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We're on the bit-bit boat right now. We've been out on the lake for about an hour, and it's 8:15. Calvin hooked a fish that bent his pole (heh - that sounds dirty) until the tip almost touched the water, but he lost it when he tried to set the hook. Other than that, there has been very little activity, fish-wise. It's very peaceful and relaxing. The water is making a metallic sloshing sound against the sides of the boat. The sun is sparkling on the water. I could eleven other bit-bit boats. I so love this spot!We're driving each other nuts... Marie's got Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" stuck in her head, so every now and then Calvin and I would spur it on by singing "Wanted..." She'd shriek "I just got that out of my head!" Then she'd do it... "Wanted..." Then I was annoying everybody by altering Limp Bizkit's "Rolling" to say "Keep reelin' reelin' reelin' reelin'..." or "Keep trollin' trollin' trollin' trollin'..." We're a merry bunch of idiots.
Later...
We caught a fish!!! We'd gone back to shore for lunch, had a nap, and went out again. Calvin hooked a trout as we were idling away from the dock. It was probably 12-14 inches long. Calvin strung it and hung it off the side of the boat, and there it hung, for a couple of hours, while we tried to catch its brethren.We didn't.
It cooked up well, though. Calvin and Marie (with many "eeeww"'s) cleaned it at the station near the general store. It's a pretty nice setup, with a "grinder" (ew!) and continuously running water. Calvin made short work of just our one lonely fish (which Marie named "Bob"). Back at camp, Calvin stuffed it with butter, salt, pepper, and Chalula. He wrapped it in tinfoil and cooked it over our campfire for about 10 minutes. It was falling out of the skin when it was done, so we all stood around it and pulled it apart with our fingers.
Then we grilled up some fillets and noodles after our trout "appetizer". Have I mentioned that we tend to eat well when we're camping?
We closed the evening out as we have been doing the whole week - sitting around the fire until about 9:00, eating S'mores, drinking, and gabbing.The only negative aspect to our day was that during our second foray out on the lake, Kye (who we left back at camp) clawed her way through the screen mesh of the tent and made herself comfortable inside (her leash barely reached). Suffice to say, Calvin flipped out. He insisted that the dog was grounded to her leash for the remainder of the trip, and she'd be lucky to get her dog food.
But Calvin had calmed down sufficiently so that by the time we'd finished dinner, he fed Kye steak scraps. And endured Marie calling him "softie" for the rest of the night.
One highlight for the day for Marie was spotting a small herd of deer making their way through the campsites, while Calvin and I were showering.
So it was a nice day made up of small events.
7-4-01
We woke up this morning at 8:00. I'd had to get up to go to the bathroom three times during the night - which is a bogus experience when you're camping. After breakfast Calvin and Marie went back out on the boat while I stayed behind. I really enjoy doing "camp chores"for some reason. I find it very pleasurable to have a tidy camp. I washed up all the dishes and reorganized things. I was in the process of re-making our "camp bed" when Calvin radioed me to say they were on the lake right across from our camp. So I finished up and headed to the shore to take a few pictures of their cuteness and fishing prowess. They made a few passes in front of me, then bit-bitted their way back across the lake.I headed back up to the camp and got comfy in one of the camp chairs. I placed the two citronella on either side of me, Kye laid down at my feet, I cracked open a Sprite, and got settled with my book.
As Calvin and Marie pulled back up in the Suburban, two chipmunks came barrelling around the side of the tent. They didn't see me in time to change their direction, and so ended up in my lap, literally. I caught a split second of wide black eyes rimmed in tan before they charged off again. One went back the way it came, one leaped over my shoulder and ran toward the neighboring camp. Kye jumped in pursuit, but I called her back. I was cracking up as Calvin and Marie came down the slope toward camp.
Right now, as I write this, the three of us are once again in the boat, out on the lake. We had grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken soup for lunch (and I must say I have never in my life had grilled cheese sandwiches as good as these!), then we went exploring among the many side roads around the Big Lake area.We took a dirt road (and most of them are dirt roads) in a direction we hadn't gone in before. We pulled off to the side of the road near a stream that Calvin wanted to investigate, and went exploring into the woods a little ways. We saw ferns, and bluebells, and wild onions, and black-eyed Susans, and elk poo, and mint, and blackberry bushes, and blueberry bushes, and strawberry plants. This place will be alive with food come late summer.
I just revelled in how green everything was. We really wanted to find a well running stream from which we could fish, but couldn't find any. Calvin camped a lot in the Big Lake area as a child, but couldn't seem to remember where his old campsites were. Everything was in such a rate of growth that I'm sure things have changed significantly since then, anyway. We meant to stop at the Visitor's Center to pick up a local map that might tell us where the fishing streams are, but every time we stopped the little facility was packed. The rangers host classes and tours for the children who camp in the area, and several times throughout the week we saw crowds of kids enthusiastically raising their hands and participating. We could tell the ranger was pleased with the interest her classes received.Back at camp, we plastered ourselves with sunblock, and headed back out on the lake again. Trying to catch fish. Failing. Not minding all that much. We hit the showers immediately after fishing. The shower hosts were desperately trying to get everyone to stick to their allotted 15 minutes, since the crowd always arrives in the final half-hour that the showers are open.
We were driving back up the road to our campsite (after stopping at the store to get a couple of ice cream bars), when Calvin spotted the same (we assume) herd of deer Marie had seen earlier in the week. We stopped the truck, and they continued to make their placid way into the outskirts of the woods. Calvin grabbed the camera and managed these two excellent shots before they leaped deeper into the woods. We got settled back in camp and were eating Calvin's EXCELLENT hamburgers, when I spotted the deer emerging from the edge of the woods again. We crept up closer to them, and beckoned our camping neighbors to observe them with us.
We went exploring through the overflow areas after dinner, and as we topped a crest in the road, we saw what we think were the same deer, accompanied by several of their herd-mates. Calvin once again stopped the truck and tried to get closer to them. They tolerated it for a while, and then one of the deer decided he was close enough. She warned the others with a derisive (loud!) snort, and they were gone in three leaps, off across the field. Marie and I had stayed behind and were sitting up in the open windows of the Suburban, and we grinned at each other as Calvin exclaimed "That was so cool!" We continued down the road, in time to spook an elk away from the road. It ran in a panicked way around the field, changing direction twice before heading back into the woods. Calvin said they never travel alone, and so it must be looking for its herd. Sure enough, as we headed further along the road, we could see a large herd of elk (I counted 13) in the distance.
We stopped at the camp host's long enough to buy some wood and take this picture of them. They were very flattered that I asked, and acted all flustered as they tried to decide where the best place to take the picture would be. At that point they informed me that they have been on their honeymoon for 24 years, and they couldn't think of a better way to make a living than being camp hosts in such a beautiful area. I couldn't have agreed with them more.I like the twilight best of all, I think. The birds are calling sleepily to each other, and the mist is rising up over the fields. Our CD player is softly playing classical piano music, and the muted light is gentle on the eyes. Excellent smells are emerging from our grill, and the outdoor living has spiced our appetites. We're all in very high, and mellow, spirits. The only thing marring this vacation is missing Michael.