Mid-July Sunset at Leech Lake

Here's a photo of the sunset on July 15, 2011 looking west over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake.

Steve and Kathleen at Itasca State Park

During Kathleen's visit to Leech Lake in late-June and early-July, we took a day trip out to Lake Itasca State Park, one of the places where we had stayed during our honeymoon 30 years prior.

In this picture Kathleen and I are standing at the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The water this day was deeper, colder and swifter moving than when we've visited in the past.

We had a wonderful day at the beautiful Minnesota State Park, just days before it closed for two weeks due to the government shut down in the state.

Back In San Jose

Yes, I do know the way to San Jose and am there now. It is quite a shock to be back in a metropolitan area of nearly 15 million people when for the past three months I've been in a remote area of northern Minnesota where the nearest town of 850 people was 25 miles away.

Just a quick post to say that during the next several weeks I'll be posting pictures from my recent stay at Leech Lake. Until then...

Water Level -- Labor Day, 2011

The date is actually August 26, 2011, but I won't be here for Labor Day to take a measure of the Leech Lake water levels. I typically like to take measurements on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day and then again as close to Halloween as I can.

As of today, the water is covering three (3) cement pilings at the boat ramp at the cabin. That is down from a high of seven (7) earlier this year. I suppose the Army Corps of Engineers has already started the Fall "draw down" of water in anticipation of the northern Minnesota winter snow fall.

When I return in the Fall I will report again on Leech Lake water levels.

August 26, 2011-- Leaving Leech Lake

At 1:00 a.m. this morning I was still awake. I'm not sure why, but I always have trouble sleeping the night before I have to leave Leech Lake. It's not that I'm anxious about flying, since I've logged more than a million miles in the air. It must be all of the things running through my head that I must do before leaving. Because once I leave, I won't be back for several weeks, or even months.

I must of dozed off shortly after 1:00 a.m. because I woke up and looked at the clock to see it was 2:00 a.m. I woke again at 3:00 a.m., 4:00 a.m., 5:30 a.m. and 6:50 a.m. The last time I gave up trying to sleep and got out of bed.

After making the bed and straightening up the bedroom, I went next door to the cabin and began securing the boat. I took out all of the rods and reels, put away the landing net and tackle boxes, then raised the boat in the boat lift fairly high just in case there are any storms that produce high waves. I don't want the boat battered around in the waves.

From there it was back to the house where I ate a little breakfast, started gathering up the food to give to the Malays, throwing away food that was no good and collecting the garbage. Normally all of these cleaning activities are done throughout the week, but when I'm getting ready to leave for a period of time, they are all condensed into just two days or so.

Since I had gotten up so early I was actually ahead of schedule in terms of my preparations for leaving. That gave me an opportunity to lay in the hammock for 20 minutes or so and I took it. It was great laying there with the 8-12 mph WSW wind blowing through the trees. The temperature was 64 degrees, but it felt a bit humid and I wasn't cold at all, even with just a t-shirt and jeans on. The extra time also gave me a chance to post to this blog before I leave.

Well, no sooner than I thought I had extra time than the plan has changed. Instead of leaving at 11:30 or 11:45 a.m., the Malays want to leave at 11:00 a.m. so they can stop at the bank in Cass Lake to get something notarized. Luckily, most everything is complete.

I just finished taking the left over food to the Malays (that's when I learned in the change in plans), took the garbage to the community center drop-0ff site, put the truck away in the garage with the trickle charger on the battery, closed up the cabin and activated the security system and then came home and took shower and got ready for the flight to Minneapolis.

One last weather report. The wind has shifted and has picked up slightly. It's now blowing out of the north at 10-15 mph. The sky is still clear and blue, and the temperature is 70 degrees. It should be a beautiful day in the northwoods.

The Malays should be here in 10 minutes and I've still got a couple of things to wrap up, so I'll say so long. This will be the last of my "on site" posts from Leech Lake until my return in the Fall. Until then, goodbye from Leech Lake.

August 25, 2011 -- On Leech Lake (One Day and Counting)

Unlike yesterday morning where the wind was howling at more than 25 mph, today at 9:00 a.m. the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SSW. The sky was mostly sunny, although there were a fair amount of clouds and the temperature was 70 degrees. A beautiful day on Leech Lake.

Unfortunately, today was my last full day at Leech Lake. Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. I must make the drive into Bemidji to catch my plane to Minneapolis, and then from there it's on to San Jose. My work load today was full -- with cleaning, stowing boating and fishing gear, closing up buildings and of course, fishing.

My first order of business after breakfast and some initial cleaning was to get out onto the lake. At 11:00 a.m. I motored off the boat lift and toward Second Duck Point in 9 feet of 74 degree water. I deployed the drift sock, letting the breeze push the boat north toward the cabin, put a fathead minnow on my jig and started fishing.

I made three drifts in this area and caught a number of perch, no jumbos however, and one decent sized northern pike. At 12:15 p.m. I was back on shore doing more cleaning.

I took a break to have some lunch and soon afterward went for a bike ride. I did the entire 8-mile loop again and loved every second of the trip. When I got back home I was hot as a result of the 82 degree temperature and my bike ride, so I took a camp bath in the lake.

Thoroughly refreshed from my dip in the lake I took the opportunity to go fishing again. From 3:30 p.m. to just before 5:00 p.m. I once again jigged in an attempt to catch perch and/or walleye.

As a change of pace, I went north to the Birches and did a drift through 8 feet of water from just past Norm's cabin to just before Schiebe's. I didn't catch a single fish. I figured that there was no sense trying another pass at the Birches so I motored out into Duck Bay just past Second Duck Point.

Once again I deployed the drift sock and slowly drifted back toward the boat lift. During this drift I caught several small perch.

At 5:00 p.m. I was back on shore and back at the cleaning.

I took a short break in my cleaning to take one last ride on the ATV. I rode all the way down to the Capone house and then back up Ottertail Point Dr. to Sucker Bay Road and then West Shores Road and home.

While I was riding up by the Capone house I encountered a whitetail doe standing along side the road. I slowed down because it's been my experience that rather than run into the woods on the side of the road where the deer is standing, they prefer, for some odd reason, to dart across the road to the woods on the other side.

Sure enough the doe ran across the road and disappeared into the trees. She was immediately followed, however, by a small fawn, still wearing its white spots. I figured it was now now safe to proceed and started giving the 4-wheeler some gas. Just as I did so, a second fawn came darting out of the woods chasing after its mother and sibling. Startled by my presence, or maybe just because it was a bit clumsy, the fawn, as it ran through the ditch, tumbled and went head over heels landing on its back. It quickly bounded to its feet and retreated back into the woods from which it had come, on the other side of the road from where its mother and sibling had gone.

At this point I continued on my ride. As I came back to the point where I'd first seen the deer, I once again spotted the doe, which turned tail and ran when she heard me approach. It was quite a sight. I'd never seen a deer, or shall I say fawn, tumble like that.

Once home I began cleaning again. After more than 90 minutes of cleaning I took a break to lay in the hammock. It was so peaceful and so warm that I could have fallen asleep there. But I didn't. Instead I got up, ate a quick dinner, then gathered up my gear to go out on the lake for some evening fishing.

I hit the water at 7:45 p.m., just in time to watch the sun sink into the western sky. The sunset tonight was at 8:12 p.m. CDT. I love watching the sunset when I'm on the water.

I started jigging in front of Newman's cabin and slowly drifted to our cabin. In just one pass I caught several good sized perch, but all went back into the lake. On my next pass I caught a number of rock bass, some more perch and a 14" white crappie. It was truly a slab.

At 8:45 p.m. it was already getting dark. I had had the lights on in my boat for the past 30 minutes, and at this point figured it was time to abandon jigging and switch to trolling crankbaits -- Minnow Raps are my preferred lure for trolling.

I trolled from our house out into Duck Bay and back but didn't catch anything. At 9:30 p.m. I headed to shore. I took the minnows and transferred them to a minnow bucket in Newman's harbor. Since there is no point in wasting perfectly good bait I gave more than a full scoop to John. I then came home and commenced cleaning.

Finally at midnight I took a shower and got ready for bed. It's always tough to leave the lake and this time is no exception. I will, however, have to return in the Fall, most likely sometime in early- to mid-October, to close up the properties and pull the boat out of the lake. I'm already looking forward to my return. Until then, so long from Leech Lake.

August 24, 2011 -- At Leech Lake (Two Days and Counting)

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was 58 degrees, the sky was clear blue without a cloud in sight, but it was extremely windy with the wind coming out of the WNW at 17-25 mph, with regular gusts up around 35 mph. The lake was covered in white caps and large waves crashed against the shoreline. I could see no boats on Sucker Bay.

Despite the cool weather I put on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts because I've got a lot of work to do around the properties today and I know that it'll keep me warm.

I started by doing some laundry and making Joe's bed. It sure was fun having him spend time (nearly a month) at the lake and I hope we get to do it again real soon. I think it was the longest time I've ever spent with my son just one-on-one. It was a great time for us to bond and have a good time at a place we both love -- Leech Lake.

My cleaning continued and included the bathrooms, the kitchen and more laundry. I spent several hours today cleaning. However, I did make the time to go on a bike ride. I did the complete 8-mile loop.

At 4:00 p.m. the sky had begun to cloud over and there was a possibility of a thunderstorm. The temperature was 70 degrees, but it still felt humid. The wind remained very strong and had actually increased to 25-35 mph out of the WNW with gusts up to 40 mph.

After some more cleaning, I went for an ATV ride. I rode all the way down the peninsula almost to the Capone house, then all the way on Ottertail Point Drive to Sucker Bay and then back down West Shores Road. On my way down West Shores, just before I got to Norm's, a fish fell from above and landed in the ditch in front of me. I quickly looked up and spotted an immature eagle that must have spotted me at the same time because it took flight from the branch upon which it had been perched. Obviously me driving by interrupted the bird's dinner. Hopefully it came back to retrieve the fish because much of it, a sucker, was still intact.

When I came inside I did some more cleaning, but at 7:15 p.m. I went outside and lay in the hammock. The wind had died down some, but it was still breezy at 12-17 mph out of the WNW. The temperature was a perfect 70 degrees and the sky was nearly clear blue, with just a few scattered clouds at the north end of Sucker Bay.

I eventually moved to the end of the dock and sat in one of our lounge chairs sipping a cold Wild Blue while watching the sunset. I raised my bottle to Kathleen, Joe and Melissa who all enjoy a cold malted soda at the end of the dock.

After the sun had been below the horizon for some time I went inside the house. I listened to some music while I prepared some of the food that Joe and I had left over from his stay. As is typical, I'll have more food than days to eat it and will end up giving much to my neighbors the Malays.

I still have to clean the living room, the kitchen floor, the refrigerators, my bedroom and bathroom. The boat must also have all of the gear removed (rods, reels, nets, tackle, etc.), but I'll save that for last since I may have an opportunity to go fishing tomorrow. It's been a busy day, and tomorrow will be even busier. So until then, goodnight from Leech Lake.

August 23, 2011 -- On Leech Lake (Three Days and Counting)

At about 5:30 a.m. this morning there was a thunderstorm in St. Cloud. The room in which I was sleeping lit up with flashes of lightning followed quickly by the loud sound of thunder. Clearly the storm was close by.

By 8:00 a.m., the sun was out, it was already 78 degrees, air was humid with just a slight breeze. The only indication of the earlier storm were a few puddles of water here and there.

Joe and I cleaned up any minor mess we may have made at Grandma Coyle's house, I replaced some light bulbs where necessary and then it was time to go out for breakfast. I had contacted Joe's Aunt Sandy and her son Jackson to see if they wanted to join us, and as it turned out, they did.

We all met at the Perkin's right near Grandma Coyle's house off Hwy. 15 and had a nice time talking and eating breakfast. Then at noon it was time for me to take Joe down to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.

Getting there is easy enough, take Hwy. 15 south out of St. Cloud, then take Interstate 94 toward Minneapolis, and then 494 around the west and south sides of the Twin Cities to the airport. It took us an hour and a half to make the trip.

I pulled up to the departure area for Sun County Airlines where Joe and I said our goodbyes. It is sure hard leaving our oasis on Leech Lake, but it's also hard taking people to the airport so they can leave.

Like all good major airports it was easy to exit the airport and get back onto 494. I took it back to 35W where I then headed north through downtown Minneapolis and into St. Paul. I continued on 35W until it merged with 35E to simply form Hwy. 35. From there it was north to Moose Lake where I cut over and got onto 73 which I took north to Floodwood and Hwy. 2.

Of course Hwy. 2 took me from Floodwood to Grand Rapids to Deer River (where I stopped at Fred's Baits to buy a scoop of fatheads) to Ball Club and Bena, and eventually to Sucker Bay Road and home. The entire trip from St. Cloud to the airport and then back to Leech Lake took me 7 hours.

Once home I unpacked the truck, started some laundry, made a couple of phone calls and then went fishing.

The wind was out of the SSW at 8-15 mph, breezy, but not enough to keep me off the lake. There were some high wispy clouds, but mostly blue sky and sunshine, the temperature was 80 degrees and it felt humid and muggy.

I started fishing off Second Duck Point in 10 feet of water and let the wind push me northward toward our house. I was using a 1/8 ounce Bass Pro Shops XPS walleye jig in a green/black color tipped with a fathead minnow. I jigged from 7:20 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. -- 14 minutes after sunset -- and only caught a few small perch. I then put on the navigation lights and started trolling with a Minnow Rap.

I made one long pass from Newman's cabin south into the middle of Duck Bay and then back to the cabin but didn't catch a thing. I came ashore a little after 10:00 p.m. I had a late dinner, cleaned up and then read the paper, which I'd picked up in St. Cloud.

I spoke to Joe on the phone and it was weird thinking that he was already at our house in San Jose. Just this morning I was having breakfast with him in St. Cloud, now he's in San Jose and I'm at Leech Lake. No surprise, both of us wished the trip was just starting rather than having just ended.

As I got ready for bed I made a mental list of all of the things I need to do before I leave on Friday morning. There's so much cleaning up to do, plus closing all the buildings, storing the ATV and truck, securing the boat, etc. I'll be very busy the next two days that's for sure. But if possible, I'm going to try to get out and do as much fishing as I can fit in.

Good night from Leech Lake.

August 22, 2011 -- At Leech Lake (Four Days and Counting)

This morning at 9:30 a.m. the temperature was a pleasant 72 degrees, the sky was sunny and blue, but the wind was quite strong at 15-20 mph out of the SSW.

Today I must drive Joe down to St. Cloud. He leaves from the Minneapolis airport tomorrow afternoon and rather than make the 5+ hour drive all in one day, we thought we would go down to St. Cloud so Joe could see his grandma, aunt and cousin.

We were on no specific timetable so Joe did as many things as he could before he left Leech Lake. He and I took a bike ride around the loop which is an 8-mile round trip. Joe went swimming in the lake one more time. Joe and I played a game of ping pong, and he played some pinball. Joe spent quite a bit of time just walking around the properties trying to soak in all in so he could keep the memory of the lake with him even though he'll soon be in San Jose.

Joe took a ride back into the woods on the ATV and stopped by to clean up Phantom's grave site. Then at last, it was time for us to load up the truck and drive south to St. Cloud. It is always hard to leave the lake, and there's no more difficult time than when you're driving down our driveway with the lake behind you. At least that's how it is for me.

I drove slowly down West Shores Road so Joe could take pictures as we went. We even stopped at the swamp and again on the long straight away as you approach the community center, two of Joe's favorite spots along our road. Soon we were making the turn onto Sucker Bay Road and heading north to Hwy. 2. For my money, there is no pretty road any time of the year than Sucker Bay Road. With all of its twists and turns, boardered on both sides by huge stands of trees. I noticed some of the sumac along the road was turning red.

We made our way west on Hwy. 2 to Cass Lake and then turned onto Hwy. 371 and headed south toward Walker. Once in Walker we stopped at the Dairy Queen so Joe could get a Blizzard. There's nothing like getting a DQ when you're up north in Minnesota.

We took our time driving to St. Cloud and didn't get into the city limits until just after 7:00 p.m. The temperature in St. Cloud was still 88 degrees and it was very humid. Every time I've visited St. Cloud this summer it seems to be hot and humid.

Our first stop was St. Benedict's Center where Joe's Grandma Coyle lives. We spent more than an hour there visiting with her, but around 8:30 p.m. it was time for us to leave. We were getting hungry for dinner and the residents at St. Ben's needed to get ready for bed. Joe and I stopped at Bravo Burrito's for dinner, but had it take-out. We went back to Grandma Coyle's house where we were going to spend the night.

We ate our dinner while watching the Coen brother's classic, The Big Lebowski. I think it's the third time we've watched the movie since Joe's been in Minnesota, but it's one of our very favorites.

At last it was time for bed. It's always tough to get a good night's sleep before leaving Minnesota for California. I know it is for me, and from Joe told me it was for him too. But nonetheless, it was time to turn off the lights and get ready for the trip to Minneapolis tomorrow.

Good night from St. Cloud.