Grouse Hollow Journal for June 25, 2015 by Greg Koelker

The road into Keystone Lodge

The lake by Camp Robinson

Barb and Chuck in Moose Bay

El with a nice walleye

The afternoon's entertainment

Uh oh!

18-inch smallmouth

24-inch walleye

time for lunch bald eagle style - that's a 30-inch northern pike on menu

Bailey the beggar camp dog

The view of Cedar Lake from Cabin 2

the kitchen in Cabin 2

Grouse Hollow Journal for June 25, 2015 by Greg Koelker

We got home from Canada a day early due to bad weather in Ontario on Friday night. The lodge put in a new septic system this spring and the contractor's equipment trashed the last mile or so of the rock and dirt road through the bush. We feared that the impending storms may have made getting out iffy on Saturday morning. Of course getting out early is starting this fishing trip journal bassackwards; I'll start from the beginning of our annual fishing safari to Keystone Lodge on Cedar Lake in Ontario where spent the better part of a week wetting a line in cold Canadian lake water (and eating huge meals of walleye and perch as well as lots of taters, bacon and eggs and pancakes and cookies and candy and cake and popcorn.)

We spent the week before our Canada trip shopping and packing. The dining room looked like it does before deer hunting with boxes, clothes, and gear piled around, and the garage refrigerator was stuffed. I got new line on the fishing rods and reels, and I replaced old gear and bought extra tackle and such to make sure we had everything – mostly – that would be needed while we were in camp on Cedar Lake. I had the Ranger serviced, including two new stabilizers on the front end. Expensive, but such is the life of old trucks. I cleaned it a little too. Ellen made more than a couple trips to the market to buy supplies for the trip; we also got some Steve's Meats breakfast sausage, some meat sticks, and a beef roast. El made ground roast beef sandwich meat for lunch on the way up; she also baked my favorite cookies. All week long Scout was off her game; I am certain she knew that we were going away. She hung around that truck like it had a steak bone with her name on it inside. It didn't. I took extra time throwing the ball for her and taking her on short trips to make up a little for our absence. Neighbor kids, Jake and Pearl were hired to make up for us to Scout for our being away. They also fed Gypsy the cat, got the mail and newspapers, watered the plants, and mowed the lawn.

We got on the road to Canada 7ish on Friday morning, planning on a 9 a.m. breakfast in Osseo with our fishing partners Barb and Chuck Wright who had to leave much earlier from Potosi. Our timing was right on as we pulled into MacDonald's right behind them. After some fresh coffee and a breakfast sandwich or two, we headed north. The morning was cool and partly cloudy when we started, but Chuck and Barb said they drove in rain for an hour before finding clearer skies north of Black River Falls. Gasoline was running about a dollar less than last year. At $2.78 it was a bargain I guess. When we crossed into Minnesota we filled up at $2.59!

After listening to reruns of the news, Ellen and I listened to Capital Dames, an audio book written and narrated by ABC and NPR correspondent Kokie Roberts. It is a well-researched account of the influence and impressive political savvy of some leading Civil War era women like Elizabeth Blair Lee, Sara Agnes Pryor, Clara Barton, Dorothea Dix, Sojourner Truth, and Mary Todd Lincoln. We change drivers every couple hours and as El had taken over the wheel in northern Wisconsin, she had to drive into Superior and Duluth up over the impressive John Blotnik Bridge and into the snarl of highway that leads to Duluth. I got the chance to rubber neck the shipping yards and sights. The big lake looked calm and I could see for miles, but I didn't spy a single lake ship anywhere.

A few hours later, not wanting to buy expensive Canadian petrol ($1.20 a liter this day), we took on fuel in International Falls and we got over the border without incident, taking only about 15 minutes to cross. There were a number of unfortunates being broken down by the border patrol though. By 5:30 p.m., we were checked into the Copper River Inn in Ft. Frances, Ontario. We ate a really good pizza in one of their lounges and watched Women's World Cup Soccer before calling it a night.

On Saturday morning we shopped at “The Place,” a small grocery in Ft. Frances. We had to get potatoes and eggs. New for this year, no unprocessed chicken was allowed in from the US. We had breakfast again at a Mac and Don's; in our experience, one can always count on Mickey D's to be consistently okay no matter where you are in the world, at least at breakfast time.

We bought our licenses at The Great Bear store north of Ft. Frances on Highway 502. This year, our conservation cards needed updating, so with two licenses for the week and the cards, the bill came to $140 and change for the two of us. Before we left Great Bear, a charter bus filled with pilgrims of some sort pulled in and the line to the bathrooms was out the door! Three hours later in Vermillion Bay, I made a pass through the Bobby's well-equipped and expensive bait and tackle shop. On one display it said everything was 50% off! On top of the heap was a St. Croix ultra-light rod. I grabbed it, and then after looking at the tag realized that 50% off $309 was actually more than the 100% price back home and gently put the rod back. Jigs were $.99 apiece - back home it's four for $1.25 to give you another idea. Outside someone in a truck called out, “You lost?” It was the Ross family from Glenwood City. They were also headed to Keystone.

We bounced and bumped into Keystone about 1 p.m. with clear skies turning the lakes brilliant blue along the way. There was purple and pink lupine along the road and lots of helicopter bugs. There was also enough timber cut along the road that one could have heated a small city with the firewood; I guess it downed was to make room for the heavy equipment. After howdys and handshakes and hugs from our hosts at camp, Dave and Leeann Frostiak, we started off loading coolers, totes, suitcases, the tv and dvd player, radio, coats, boots, hats, night crawlers, etc. into our favorite Cabin 2. We were fishing by 2:30 and had a walleye and perch fry for dinner that night. More on our trip next time.

Until next time, get out - Ellen and I got home from a Father's Day bike ride in Stoddard just in time for lunch, beating the heat on Sunday. I had put our old Schwinns on the bike rack on the truck and we started from Stoddard Elementary, riding through the neighborhoods and then across to the river side of town and north to Tully's Landing. We pedaled south to the Stoddard Boat Landing and past the River Diamond where a family game of softball was in play. We rode around the prairie and back across the railroad crossing. My always ambitious El said she wanted to ride home, so we split up and I went to get the truck. I figured I'd go by her just up the road from town (all the farther I would have gotten by then I figured), but she was over half the way up Proksch Coulee by the time I caught up to her. I said she must have had her bike in Wicked Witch of the West gear to go that fast. I guess I'd better be getting out on the road more. Finally, the poet Henry James once wrote that the most beautiful words in the English language were “summer afternoon.” He nailed it. Enjoy.