It would be wrong to start a post about Canada with anything other than an apology. So sorry we abandoned you all last week, postless and sad. We were on vacation this past week (in Canada... duh) and didn't think it wise to say anything on here about our upcoming trip (much in the same way we didn't post a sign in front of our house saying, "We're not home! Come on in and take whatever you want!") So yes, sorry for the abrupt departure. But we're back now! Back to tell you about our lovely journey north. (Feel free to just scroll through the pictures - this will be a long post!)
This trip is an old tradition in my family. In fact, this year's trip marked 40 years since my family's first Canadian fishing excursion back in 1974. My first time up was in 2000, so I'm familiar with all the traditions the trip entails, but I've been out of the mix for awhile. I haven't been up to Canada with my family since 2008, I hadn't been back to this particular lake since 2004, and I had never been to this camp at all. So this vacation brought some new experiences even to me, a seasoned veteran of sorts.
Our destination was
Oba Lake, located in the
Algoma District of Ontario. We used to go to a different camp on the same lake, but it closed and we tried out another lake for a few years before returning to our good old Oba (I clearly missed this triumphant return, since I haven't been there since '04). It's a long ways up there and we have to take a
Martin/Candy movie's worth of transportation options to get there.
We loaded up my parents' van on Friday morning and headed to Angola to meet with the rest of the convoy. The whole troop consisted of my grandparents, my grandaunt, my cousin and his wife, my cousin's friend and his little brother, my dad, my sister, and of course Leslie and me. The first day was the drive up through Michigan, the U.P., and Sault Sainte Marie with our customary stop at a
sporting goods store in Michigan for some last minute fishing supplies and a night spent at the
Voyageurs' Lodge a little ways north of the border. The Voyageur is a cute little hotel featuring a restaurant, gift shop, and sandy beach on Lake Superior. We browsed the store (and purchased a little dessert), got our feet wet at the beach, and had breakfast the next morning at the hotel restaurant. The place is also a big draw for the locals with events like live music and a great event (the beginning of which we managed to catch before heading out) called Art on the Bay, featuring local artists and crafters with booths set up to sell their wares. It's a great little place and it's always a pleasure to stay there on our way north.
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| Crossing the border |
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| Leslie and the moose at the casino where we exchange currency |
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| Welcome to Voyageurs' Lodge |
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| The hotel restaurant |
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| My lovely wife dipping her toes in Superior |
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| My grandaunt Irma |
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| Even Grandpa took his shoes off and got in the water |
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| The water was a little cold... |
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| Sunset on the bay |
After our breakfast at the Voyageur we were back on the road. We hit up a few more stops (as 40 years of tradition dictates), the
Canadian Carver and
Young's General Store, to get fishing licenses and check out what souvenirs we want to buy on the way back. We also stop at a lovely scenic lookout where we skip rocks and stretch our legs. After those stops we make our final stop in the car at
Hawk Junction. From here we take a train to the lake, where we climb aboard a boat to take us around the bend and south a bit to the sandy shores of our camp at
Woods Cabins.
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| Breakfast at the Voyageur |
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| Leslie liked the peanut butter package - there are bears on it |
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| Busy place on a Friday morning |
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| I think that bear could prevent forest fires all by himself |
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| The Canadian Carver |
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| A quick scenic stop to stretch our legs |
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| All our equipment waiting for the train |
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| The Algoma Central Railroad ready to take us to the lake |
The camp is pretty remote and is one of only two working camps on the whole (14 miles long by 2 miles wide) lake. But that's part of the charm. It's rustic (no electricity, outhouses) but comfy (beds with warm blankets, propane fridges and wood-fired stoves). And you know what? You don't need no fancy electricity to catch fish.
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| Another tradition - Sunday morning church on a rock overlooking the lake |
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| Clearly thrilled to have this picture taken... |
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| America! Err, I mean bald eagle... |
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| The fish cleaning house |
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| Lots of time spent reading |
And catch fish we did. The majority of our group spends the majority of their time fishing. This provides us with fresh fish to eat daily, fish to take home and consume later, and lots and lots of funny stories about lost lures, broken rods, and "the one that got away." We had some cold, rainy days this year, so only a few people went out on those days. But even with contentious weather systems we managed to eat well and bring home a total of 95 fish (we've got 18 in my freezer right now!). We fish for
northern pike and
walleye, both of which are fun to catch and delicious to eat. Leslie did an excellent job considering this was her first fishing trip. She caught some big ones and now her arm is sore from all that fishing!
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| My dad taking Leslie and me out fishing |
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| Leslie and her second fish! But is she more happy or scared? |
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| Tyler's 34" pike |
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| Leslie's 30" pike |
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| Chris and Lyle's impressive morning catch |
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| My evening catch - 7 walleye and a 30" pike |
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| My grandpa and Irma landing another walleye |
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| My 34" pike |
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| Leslie and her little perch |
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| I think that stringer of fish weighs more than her! |
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| My dad cleaning fish for dinner |
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| Leslie did the breading... |
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| ...and I did the frying. |
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| Wrapping fish for us to freeze and take home |
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| Northern pike ready to take home |
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| Walleye ready to take home |
We arrived at camp on Saturday afternoon and then headed back to Indiana on Friday morning. Leslie and I picked up a few souvenirs on our way back - a smoked summer sausage, some art prints, and a jar of red pepper jelly. And, of course, got some ice cream for the road!
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| Awkward family photo |
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| Michael, the camp owner, taking us to the train tracks in the boat |
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| The moose standing guard over the summer sausage |
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| Ice cream time! |
We arrived in Fort Wayne around 2:30am on Saturday morning, stayed the night at my parents' house, and then got back to our house on Saturday. Vacation is always fun, but it's nice to be back in our own place with our pets (and electricity). We had a great time fishing and are really looking forward to trying out a few new recipes with our fish. This is a yearly tradition in my family, but I'm not sure we're ready to sign up for next year. I have a limited amount of vacation, so this might have to be an every other or every third year type of thing for us, at least for now. But we'll be back - so watch out, fishies! We're coming for you. Eventually.
Thanks for reading (or at least looking at pictures) and we'll be back on Friday!
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