There is an old Scandinavian folklore regarding age. The passed on tradition begins in reaching eighty years of age. Once you reach your eightieth birthday you are an octogenarian. As an octogenarian every birthday after eighty is considered a bonus year on Earth. On January 23, I had another octogenarian birthday bonus on Earth. If possible, the birthday person is to do something special. I decided to honor my “dream” vacation of a month of ice fishing on Minnesota Lakes. (Genie agreed to come along.)
Before we left I contacted and made reservations at the resorts where we stayed. Each resort would provide a fish house during the day including live minnows plus a cabin to stay in at night. The resort would provide transportation to by 8 a.m. and from by 6 p.m. daily to one of their fish houses. If we stayed four nights, the fourth night was free. If we stayed seven nights, the sixth and seventh nights were free.
We packed a trail camera, an underwater camera, rattle wheels that make a noise when a fish bites, sacks of ear corn, bird food, Genies pass time activities, plus other necessities to fill our vehicle.
We left Albert Lea mid-morning Friday Jan. 22 to avoid the morning rush hour traffic through Minneapolis. We stopped at McDonalds in Garrison (The smallest town in the U.S.A. to have a McDonalds) on Mille Lacs Lake. We arrived at Leech Lake our destination Brindley’s Resort staying four nights. Arrow, the friendly stick fetching black lab greeted us at the continental daily breakfast in the lodge.
On to Nodak’s Resort the 26th, staying four nights on Lake Winnibigoshish just off of highway two. We ate two of the evening meals at the Big Fish Supper Club on highway two by Bena, MN.
On to upper Red Lake the 30th, staying four nights at the Upper Red Lake Rental Resort.
On to Walleye Retreat resort on the south side of Lake of the Woods staying four nights. We saw bald eagles plus black-billed magpies driving through the bogs on highway 72 in to Baudette.
We me Carol Edstrum at the Cyrus Resort Dining Room for an evening meal. (Carol taught vacation bible school in Canada with Genie and I – she now lives on the shore of Lake of the Woods.)
We traded a sack of corn for pizza plus pop delivered daily to the fish house. Genie and I were in on the lake. (The resort feeds deer.) The resort lake transportation is a bombardier. (An enclosed vehicle on tracks.)
We drove to “The Igloo” bar and restaurant for the meal one evening. It is sections put together on Lake of the Woods on Fripple Bay on the ice in the form of an igloo.
On to the Angle Resort the 7th of February staying seven nights. We drove to the Springsteel Resort just north of Warroad, Minnesota getting on the 40-mile ice road to the northwest angle. For miles all we could see was ice that blended into the sky.
Our fish house was a palace. Radio, TV, temperature controls, a kitchen with a stove and oven, indoor bathroom, bunk beds, table, lazy boy recliners, generator, all the comforts of home on wheels. I figure the cost of about $75,000. We stayed in it five of seven nights we were there, eating fish five times with a toast of Harvey’s Bristol cream sherry.
Back to Walleye Retreat Resort on the 14th of February. We met Carol Edstrom at the Sportsman’s Lodge for Valentines evening meal. The lodge gave each lady a Valentines long stemmed rose. We gave Carol two walleyes and three perch plus the rest of our birdseed and ear corn as she feeds birds and deer.
We left the 18th of February staying at Brindley’s leaving the 22nd of February to get home that day completing my “Dream” vacation of a month of ice fishing.
As we’re driving south on I35 approaching Albert Lea talking about our trip and how we want to look at the pictures from our trail camera and the underwater camera; we pull into our garage as the sound of Thompson’s garbage truck woke me up.
Twas then I knew my “Dream Vacation” of a month of ice fishing on Minnesota Lakes ended!
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in New York. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.