Voyager's National Park

Lake Kabetogama is in Voyager's National Park.  The west side of the lake still has a lot of private propery -- lake cabins and resorts (where we are) but the east and north side are pretty much just park.  The park covers Rainy Lake to the north, Namakan, Sand Point and part of Crane Lake to the east.  All of these lakes are connected giving the park a huge acreage of water.  It is a boating and fishing paradise.  Of course, it is very far north -- half of the lakes in the park are partly in Canada. 

We haven't gotten out to do a lot of fishing or exploring yet.  Its been cool, rainy and windy but unlike the guests at our resort we can wait for better weather.  We have guests coming from all over the country and right now they are here to fish.  So they go out in the cold and rain and bring back small, bony northerns.  We clean the guests fish so they don't care or realize how difficult to debone these smaller fish can be. 

Usually the guys work the dock and the gals work in the office but I like to clean fish so I end up helping clean fish when the guests bring in a bunch to clean.    I can't wait to clean a few that I caught so we can enjoy a good meal of fresh fish.  

Walleyes!

Yahoo!  Jim caught the first walleyes on our first time out on the lake.  He also caught a northern pike.  The walleyes were too big to keep but we did keep the northern.   You can only keep walleyes that are less than 17" long on the lakes in Voyager's National Park.   So pictures have to do.   We kept the northern so I could practice filleting them.  Here at the resort we offer our guests fish cleaning service so you have to clean whatever they bring in thats legal to keep.  We ate the northern Jim caught and it tasted pretty good. 

One of our guests brought over a pan of fried fish and some mac and cheese for us to share with our fellow coworkers.  It was a mix of northern and walleye -- very good.  So we are off to a good start  getting to eat some fresh fish.  People have been having pretty good luck just fishing right off the docks here at the resort.  They are catching sauger and northerns.  Sauger look and taste just like walleye. 

Hope to have more fish pictures ---  only with me holding my catch instead of Jim. 

Northern Lights Resort & Outfitters

We are now at our new summer job.  The resort is beautiful with great lake views.  Most of the cabins have been redone and are very nice.  There are still several older cabins but they try to keep them updated and repaired.  They have even added dishwashers to most of them.  We got here on the last Sunday in April and started working that Tuesday.  We didn't realize how out of shape we were until we started working.  I was helping clean cabins from floor to ceiling.  Jim was helping get the grounds ready, the docks out and a few things painted.  We had all twelve cabins cleaned by the Friday before opener -- some of the cabins are huge with 10 beds and three baths so lots of work.  We would go home and groan, eat supper and go to bed and get ready to do it all over again the next day.

We have a very nice site for our RV and work with two other workamper couples and also the couple that manage the resort.  The owner of the resort and his wife are very nice.  We have only managed to get the boat in the water long enough to make sure the motor runs -- it does!  We hope to get out fishing in the next day or two if and when the wind dies down.  The fishermen at the resort for the big fishing opener did ok pulling in some walleye and lots of smaller northerns. 

Wild River State Park

We stayed at Wild River State Park while visiting relatives and friends in and around the Twin Cities.  The wildflowers in the park were just starting to bloom.  Usually by the first weekend in May the trillium, the large white flower in the picture, are blooming all over the park.  We have been at the park in the past when the trillium are in full bloom and the whole campground area is one big white carpet of blooms.  I did find a nice patch of wood anemones that were in bloom. 

We are now up at Northern Lights Resort & Outfitters.  We arrived last Sunday and started working right away on Tuesday.   We met the owner and his wife as well as the couple that manages the resort.  There are two other workamper couples besides us and we are all originally from Minnesota.  We have nice sites for our rvs and a place for our boat -- soon it will be on the dock.  The ladies started cleaning cabins --there are a dozen and most are huge with lots of bedrooms and baths.  The guys started painting, groundskeeping and putting in docks.  We have to be ready for guests for opening fishing. 

We are exhausted from working but it is a beautiful resort with beautiful views of the lake.  We can't wait to get out an fish.