Carrying On

We have had so much going on it seems like I have not posted a blog in forever. In reality, it has only been 10 days or so. 

Last time we left you, we were still in Ontario fishing at Pasha Lake Cabins, I have come to a couple of conclusions since then.  The first is that it is not really about who out-fishes who, and who catches the biggest fish. It is really below me to keep track of such things. The other conclusion I came to is that anyone who does boast about catching the most, or biggest fish, is really just a braggart. It is all about teamwork. How your boat did as a whole. Enjoying time with your spouse and enjoying the outdoors.

View from our screened gazebo

We got out a couple more times, twice in a boat and one more time in the canoe.  We did not catch anything to top Barb’s 28+”er, so once again Barb leaves Pasha with the biggest fish award. Most of the fish we caught were in that 17-22” range. Still really nice fish.  

Tuesday night was fish fry night at the camp. Barb and Shelby (the owner's sister) cooked the fish, just like old times.

 The only thing missing were Chad and Michelle. We kept wondering if the new owners Victoria and Kenny were thinking; “Who are these old people?"

We had two people from two different cabins come up to us and said “Hey, I’ve watched your Onaman videos!” One of them laughed and asked Barb if she really does out fish me. Did I mention I did not like braggers? The other guy said that we were the reason he booked up here. He felt like our videos were not staged, not a production, we just looked like a normal couple out fishing and having a good time. I told him not to let the video fool him, only one of us was normal.

One evening, about 5:00 as Victoria was wrapping up her day she came over and asked if we wanted to go fishing in an hour. Sure, why not! We went to Northwind where we probably had our best outing of the trip. I’ll tell you right now, Victoria knows how to not only fish, she is quite the fileter as well! We had a great time and got back to camp a little after 9:00 with our limit of 12.

The next day was departure day. Overall, we had a great time at the "new" Pasha. It was different but the same all at the same time. The bugs were horrible, the fishing was great!

The border crossing was a breeze. He just asked me what I was bringing back and what was in the trailer. He then looked in the trailer and I was on my way. Barb’s experience was much easier. He did not ask her anything other than, “Are you with that guy?”. Then then proceeded to talk about Frenchies for a few minutes. Apparently, he has one too.

We spent the night in the Pigeon River Rest Area just across the border. Although we were less than 4 hours away from Pasha, the bugs were sooooo much better. Still there but not nearly the numbers.

The next day, we woke up, had breakfast and drove to ….where else? Chad and Michelle’s! To see Michelle of course, we had had enough of Chad. Michelle and Barb talked while Chad drank the remainder of my Molson. I only got this one picture….

Chad working on their chicken coop. Some would say it is his good side. I would argue that he does not have a good side.

That night, they cooked us an awesome steak supper. Any weight we may have lost in the past few weeks is going to be put right back on this week!

The following morning, we packed up and continued south to Danbury, Wisconsin to visit our friends Jim and Melanie. They have a beautiful, secluded spot in the forest. They are also fulltime caregivers to Melanie's mother. 

Barb and Melanie were horse friends from way back, probably since the early 90’s. They went to horse shows and horse camping for years. Barb has some great stories and memories from those adventures. Like the time they were horse camping and were sleeping in the back of her horse trailer.  Melanie woke up in the middle of night screaming and kicking that someone was attacking her. Barb then proceeded to scream and kick at the attacker only to find out that it was all a dream that Melanie was having. They woke up the entire campground who were wondering what the two crazy women and the trailer were screaming about.

Jim joined Melanie at many of the shows and he and I quickly became friends. Just hanging out, talking and drinking beer. I remembered one picture of the two of us at a horse show so I had to go and find it. This was 1997.

If you are a horse person and are lucky, you are blessed with the perfect horse once in your life. Sarge, this Palamino was that horse to me. That horse would do anything I asked of him without hesitation. We had some really good time. There are not many horses that you can also use as a recliner!

Now, all of us are horseless, they moved further out into the bush and are loving life up near Danbury.

Jim cooked up an awesome spaghetti dinner and we spent the night laughing and reminiscing about old time, cuz, that’s what old people do. They have two dogs; Sophie and Bailey. Bailey and Zoey played and played and played while Dakota and Sophie just sat on the sidelines and watched them.

Then it was off to Solon Springs to see Mike and Mary Jo. It had been 10 years since we've seen them. Of course I forgot to take pictures. Mike was my first boss, 42 years ago and we have been friends ever since. Over the years their property up here has become a hunting destination for many of us. So many great memories and one of the places I mentioned where I wanted my ashes scattered in our last post. Mike and I drove around the property, looking at how things had changed in the past 10 years, remembering old hunting tales and just basically catching up. When we got back to the house we had a “bump” to our friendship vowing not to make it so long next time.

This entire leg of our trip was all about seeing friends we had not seen in forever and visiting places from our past. Next stop Balsam Lake Wisconsin. But not before driving through my old haunts in Spooner and Shell Lake. So much has changed and so much has stayed the same. Barb and I spent a lot of time in this area with the kids, going to horse shows and visiting my dad who lived on the lake. We drove past the beach and Main Street Shell Lake where I spent most of my summers as a kid. The beach was deserted. Back in the day it would have been filled with kids, not so much anymore. We drove by the airport where my dad kept his planes and where his ashes are scattered at the end of the runway. No pictures at all, we just drove through and silently recalled memories as we drove past each of these places.

After dropping off the jeep and the trailer at my sisters house in Balsam Lake we headed off to our friends Doug and Connie in Somerset. I think we met them in the mid 80’s. Doug is an incredible taxidermist and has mounted every animal in our house. He gave that up fulltime years ago but still does some for friends.

Now they are into a solar endeavor with their son, traveling all across the country and world for business. They also have over 4,000 fruit trees on their property which are irrigated and powered by, you guessed it solar!

      Doug, demonstrating how the panels move with the sun.

At this location, Zoey got to play with Harold....

Dakota came in but kept two paws in the safe zone. Bella hid from Zoey and Harold as they raced around the house. 

From there, we were off to Milltown to meet more horse friends Joe and Pam. 10 years+ again since we had seen them. Joe recently retired and Pam recently got her bachelor’s degree in hospital administration.  Both could not be happier.

The next day my sister Judy had a birthday party for our brother Rod. All my siblings (except one) and their spouses made it. We had not all been together since October of 2020.

Rod, Rachel, his wife Beth and our brother-in-law, Mike

Brother Bob, his wife Greta and sister Carol

Brother-in-law Murray and sister Rebecca

Somehow sister Judy was successful in avoiding the camera during the party (but I got her later). It was also a housewarming of sorts as Judy and Mike just moved into their new house!

Judy and Mike have a couple of critters of their own, Sam, their cat. If I were ever to have a cat, this is the one I would want. And Wilma, a rescue that loves, loves, loves people and thinks he is a lap dog. 

Wilma loves her belly rubbed!

You would think the visiting would have been done there but no! The following day we were off to my brother Bob's in Taylor's Falls, MN to pick up a couple of stainless-steel tables and then to Almelund, MN to see our niece Kris on her farm. She has cattle, chickens, ducks, and 5 labs. The farm is called Nelson’s Corner Ranch but I think Chaos Acres would be equally as fitting!

That night, it was off to The Thirsty Otter, (our old hang out when we lived here) for all you can eat ribs! I used to be able to put away a couple of servings but nowadays, I struggled to finish one. As we were finishing up our niece Katie joined us! I cannot even guess the last time we saw her. 15 years ago? I doubt she would have recognized me in a crowd, but she saw Barb and recognized her right away. We spent a couple of hours catching up. She is all grown up and is now a grandma, crazy!

Our last night here, Judy, Mike, Barb and I went back to Milltown to see our Julie, our favorite bartender and then to the new brewery in Balsam Lake.

With that, the whirlwind Wisconsin tour was over, and we were headed back to South Dakota. We will do the 12-hour drive in two days. 

48 days, that is how long I have been gone from our oasis. It will be soooo good to be home. Then, we have to unload the trailer, unload the camper, take the camper off, and get back to work!