To Sleep Or Not To Sleep

With this being my first summer working here, every guest is new to me and you never know what each new group will bring. This week seemed to be 2 things. Kids and CPAP machines. 

First let's talk about the kids. Within 30 minutes of arriving to camp, they were swimming in the water. It was great to see them all getting along and playing together. If they weren't swimming or fishing, they were playing games on the grounds or board games at the dock. They also LOVED the hammocks!! They would have political debates, spin in circles or just hang upside down in them for hours!! I believe some parents are going to be talked into buying some hammocks when they get home! 

Now to the CPAP's. There were 5 in camp this week!! Nick, Rob, David, Ray and Doug gave the solar a workout and needless to say, it got drained and shut off quite a few times. The funny thing was that you knew when the solar had shutoff because you could hear the snoring getting louder and louder. I guess when coming to a place as remote as this it's makes the normal daily routine type of things seem a little bit harder but that just adds to the grandeur feeling of this camp. And really, a good nights sleep helps everybody out. So I guess the answer is "to sleep". 

This weeks tournament I believe has been our closest contest to date. 16 boats entered and 15 brought in entries that were all close in scoring. Fish measuring begins sharply at 3pm. Mike Hall and Dean Siglin got back to the dock around 1ish. After being asked if, "they were that sure of their fish that they didn't need any more time on the water?" They responded with, "well, we think we need this time to get our victory speech ready." That got a good laugh out of Nick and sure enough wouldn't you know it but the two of them ended up winning the tournament! Well there wasn't a speech but a lot more laughs. Great win guys! 

Wheaton helping to churn the ice cream

The Winners - 260 points

This was a great group that was nothing short of helpful. There were 16 boats to portage in on Saturday and everyone was ready to help. Jonas and his brother Andy helped Nick and I on almost every boat and really made those 16 feel like a lot less. One morning when a boat had to be portaged, Andy was eager to volunteer to go with Nick to help pull the boat out at 6:00am.  When Nick and Jody got back late Tuesday afternoon after a full day away on a town run with a boat full of groceries and supplies, the entire Moose cabin was at the dock unloading the boat. It was extremely helpful to say the least. On boat washing day Nick and Jody went to meet Nick's family to get them into camp which left only Brenden and I here to wash all the boats. No worries though as Jonas, Andy, Mike, and Dean were happy to help us and make the afternoon fly by. There was a lot of great advice given to us this week about the solar, the batteries, the minnow tank, etc. from a number of people and it was all extremely helpful. We can't say enough how much we appreciate all of the help from everyone this week! 

The water here continues to drop as we still haven't had any significant amount of rain. Nick and I had to space out the portage ramps a little to keep both ends in the water. Hopefully next week brings the rain it is promising, but you never know with the weather here in Canada. It has a mind of its own and I don't think it likes to be predicted! 

It is really awesome to learn a little bit about where our guests are from and what they do back at home and we all love hearing their stories. I'm looking forward to the weeks to come and each new batch of people that will bring new stories and supply us with some entertainment out here on "The Rock."

Brenden going outhouse fishing for sunglasses 

Nick's first attempt at paddle boarding. He's a natural!

Pranksters Be Warned

In normal Saturday turnover fashion, Mother Nature made another visit as the wind checked out and the heat checked in. This happened right after a very heavy storm that came in right after the last boat arrived in camp. Jody, Brenden, Nick, Penny, and myself were waiting out the rain in the bottom of the boathouse when lightening struck right over by the fish house and the thunder clap that followed instantly afterwards was so loud that I it caused all of us to flinch.  Nick will try to say that he didn't flinch but don't believe it for a second folks. 

We had some very hot days this week, probably the hottest so far this year. Basically every day was mid-to-high 80's with it feeling like it was in the 90's sometimes. Needless to say, the lake was put to good use this week as the water really warmed up which made for a lot of great swimming. 

Tom Egger, along with his boys Matthew and Andrew really stepped up to the plate for us this week. Sometime over the winter, a chain had snapped that kept the floating swim up dock in place and none of us were willing to dive down about 10-15ft to the bottom to retrieve it so that it would stop spinning around. The Eggers showed no fear and without hesitation they got it for us. While down there they also miraculously found one the of oldest and best ice cutting tools that had accidentally been dropped down there during the most recent ice cutting season. Needless to say, Nick was extremely happy as were Jody, Brenden and I that we didn't have to take the plunge to look for the items! We are "EGG"static about it! 

We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs this week with Nick's friends, Tim and Todd Chase, Tim Tipsword and Chad Wolf. They came to help, they came to fish, but I think mostly they came to prank. 

During the week they parked boats diagonally to take up 2 parking spots. They parked each other's boats overnight at the ramp at the fish house. One day they duct taped Brenden in the hammock he was relaxing in and later while Brenden was fishing, they came up close to his boat and on the pretense of asking what lure he was using, they cut his line. 

So that night when they went out fishing we got our revenge. We put the bear decoy right inside their door so that it would be the first thing they would see when they opened the door. Then we rolled up their bedding and following their theme we duct taped it all together. 

So pranksters be warned...we can dish it as good as we can take it! 

We heard the next day that the bear gave them a fright and they would get us back for the bedding. 

Well somehow Jody and I avoided the retaliation but Brenden wasn't so lucky. They put fish guts in the new outhouse hole he was digging!! But it was all in good fun and made for an enjoyable week here and it was nice that Nick was able to get out fishing with his buddies like old times. 

Wednesdays tournament was a really fun one with everyone making up team names and nearly every team bringing in fish and make it a close tournament. The winning team this week scored the second highest point total of the year with a score of 300 (out of a possible 320)! Well done Paul, Luke and Bruce!! 

The Winners - 300 points

The Kistler family, the Docherty family and Penny and Keno who are all either friends or family and who plan their trip here together every year enjoyed a shore lunch together one day that had looked like it involved some great food and some great times. The kids all went cliff jumping and while walking the beach they discovered a Big Foot footprint!! I guess he still walks among us, although it looks like he might be hopping as there is only 1 footprint!! Haha nice creation Kai! 

We had a couple first timers to Wine Lake that were as nice a father and son as you could ask for. It also happened to be their first time to Canada which was pretty cool. Lloyd and his son Cole were so amazed by all that Wine has to offer and loved everything about this place as so many others do. I don't think either of them wanted to leave as the week felt too short to them but they both promised that they are going to be back with the rest of their family so that makes us all very happy! 

Cole and Lloyd with their tournament entries

After 3 months of being here it still amazes me that week after week we get such a diverse group of people that are either first timers, or returnees that love this place for all it has to offer. Saturday mornings are always a sad occasion when you have to say goodbye to a group that you have quickly gotten to know but a nice feeling when you can say "We look forward to seeing you again next year!!" 

The boys trying to hook up a back-up battery for the minnow tank if the solar trips

A Groundhog watching Brenden dig the outhouse hole