Gold Portage

We took a tour of the northwest corner of the lake.  We hadn't been there before and decided we needed to check out every inch of the lake while we had the chance.  The bent tree is at the entrance to Gold Portage.  The second picture is the start of Gold Portage from the Lake Kabetogama side.  You can only go so far by boat or canoe and then you come to a little rapids that you can tube through if there is enough current to make it fun or just portage around it.  This outlet from the lake flows into Black Duck Bay which is part of Rainy Lake.

The Gold Portage got its name from back in the day when they used to go this way to get to the islands on Rainy Lake that had gold bearing ore on them.  Rainy Lake had gold mining for a short time until the veins ran out.  You can take a tour boat to see whats left of the mining equipment and shafts on the islands.  Now the area is all part of Voyaguers National Park so you can't explore for gold anymore.

Pet Northern Pike

Jim has managed to attract three small northern pike by the dock.   He calls them his pets now because they come when he throws dead minnows in the water.  Its pretty amazing when one of them goes after the minnow.  They will shoot out of the water like a shark to chomp down on the poor minnow.  We sell live bait and have to keep the minnow tank clean so the dead ones now go to feed the pike.  The pike are too little to keep so no one tries to catch them.  The kids and even the adults enjoy watching the pike stalk the minnow and then POW snatch it.  I tried to get a picture of him before the water erupts.  He's in the top picture by the letters reflecting in the water. 

The cold snap is over for now and its finally summer again.  Thank goodness although the fishing still hasn't gotten back to what was.  The bass fishing is pretty good and we both have caught nice bass.

Rainy Lake Visitor Center Boats

When we spent the day on Rainy Lake we launched at the boat launch at the visitor center for Voyagers National Park.  Its free to launch there and many people use it including cabin owners that have cabins on the islands.  They can safely park their vehicles for a day or a week or longer.  People that take their boats and just go camp on the islands at the designated campsites also launch here.  All they have to have is a free overnight camping permit. 

The big boat in the picture is the tour boat that the park service owns.  They do two hour tours of the lake.  You get to see the islands that had gold mines on them.  You also get a nice tour of the lake itself.  The other picture has our boat up front and the park service boats in the back.  There is also a sheriffs boat parked here.  When we were there we saw the sheriff race in by car and then him and a deputy or first responder ran to the sheriff boat and tore out on the lake.  We heard a 12 year old boy was hurt out on one of the houseboats.  We didn't here any more than that so don't know if he was ok or not. 

A Touch of Mink

We were out fishing and I saw a mink swimming out from an island.   I thought I would get a great picture with the telephoto lens.  As I was taking pictures he kept coming closer and closer to the boat.  Pretty soon I realized he was actually looking for a way in the boat.   I guess he thought it would be a good place to rest but I shooed him away.  Mink can be quite mean so I didn't want it getting too close.  I did want to reach out and pet that fabulous fur!

It has been kind of cool here and the water temp has dropped 10 degrees.  That makes it really hard to swim and enjoy all of the water toys.  The kids still manage to use them but they don't stay in the water as long.  When they turn blue from the cold water they run into the sauna to warm up.  Its looking like we are done with the hot weather and by mid August the night time temps usually drop in the 40's so the water will just keep getting colder from here on out.  

Sky on Fire

They say "red sky at night sailors delight", meaning that the next day should be great for being out on the water.  The last two days have been really cold up here.  Record breaking cold -- highs in the low 50's and lows in the mid 40's and its July!  They say when we get this kind of cold and wind that Canada left her back door open.  Please shut it! 

I went to the local community center for a night of bingo.  Of course it was packed -- it draws locals and a lot of tourists because its something to do.  I got close to winning one game.  It was different - if a number is called and any of your cards have it you turn the card over and if all your cards are turned over you sit down.  Last one standing wins -- it was down to me and another lady.  Oh so close!

Weeeeeeeee

Summer fun at the resort is going full blast.  The water tower is the favorite water toy here at the resort.  The first guy jumps down from the top and crawls out to the end and then the next guy jumps down and launches the first guy.  If you have a large body launching a small body the small one gets launched pretty high in the air.  Kids scream and beg to be launched -- then they get launched and scream and cry because they land pretty hard in the water.  Of course after all that they want to do it again -- go figure. 

Jim's been catching all the fish this past week.  I think I've only caught two to his many, many fish.  What burns me is I'm using the exact same setup as him.  Hopefully this week will be my week to catch all the fish!

They Are Watching

One of our favorite fishing spots is close to an island with a Bald Eagle's nest.  Jim happened to catch a really nice walleye that was over 25 inches while they were watching.  He also caught a smaller walleye that was too big to keep (over 17 inches) but was badly hooked.  He threw it back but it was obvious it wasn't going to make it.  Suddenly, one of the eagles swooped down and grabbed it and took it back to the nest.  Now we know why they perch over us.  They are waiting to be fed!

We are having Thanksgiving in July at the resort.  We are deep frying several turkeys and the guests are asked to bring a dish they love at Thanksgiving.  So between working hard on Sundays and getting ready for the feast I am getting to the blog a little late.  I made homemade stuffing and used fresh herbs out of our big herb garden here at the resort.  It's weird picking fresh herbs out of the garden for Thanksgiving!