and locking its doors. Apparently the overload of all the shops cranking their air conditioning and the incredible heat of the day blew out the power in the entire town of Nisswa, and just 90 minutes before the town's big Fourth of July parade.
Deciding it was best to keep moving on toward St. Cloud, we all went back to the truck, backed out, waited for the traffic cops to wave us through the now dark traffic signal and out onto the highway. Once again we were driving south toward St. Cloud.
At last, we made it to Kathleen's mom's house, unloaded the truck, put away the food we had brought with us in coolers, unpacked a bit and settled in. It had been a long day and everyone was tired so we went to bed early. With the heat expected to be in the mid-90s again on July 4, and with extremely high humidity, we decided to skip going to the Fourth of July parade in St. Joseph in the morning, and instead, waited until after dark to take Marge to see the fireworks over the Mississippi River in downtown St. Cloud.
-------------------
We had a wonderful Fourth of July holiday, spending time with Marge Coyle at her house with Kathleen's sister Mary and her husband and daughter, Tim and Sandy and their boys, plus our family. At sunset we drove downtown St. Cloud and found a spot on a bridge over the Mississippi River to watch the fireworks. As it turned out, there was a tornado watch for the area as well as a thunderstorm warning, so we saw man-made fireworks in one part of the sky and a spectacular natural lightning show in another.
The next day, Mary and her crew, as well as our family, all drove up to Nisswa so the kids could get in a little souvenir shopping. The power was back on in the city and we spent the better part of five hours shopping, having pizza and just enjoying each other's company. Melissa and I spent most of the time keeping Jayden occupied since shopping and a three year old don't really mix.
By the evening of July 5, Mary and her family went back down to the Twin Cities, and we focused our attention on spending time with Kathleen's mom. Ashley flies back to CA in just a couple of days, and she wants to see her great-grandma as much as possible.
More in the "Departures" post.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Early July Update -- Part 1, The Storm
I have not posted to this blog since July 1. The reason is that while we -- me, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden and Ashley -- all had a fun at the lake for most of the day, we were hit with a massive and severe thunderstorm that evening that knocked out power for three days and caused untold damage in the area, including blowing down trees, flipping boats and boat lifts upside down, destroying property, etc. It was, by all accounts, the worse storm to hit northern Cass County in recent memory. I will attempt to retell the events of that day here, now that I both the electricity again, and the time to recount the tale that was July 2, 2012.
------------
Before I give my account of the storm that hit, I want to say a heartfelt happy birthday to my mother, whose birthday is on July 2. Happy birthday Mom!
------------
Monday, July 2 started out hot, humid and still. The temperature by noon was near 90 degrees, the humidity was over 75 percent, the dew point was 72 degrees, and there wasn't the slightest breeze to cool things down. Further, there was a greenish haze to the sky; the air was heavy. Thunderstorms, some severe, were predicted, but during the summer here at Leech Lake, there is always a chance of a thunderstorm.
We tried to stay cool by swimming in the lake, but no matter what we did, we couldn't beat the heat. Our plan was to drive to St. Cloud the next day, July 3, celebrate the Fourth of July by taking Kathleen's mom to fireworks over the Mississippi River, and eventually take Ashley to the airport early Sunday morning so she could catch her 9:00 a.m. flight back to California.
Melissa and Jayden were scheduled to fly back to San Francisco on the following Wednesday, so once we were all in St. Cloud on July 3, we planned to stay there until Wednesday, July 11. Our plan was that after Kathleen and I dropped Melissa and Jayden off at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, we would make the 5 1/2-hour drive back up north to Leech Lake.
With everyone preparing to leave on July 3, we spent most of the day on July 2 packing, doing laundry, stowing water toys, cleaning the house, etc. All of these activities on a hot and humid day had us sweating constantly, so we took many plunges in the lake to "cool the core."
Around 6:00 p.m. I asked Melissa and Ashley if they wanted to go fishing one last time before heading back to California. They said sure, and Jayden wanted to go as well. By 6:15 p.m. we were on the dead-calm water, which was now up to 80 degrees. We tipped jigs with fathead minnows and began fishing in 10-12 feet of water between the house and cabin. Throughout the summer, this had proved to be a good place to catch perch, some jumbos, and walleye.
We fished for about 30 minutes without even a bite. Ashley had been watching the darkening southern sky with keen interest and had kept us appraised of the lightning which was heading our way. To be on the safe side, I suggested that I take the girls and Jayden to shore. They readily agreed. I planned to go back out on the lake to spend a little longer trying to catch one last walleye. If I did, I planned to cook it up for dinner. A fitting last summer meal for the kids at Leech Lake.
After dropping the kids off at the dock, I motored the boat back onto the lake. From the shore, Ashley and Jayden were both yelling, "Come back Grandpa. Come back." The lightning was getting closer and it was scaring them, especially Jayden. In fact, the little guy started crying, so I decided I should turn around and come ashore myself; if for no other reason that to calm the nerves of Ashley and Jayden. And besides, I thought to myself, maybe they know something about this storm that I don't.
I got the boat onto the lift, and just as a precautionary measure, I raised the lift a little higher than I typically do -- "just in case," I thought. I went next door and held Jayden and comforted him, telling him thank you for asking that I come ashore.
While I was coming back on shore, Kathleen, brought the water toys off the dock, folded down the lawn chairs and laid them flat on the dock, brought in our towels and generally got things off the dock in case a thunderstorm did hit.
By 7:00 p.m. we were all sitting on the back porch watching the sky, which had turned an ominous shade of dark greenish yellow. It looked as if the entire sky were badly bruised. Brilliant streaks of white lightning filled the air which had gotten even heavier and more oppressive.
Just before 7:15 p.m., with the temperature hovering at a very hot 90 degrees, we noticed that the flag, which had hanged limp all day, began to flutter. Just slightly, but it was starting to move. Within seconds we could all feel a drop in temperature. I could tell the storm was on the way and suggested we move inside and shut the windows.
In the time it took us to stand up and go inside, the west wind picked up to a point where the flag was straight out from the flag pole, the trees were bending and it made it difficult to crank shut our big windows in the living room. In fact, as I cranked the last window closed, the wind blew so hard that it broke the cranking mechanism in the window.
The sky, which had already been dark darkened even further to where it was hard to tell that it wasn't yet nighttime. We quickly turned on the marine band radio and tuned into NOAA's weather station and heard that there was a severe thunderstorm warning for northern Cass County (where Leech Lake is located) and that people should seek shelter immediately.
Lightning flashes were followed immediately by loud crashes of thunder as the storm moved on top of us. Branches were falling from trees. The lawn chairs that Kathleen had laid flat on the dock were blown into the lake. Rain was pounding down so hard that from our lakeside windows the lake itself could not be seen. The sky was as dark as night and then the lights flickered and the power went out. We were left in darkness as we scrambled for flashlights and candles.
Ashley and Jayden were both very scared as we made our way into a back bedroom walk-in closet; inside walls. We could hear a roar outside and thought that if it wasn't a tornado it was certainly close in terms of wind speeds. The temperature outside had plummeted by nearly 20 degrees as the wind continued to roar, the lightning flashed, the thunder crashed and the rain came down heavier than the most power shower head could ever produce.
At one point I left the safety of the inside-walled closet to take a look outside. Melissa followed me, which of course meant that Jayden wanted to see too, who was accompanied by Kathleen with Ashley right behind them. We all looked outside as our heavy Hot Dog water tube was lifted by the wind and blown a hundred feet or more ending up along side our house. The waves were so huge that they crashed a good 10 feet on shore.
Melissa noticed that the wind and waves had dislodged a section of our dock which was now hanging off the rest of the dock, bobbing up and down in the heavy waves of the lake. Our flag pole was nowhere to be seen. A large crack of thunder directly overhead shook our house and sent us scurrying back to the closet for safety.
The storm seemed to rage on forever, but in reality within 30 minutes the worst of it had past leaving only a gentle rain and massive damage throughout the area. We tentatively made our way outside to assess any damage to our property.
The dock was twisted and battered. The flag pole was gone, somewhere on the bottom of the lake. One of the new zero-gravity lounge chairs Kathleen had just got us for our anniversary was gone, somewhere on the bottom of the lake. One large 4x8 section of dock hung in lake. A 2-foot diameter old cedar tree on the property line between our house and Newman's was snapped off mid-trunk. Several other large trees on Newman's property were broken off and were laying in heaps.
I made my way around our house to see if there was any damage, but all looked good. I then hustled over to the cabin to check on the boat. The care that I had taken to raise the lift a little higher than usual kept the humongous waves from bouncing the boat off the lift, and all seemed good with both boat and lift. I checked around the cabin, and other than the yard being littered with branches of all sizes, there was no damage to any of the structures. Thank God.
I then slowly made my way past the fallen trees to check on Newman's property. I found John's boat bobbing up and down in his harbor. Despite being sheltered in a harbor, the giant waves from the storm had lifted his boat off the boat lift and deposited it in the water of the harbor. Luckily, the boat stayed in the harbor and didn't find its out into the lake; that might have caused serious damage to the boat. As it was, I lowered the boat lift into the water, grabbed hold of John's boat, guided it back onto the lift and then raised the lift -- higher than usual -- thus securing the boat. I then did a quick walk around the Newman's cabin, but could see no damage to any of their structures.
By 8:30 p.m., the wind had died down to a gentle breeze, the rain had stopped, the clouds had mostly cleared and we ended up having a beautiful red sunset.
We spent the next half hour picking up the water toys, lawn chairs, towels, big branches and other things that had fallen or were otherwise blown around the yard. Our power was out, the dock was broken (but not destroyed thankfully), there was a ton of clean up to do and we were planning on leaving for St. Cloud in the morning. All we could do was help Melissa, Jayden and Ashley finish packing -- via flashlight and candlelight.
It was the biggest, most severe storm I've been through. Not only here at Leech Lake, but anywhere. The color of the sky, the strength of the wind, the amount of rain, the size of the waves on the lake, all of it was beyond anything I'd ever seen. That is until the next day when we left our house at Leech Lake and made our way south to St. Cloud.
------------
Before I give my account of the storm that hit, I want to say a heartfelt happy birthday to my mother, whose birthday is on July 2. Happy birthday Mom!
------------
Monday, July 2 started out hot, humid and still. The temperature by noon was near 90 degrees, the humidity was over 75 percent, the dew point was 72 degrees, and there wasn't the slightest breeze to cool things down. Further, there was a greenish haze to the sky; the air was heavy. Thunderstorms, some severe, were predicted, but during the summer here at Leech Lake, there is always a chance of a thunderstorm.
We tried to stay cool by swimming in the lake, but no matter what we did, we couldn't beat the heat. Our plan was to drive to St. Cloud the next day, July 3, celebrate the Fourth of July by taking Kathleen's mom to fireworks over the Mississippi River, and eventually take Ashley to the airport early Sunday morning so she could catch her 9:00 a.m. flight back to California.
Melissa and Jayden were scheduled to fly back to San Francisco on the following Wednesday, so once we were all in St. Cloud on July 3, we planned to stay there until Wednesday, July 11. Our plan was that after Kathleen and I dropped Melissa and Jayden off at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, we would make the 5 1/2-hour drive back up north to Leech Lake.
With everyone preparing to leave on July 3, we spent most of the day on July 2 packing, doing laundry, stowing water toys, cleaning the house, etc. All of these activities on a hot and humid day had us sweating constantly, so we took many plunges in the lake to "cool the core."
Around 6:00 p.m. I asked Melissa and Ashley if they wanted to go fishing one last time before heading back to California. They said sure, and Jayden wanted to go as well. By 6:15 p.m. we were on the dead-calm water, which was now up to 80 degrees. We tipped jigs with fathead minnows and began fishing in 10-12 feet of water between the house and cabin. Throughout the summer, this had proved to be a good place to catch perch, some jumbos, and walleye.
We fished for about 30 minutes without even a bite. Ashley had been watching the darkening southern sky with keen interest and had kept us appraised of the lightning which was heading our way. To be on the safe side, I suggested that I take the girls and Jayden to shore. They readily agreed. I planned to go back out on the lake to spend a little longer trying to catch one last walleye. If I did, I planned to cook it up for dinner. A fitting last summer meal for the kids at Leech Lake.
After dropping the kids off at the dock, I motored the boat back onto the lake. From the shore, Ashley and Jayden were both yelling, "Come back Grandpa. Come back." The lightning was getting closer and it was scaring them, especially Jayden. In fact, the little guy started crying, so I decided I should turn around and come ashore myself; if for no other reason that to calm the nerves of Ashley and Jayden. And besides, I thought to myself, maybe they know something about this storm that I don't.
I got the boat onto the lift, and just as a precautionary measure, I raised the lift a little higher than I typically do -- "just in case," I thought. I went next door and held Jayden and comforted him, telling him thank you for asking that I come ashore.
While I was coming back on shore, Kathleen, brought the water toys off the dock, folded down the lawn chairs and laid them flat on the dock, brought in our towels and generally got things off the dock in case a thunderstorm did hit.
By 7:00 p.m. we were all sitting on the back porch watching the sky, which had turned an ominous shade of dark greenish yellow. It looked as if the entire sky were badly bruised. Brilliant streaks of white lightning filled the air which had gotten even heavier and more oppressive.
Just before 7:15 p.m., with the temperature hovering at a very hot 90 degrees, we noticed that the flag, which had hanged limp all day, began to flutter. Just slightly, but it was starting to move. Within seconds we could all feel a drop in temperature. I could tell the storm was on the way and suggested we move inside and shut the windows.
In the time it took us to stand up and go inside, the west wind picked up to a point where the flag was straight out from the flag pole, the trees were bending and it made it difficult to crank shut our big windows in the living room. In fact, as I cranked the last window closed, the wind blew so hard that it broke the cranking mechanism in the window.
The sky, which had already been dark darkened even further to where it was hard to tell that it wasn't yet nighttime. We quickly turned on the marine band radio and tuned into NOAA's weather station and heard that there was a severe thunderstorm warning for northern Cass County (where Leech Lake is located) and that people should seek shelter immediately.
Lightning flashes were followed immediately by loud crashes of thunder as the storm moved on top of us. Branches were falling from trees. The lawn chairs that Kathleen had laid flat on the dock were blown into the lake. Rain was pounding down so hard that from our lakeside windows the lake itself could not be seen. The sky was as dark as night and then the lights flickered and the power went out. We were left in darkness as we scrambled for flashlights and candles.
Ashley and Jayden were both very scared as we made our way into a back bedroom walk-in closet; inside walls. We could hear a roar outside and thought that if it wasn't a tornado it was certainly close in terms of wind speeds. The temperature outside had plummeted by nearly 20 degrees as the wind continued to roar, the lightning flashed, the thunder crashed and the rain came down heavier than the most power shower head could ever produce.
At one point I left the safety of the inside-walled closet to take a look outside. Melissa followed me, which of course meant that Jayden wanted to see too, who was accompanied by Kathleen with Ashley right behind them. We all looked outside as our heavy Hot Dog water tube was lifted by the wind and blown a hundred feet or more ending up along side our house. The waves were so huge that they crashed a good 10 feet on shore.
Melissa noticed that the wind and waves had dislodged a section of our dock which was now hanging off the rest of the dock, bobbing up and down in the heavy waves of the lake. Our flag pole was nowhere to be seen. A large crack of thunder directly overhead shook our house and sent us scurrying back to the closet for safety.
 |
| A section of our dock broken off by the high waves from the storm |
The dock was twisted and battered. The flag pole was gone, somewhere on the bottom of the lake. One of the new zero-gravity lounge chairs Kathleen had just got us for our anniversary was gone, somewhere on the bottom of the lake. One large 4x8 section of dock hung in lake. A 2-foot diameter old cedar tree on the property line between our house and Newman's was snapped off mid-trunk. Several other large trees on Newman's property were broken off and were laying in heaps.
 |
| A large cedar tree snapped in half by the storm's 80 mph winds |
I then slowly made my way past the fallen trees to check on Newman's property. I found John's boat bobbing up and down in his harbor. Despite being sheltered in a harbor, the giant waves from the storm had lifted his boat off the boat lift and deposited it in the water of the harbor. Luckily, the boat stayed in the harbor and didn't find its out into the lake; that might have caused serious damage to the boat. As it was, I lowered the boat lift into the water, grabbed hold of John's boat, guided it back onto the lift and then raised the lift -- higher than usual -- thus securing the boat. I then did a quick walk around the Newman's cabin, but could see no damage to any of their structures.
By 8:30 p.m., the wind had died down to a gentle breeze, the rain had stopped, the clouds had mostly cleared and we ended up having a beautiful red sunset.
 |
| The red sunset over Leech Lake after the big storm on July 2, 2012 |
It was the biggest, most severe storm I've been through. Not only here at Leech Lake, but anywhere. The color of the sky, the strength of the wind, the amount of rain, the size of the waves on the lake, all of it was beyond anything I'd ever seen. That is until the next day when we left our house at Leech Lake and made our way south to St. Cloud.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
July 1, 2012 -- In and On Leech Lake
By 9:30 a.m. this morning the temperature was already 74 degrees, the humidity was high, the sky was clear blue and sunny and there was virtually no wind; maybe a slight breeze at 3-5 mph out of the SSE. Within an hour or two Jayden and I were so hot that we decided to go swimming.
I'm really glad Rick and I got the stairs attached to the dock back in May when Rick was visiting because it's now easy for Jayden to get in and out of the lake. We splashed around and played in the water for 20 minutes or so before he got chilly and wanted to get out. By that time Kathleen had joined us on the dock so I left Jayden with her to go up to the house to grab some lunch.
As the day went on it kept getting hotter and more humid until the temperature was up near 90 degrees and the humidity was 75 percent. And with no wind at all, it was uncomfortably hot.
The only way to cool off was to either be in the lake or out on the boat; so we did both. We made some sandwiches, put drinks and other snacks in the cooler got in the boat and took off. Moving at 30+ mph on the lake did cool us off so I kept the boat moving until we had traveled south past Otter Tail Point out into the big part of the lake and onward to Stony Point.
I stopped the boat just off shore from the Stony Point Narrows Forest campground and instantly Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden, Ashley and I were sweating and hot. I sat on the edge of the boat and dangled my legs in to cool off, while Jayden ate his sandwich. In no time, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden and Ashley jumped in the water and were swimming around.
They must have played in the water for 30 minutes before climbing back into the boat. The lake had cooled them off, but sitting in the sun on the boat would have been too hot so I fired up the Verado and got the boat moving again.
I motored into Trader's Bay toward Pine Point and during the run Kathleen's new, "flapper" style hat flew off into the water. I quickly swung the boat around but we were too late. The hat Kathleen had just bought a couple of days earlier when she and the kids went to Walker, was now on its way to the bottom of Trader's Bay.
I got the boat going again and this time sped the boat toward Goose Island. I went around the south side of the island and piloted the boat to the northwest side of the island where there's a little cove with a sandy beach. I slowed the motor and guided the boat to a spot in front of the beach in 6-feet of water.
Once again, Kathleen and kids jumped into the lake, only this time they swam the short distance to the beach. I stayed in the boat and enjoyed a cold Leinie Summer.
When everyone was done swimming, they made their way to the boat, climbed in and we motored home. We then barbecued, and just enjoyed hanging out at Leech Lake. Another wonderful day in the northwoods; even if I didn't get any fishing in.
I'm really glad Rick and I got the stairs attached to the dock back in May when Rick was visiting because it's now easy for Jayden to get in and out of the lake. We splashed around and played in the water for 20 minutes or so before he got chilly and wanted to get out. By that time Kathleen had joined us on the dock so I left Jayden with her to go up to the house to grab some lunch.
As the day went on it kept getting hotter and more humid until the temperature was up near 90 degrees and the humidity was 75 percent. And with no wind at all, it was uncomfortably hot.
The only way to cool off was to either be in the lake or out on the boat; so we did both. We made some sandwiches, put drinks and other snacks in the cooler got in the boat and took off. Moving at 30+ mph on the lake did cool us off so I kept the boat moving until we had traveled south past Otter Tail Point out into the big part of the lake and onward to Stony Point.
I stopped the boat just off shore from the Stony Point Narrows Forest campground and instantly Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden, Ashley and I were sweating and hot. I sat on the edge of the boat and dangled my legs in to cool off, while Jayden ate his sandwich. In no time, Kathleen, Melissa, Jayden and Ashley jumped in the water and were swimming around.
They must have played in the water for 30 minutes before climbing back into the boat. The lake had cooled them off, but sitting in the sun on the boat would have been too hot so I fired up the Verado and got the boat moving again.
I motored into Trader's Bay toward Pine Point and during the run Kathleen's new, "flapper" style hat flew off into the water. I quickly swung the boat around but we were too late. The hat Kathleen had just bought a couple of days earlier when she and the kids went to Walker, was now on its way to the bottom of Trader's Bay.
I got the boat going again and this time sped the boat toward Goose Island. I went around the south side of the island and piloted the boat to the northwest side of the island where there's a little cove with a sandy beach. I slowed the motor and guided the boat to a spot in front of the beach in 6-feet of water.
Once again, Kathleen and kids jumped into the lake, only this time they swam the short distance to the beach. I stayed in the boat and enjoyed a cold Leinie Summer.
When everyone was done swimming, they made their way to the boat, climbed in and we motored home. We then barbecued, and just enjoyed hanging out at Leech Lake. Another wonderful day in the northwoods; even if I didn't get any fishing in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
