Summer Update

From June 29 to July 15 we spent our vacation over the Fourth of July holiday at the lake.

The vacation started off with a geocaching trip to the Bemidji area on July 1st. We concentrated on the area north of Bemidji. Check out my piece of art from one of Kelly Arts caches. It's now hanging in my kitchen.

On one of our stops I asked Jo to wait by the side of the road so that I could run into the woods and find a quick geocache. As Jo was patiently waiting on the side of the road in the pickup she watched as some sheriff and State Trooper cars wiz down the highway. One soon turned around and drove over to pay Jo a visit. The Trooper was wondering if she was ok. She said that she was just waiting for someone. He told her that there had been a trouble call in the area and was wondering if she was the one in trouble.

July 3rd we made a trip to Detroit Lakes and found a couple of geocaches.

Visit from the boys (Ed and Jayna Too)!

Ed, Jayna, Hayden and Reese visited from July 3 to 8 with us.

We checked out the fireworks on the fourth at the Shooting Star. Later on in the week we took a boat trip out at night to check out the Roy Lake Association fireworks. Jo stayed in the cabin with Reese and watched from the front window.


On July 5 we headed to Walker and had pizza at Benson’s. Ed and I biked the Heartland Trail from Walker to Nevis, which is about 16 miles. Hayden joined us for about 10 miles of the trip and then Jo and Ed biked the 5 miles from Nevis to Dorset. As you can see Reese had fun at the parks along the route.

On the way home we stopped at the Rapid River Logging Camp for supper. It includes a museum of logging history of the area. It is a great dining spot with meals served family style in the logging camp mess hall and best of all it’s all you can eat.

Heartland Trail info: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/heartland/index.html

Hayden, Reese and Jayna with Paul at Akley.

We made the mandatory trip to Itasca State park. The boys enjoyed the headwaters and the ice cream at the Mary Gibbs Visitor Center afterwards. Ed, Hayden and I then made the bike trip from the Headwaters to Douglas Lodge. Hayden pumped the pedals hard and made it up the hills. After visiting Douglas Lodge, Ed and I made the trip back to the swimming beach and met up with the rest.

We then headed back to the cabin for supper.

Good ice cream!

Hayden and Reese relaxing at the cabin.

Just Jo and Me.

On July 10 Jo and I headed into Park Rapids for a little shopping. Had lunch at Companeros and checked our email at Sister Wolf Books using there free WIFI: http://www.sisterwolfbooks.com/

Jo went back to Grand Forks for a meeting on Wednesday, July 11, and then headed up to Langdon to help Jayna with a Rummage Sale for a couple of days before coming back to the lake on Friday night. My mom came out on Friday and spent the weekend with us.

Visit with the Horn's

From July 19 to the 23 we were at the lake with friends from Bismarck.

We arrived at the lake on Thursday night about 30 minutes before our guests from Bismarck Rick, Lynnette and their kids Ashton, Alexis and Austin (aka Oscar) spent 4 days visiting. On Friday we went to Itasca State Park and went to all the sites. We started at the headwaters and made our way around the loop. We made the mandatory stop at the fire tower before heading home.

On Saturday we headed out to Park Rapids and spent a couple of hours at the World of Christmas. The kids had a great time on the bumper boats and go carts. We then headed to Dorset to have supper at Companeros http://www.companerosofdorset.com/
After a great Mexican meal we headed back to the lake for a campfire and smores.

On Sunday we hung around the cabin. Rick went over to Elk Horn Resort to visit his Aunt and Uncle.

If you look you can see Austin from the top of the fire tower.

The Girls at the top.

Self Portrait at the top!

A view from the top.

On the 23rd the company went back to Bismarck and Jo and I headed towards Bemidji to do some geocaching and eating. We stopped by Alida and Moose Lake on the way to Bemidji and found some caches. We found lots of caches in Bemidji.

We stopped by Dave’s Pizza in Bemidji to eat supper. Dave’s has awesome pizza!! http://www.davespizza.biz/

It was hotter than heck out. When we got back to the lake it was 88 degrees in the cabin. We worked up a sweat packing up and headed back to Grand Forks.

Blueberry Bummer

From July 27 evening to the 29th we were at the lake. We hung around the cabin and contemplated going to the Blueberry festival in Lake George. Ended up just loafing around the cabin. The neighbors went and were disappointed. They didn’t have any blueberry brats! Good thing we decided to just hang around the cabin.

Choke Cherry Drive

Aug 3rd evening to the 5th we were at the lake.

We did some geocaching north of Fosston on the way to the cabin. On Saturday we hung around the cabin and relaxed. We caught a few fish off the dock. Caught one keeper bass and lost a small Johnson’s Silver Minnow to a mystery lunker. We ate supper at Pinehurst. The Saturday night special is prime rib and boy was it tasty. http://www.pinehurstlodge.net/

On Sunday we spent 6 hours driving and never got more than 10 miles from the cabin. We picked about 2 gallons of choke cherries and placed a geocache. Stopped by the Shooting Star on the way home and made a donation.

Memorial Day Weekend

I'm way late on updating this blog. Sorry folks.

Had a nice long weekend at the lake. Left GF on Friday morning. Stopped at Chicog Wildlife Area and conducted a successful geocache search. It started to rain, so we cut short on the geocaching hunt. Stopped by Bergeson Nursery outside of Fertile to buy some flowers for the lake. Bergesons is a third generation family run business and has a fantastic garden (http://www.bergesonnursery.com/). We usually stop in once per year to pick up our lake stuff. As usual they had free coffee and donuts and everyone was friendly as ever. After the nursery visit we headed out for the lake. Had to make a pit stop at the Shooting Star and arrived at the lake after our 5 hour trip from GF.

Saturday it rained the whole day and Jo did not venture from the cabin. I managed to bring my coffee for a walk over to the neighbors for a while. Spent the day working on my fishing reels and loafing. I think Jo read a book or two and started to work on a puzzle.











On Sunday we made a trip into Bemidji and did some geocaching on the way. Here is a geocache from Coffee Pot Landing on the Mississippi River. I have the 411 phone a friend geocoin in my hand.

We also made a stop to Gander Mountain for fishing line and license.

On Monday we hung around the cabin and planted our flowers.

In the evening we drove over to the Shooting Star for my Birthday Supper. Left with more money in my pocket than I came with, so that was a good birthday visit. When we got back to the cabin we had some birthday cake (Yum! Yum!).

Tuesday we cleaned up and headed back to GF. stopped by the Star on the way home and gave back some of my winnings.

Here's the finished puzzle. It turned out to be a bit of a bugger.

Nice Weekend At the Lake

Well, despite the forecast, it turned out to be a nice weekend at the lake. Got the water pump installed without much trouble (Knock on Wood). No mice in the shed! (Knock on Wood again). Spent much of my time chipping the wood debris that the power co-op left after they cut the right away. Talked to B and G. They are here for the rest of the summer. The ice must have gone out sometime during the week. Not much activity on the lake yet. A few people were out for the weekend. There was one boat out on Saturday. The boat landing is a bit out of whack due to the ice heaving. Hopefully it will flatten back down. Went to the Shooting Star on Saturday night for prime rib and the buffet. I came out ahead and Jo dropped a few nickels and pennies.



It's amazing how a big pile of branches and be reduced down to a small pile of mulch. I'll have to plant some more trees so that I can use my mulch.

We also did some geocaching over the weekend. Stopped in Erskine and found one on Friday night and on Sunday we headed over to the Bagley area and found three more.


Jo found this one below. The GPS signal was bouncing all over, but Jo said that she thought that she saw it and of course she was right. And of course Jo also found a tick.

Abby Update

Abby is still with us! One of the neighbors emailed today with the following:

B&G were back up from Florida and had a message on their phone that someone in Minneapolis thought that they had Abby. Seems like they were staying at the Lake and Abby showed up at their door and they took her in. They couldn't find her owners, so they took her home for the winter. So it looks like we should see Abby soon.

Spring trip to the Lake

Made it to the lake! This is our first trip since January. On the trip out we did a bit of geocaching. Found 2 out of the three we looked for. If you’re interested in finding out about geocaching you can check out http://www.geocaching.com/ or you can go to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching I have been geocaching since January.

I mentioned below that I dislike mice, well I just hate mice. Opened the shed and 4 of my five traps held a mouse and the 5th held a shrew. I put on the rubber gloves and emptied the vermin into a bag and reset the traps for the next crop.

There was no snow left. I was worried about water this year, but my gutters and dirt moving did the trick and there were no wet floors to greet me this year. The power company had been out and cut down some trees on the power line right-a-way. I was bummed out when Jo pointed out that the best producing choke cherry tree had been cut down.

A woodpecker had been pecking a hole in my nice pine in front of the cabin. I will have to check out how to keep the woodpecker at bay.

Opened H’s cabin and took a quick look, everything was okie dokie inside. There was a broken down spout that I put back up. The outhouse was ready for use (no rodents).

The Boats made it through the winter with the tarps intact. The last 2 years my pontoon tarp has ripped under the weight of the ice and snow. Here's a picture from last winter.

The neighbors to the north were back from Arizona and B & G are in Florida. Stopped at the Shooting Star and left with more money than we came with so that was good. The drive home from Erskine to GF was pretty foggy. I had to drive about 50 mph on hwy 2.

Here's the view of the lake from the deck. A bit foggy on the ice.

Another view of the cutting.

Bogmaster in the snow!

Here's a photo from a snowmobile race in Roseau. Nice hat!

Winter

I'm way overdue for posting on the Lake. I've been out to Roy in January to check things out. No Snow in January. Everything was brown. Caught a few mice in the traps in the shed. Gosh, how I hate mice. Stopped in and visited with the neighbors. Sad news, Abbie is MIA. She was a great old dog and will be missed. Still hoping to pull in this spring and see her, but it probably won't happen this year. I'm heading over to Roy on Sunday to check things out.

Weekend After Labor Day

Went to the lake on Friday night. Took the scenic route through Fargo. Stopped by Fleet Farm and picked up some tires for the boat trailer. Saved about $50. Just had time to check out the new Scheels store for about 15 min. before they closed. It's worth checking out. It was a relaxing weekend. Didn't get much done. Lots of rest and relaxation. Did a bit of fishing, but not much was biting. Got home late on Sunday night. I got excited when I read the Menards ad. The raingutters that I have been waiting for are now on sale for .49 cents (after rebate). This adds another fall project that I need to complete.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day

On Thursday I picked up a new canoe at Sams Club. I have wanted a canoe for some time now and have been eyeballing the one at Sams all summer. I broke down and forked out the $299 for a 14 foot 3 seater that came with 2 paddles and rooftop foam blocks.

Jo and I loaded up the truck for the long weekend with the canoe on top and the bike rack on the back. Packed three coolers and a few boxes full of provisions for the weekend. Arrived at the lake after 10:30 just as the neighbors turned out their lights for the night.

Unpacked most of the load and hit the hay.

Woke up and put on the coffee on Friday morning. Spent about 3 hours vacuuming the cabin. The first of our guests arrived in the early afternoon. Ed, Jayna, Hayden and Reese, then Jeff, Penny and Carl (aka Bubba).

I cooked up hamburgers for supper on the Weber. Hayden said that I was a good cook. After supper started a campfire.

Was woken up by Hayden in the morning.

Jo cooked up a great breakfast of French toast and bacon. After breakfast Colleen, Stacy and Tyler arrived. Stacy didn't stay; he drove down to the Cities to pick up a dirt bike. We then drove over to Itasca Park and had lunch at the Douglas Lodge. After lunch most of the group went biking on the Itasca park loop. I did not feel well, so I drove my truck and gave moral and technical support. After completing the loop we loaded up the bikes and headed back to Roy Lake.

For supper I deep fried poppers and onion rings for appetizers and a turkey and fries for the main course. After supper we lit up another campfire.

For breakfast on Sunday we made up omelets in a bag and boiled them outside using my turkey pot filled with water.


After breakfast we headed out to Park Rapids and road the Heartland trail to Dorset. We ate at Companeros (great Mexican restaurant).

The trip from Park Rapids to Dorset and back is about 12 miles. Hayden did an impressive job of making the trip. I figure that with his short legs and small bike he went twice the distance as anyone else.

After lunch we headed over to the World of Christmas and enjoyed the rides.

After we got back to the lake, Jo started on supper and I fired up the pontoon and took some of the company for a boat ride. Jo made a great meal of appetizers (wings, smokies, and other tasty tidbits).

Did some fishing off the dock. Ed caught a nice pike and Jeff caught another keeper. Finished the night with a campfire.



Who needs an alarm clock, Monday started off with another wakeup from Hayden.


Jo made waffles and Langdon Sausage (anther great breakfast). The weather was nice and we spent the morning down at the dock. Took the canoe out with Ed and traveled to the boat landing and back. The rest were busy fishing, paddle boating and swimming. Hayden was all excited with catching his first fish (a keeper pike).

For lunch we cooked up loads of hotdogs. Most of our company departed later in the afternoon. Jeff and Penny decided to stick around for the night. For supper we had steaks from the Langdon locker and afterwards went out for a boat ride. It was a nice evening.














On Tuesday Jeff and Penny took off early. I did not hear them leave.

Jo and I drove to Park Rapids to do some laundry (lots of sheets and towels). This is much faster than taking the laundry home. We did a bit of shopping and ate lunch at the West 40. After getting back to the lake, we tried our luck at fishing (with no luck).

It was a beautiful day and we didn't feel like heading back to GF, but we put everything away and covered the boat. After packing up we headed to Mahnomen and tried our luck at the Shooting Star. Got back to GF late and only unpacked the suitcases and left everything else in the truck. We were dog tired.

Fall Is Here!

It was another peaceful weekend at the lake. Worked on the old speedboat motor and lost a small screw.

Drove to Bemidji in search of a replacement. Didn't find one, but picked up some bookcases at Home Depot. My current shelves in the cabin were falling apart and at 9 bucks apiece I couldn't pass them up.

The leaves are starting to turn and fall off of the trees. The maple in back is starting to turn red.




Here's my new shed that I put together a
couple of weeks ago. This will help clean my closets out.















This is my pet bird. He's a plastic owl. Hopefully this will keep the birds from pooping on my boat cover.

Running out of projects? No way says Jo!

I was reminded by Jo, that I didn't run out of projects at the lake. I have loads of projects left to complete in various stages. I picked up rain gutter fittings at menards during the bag sale and am waiting for the gutters to go on sale.

The drainage project in the back yard is also not fully completed.

I need to do some raking of lake weeds. The raking of lake weeds is a summer long event.

I bought some hedge balls to see if they will drive the spiders away. I sprayed a few times this summer, but they always come back. I think that next year I'll get Ecolab to come out and spray. The neighbors have them come out and do their places.

No rest for me!

The cabin down the road had the front of their hill burned, must have been kids playing with fire. Not a smart thing to do when it's dry out.

The lake water is getting colder. It was like a bathtub in June and July. I should start recording the water temp. I kind of track the weekly air temp. The hottest day of the summer was 104.9. Too hot to sleep.

Roy Lake Sunset

Another nice sunset at Roy Lake.






Here is a photo of the reroofed outhouse.

Spent last weekend at the lake. Went fishing and didn't catch anything but weeds. The lake level is about 12 inches down. Not as bad as 1977, but getting close.

Getting Ready for Lake Day

Thursday already!

Man has this week flown by. Friday in the summer is always Lake Day. Rush home after work, pack and hit the road. It’s nice to leave by 6:00 pm, but quite often something comes up and delays departure until 9:00 or later. It can make for long drive. Although 100 miles isn’t that far. If we get a late start, we may stop by the Shooting Star for a coffee/pop break. Maybe conduct a bit of gambling.

Gas last weekend was $3.09 in Grand Forks, $2.87 in McIntosh and $3.06 in Mahnomen. This was the first time that gas was cheaper in Mahnomen than Grand Forks. I usually fill up at Mentor or Win-E-Mac.

Outhouse

Summer vacation project

I hate red squirrels! Here's what they did to the neighbor's outhouse this past winter. Aaron and Eric must have got a bit of a jolt when they went to use the outhouse during their annual winter lake trip and disturbed the nest with their activities. I ran out of things to do on my summer 2 week vacation and tore into the outhouse roof. It was gross. I ripped the whole roof apart and filled up 2 garbage bags of nasty stuff. I ended up putting whole new roof on it.

Here's the topless outhouse below.

The neighbors were at the lake last weekend and saw that the outhouse fairy had paid a visit. They got into the spirit of things and tipped it over and put in a new floor. At least I won't have to worry about falling into the hole anymore. It was getting a bit soft.

It's too bad that Aaron wasn't inside when we tipped it.

The Great Plains Chautauqua was set up at Lincoln Park in Grand Forks, ND for the last week. Went to see John Jacob Astor (D.J. Tweton) on Monday (Aug 7). It was a pleasent evening and there was a nice crowd.

On Tuesday (Aug 8) I went to see York (presented by Charles Everett Pace). Another good performance. Here is Mondays Performer D. J. Tweton as John Jacob Astor.

On a sad note, the blue and white Chautauqua tent has been sold after a useful 25 years of service. I stayed after the performance and helped take the tent down for the last time.

WeFest 2006

Spent the last weekend at the Soo Pass Ranch for WeFest 2006. Loads of fun. Had free box seats. Drove to the lake every night to sleep, so it made for some late wakeups. Keith Urban put on a great show, as did most of the others. Martina McBride is another favorite. She can really belt out the tunes.

Fall of 05 at The Lake!