June 8 - 12, 2021 - Trip to Bemidji, Minnesota, a Little More Fishing, then Home.

On Tuesday we decided to take a trip into Bemidji, Minnesota. It is the largest town around with a population of about 15,000. We first went to the Visitors Center. Paul Bunyon and the Blue Ox are a big deal in Bemidji. Here are a couple of pictures of Kellen there. (You know Grandma and Grandpa made him do it.)

We then headed to the city's Science Center which was really nice but clearly low budget. Kellen got to hold a couple of the reptiles. This one is a large lizard. Notice the blue tongue.

This one is a legless Lizard from Europe, two thirds of its body is tail.

After checking out various exhibits we walked out to the nearby dock on Lake Bemidji. The Mississippi River flows from the headwaters into Lake Itaska. From there it flows North into Lake Bemidji. Here is where it enters Lake Bemidji.

The river crosses the lake and then flows South. Here are a couple of pictures of it heading out of the lake.

Unfortunately there was no place to pull off the road to view the Mississippi starting its flow South. It is certainly not "The Mighty Mississippi" up here.

Here is a picture of Kelly, John, and Carlene out fishing on Thursday. Unfortunately, not a single bite for Kelly or John. Carlene caught one. Just too hot.

We decided to leave on Friday, rather than Saturday, so we could get settled in at home before Kelly flies out to California on Tuesday to welcome the arrival of our second grandson. Kellen and I will later either drive out or fly out. 

Whenever we make trips there are things that break or need attention. I already posted about the emergency window bracket coming off allowing the window to flop. I fixed it today with a couple of pop rivets. Here are pictures of the project. The first is the "non-broken" side.

The second is the area of the window where the bracket is attached.

The third is the bracket pop riveted back on - good for another 15 years.

I then decided to pull apart the shower skylight because the plastic trim was breaking loose on the corners. The shower skylight has a shade over it. The shade has not worked since we bought the rig because the string had broken and someone retied it making it too short to open and close. It was permanently closed. Here is a picture of what it looks like now.

I replaced the strings that move the shade and it is good as new and ready to be reinstalled once the new trim piece arrives.  Here is a picture of the current trim piece. As you can see three of four corners are broken off. Plastic is just crap as it ages.

I thought maybe I could repair the corners but there are other cracks in the trim as well. A new one should be here in about three days from Amazon.

After getting home I found that the generator is still not running well even though it was worked on before we left by a local mechanic. I am going to find a place to have the carburetor boiled out and rebuilt. If upon reinstalling it the generator still does not run correctly I will bite the bullet, pull the generator out and buy a new one.  A new one will be nice and smaller, but it will not be built in and thus not nearly as convenient as a built-in generator has been. 

June 5th - 6th - Fish Fry and Window Issue

Saturday evening we had a fish fry to sample the Northern Pike and Walleye we have caught. It was excellent.

The lighter colored fish in the large pan is the Walleye.  John did a great job of frying the fish and potatoes. There wasn’t a bite left.

Yesterday was extremely windy almost all day. Kelly was in the RV and kept hearing a flapping noise. She  noticed that the front emergency exit window was flapping in the wind. Upon investigating we found that the locking bracket on the window had fallen off. Luckily it was laying there for a repair. The two mounting rivets had both pulled loose. Here is a picture of the window. The top portion is the emergency exit.

You can’t tell in the picture but the bottom right side is loose. We can’t drive home like this so duck tape to the rescue.

 

This fix works for NASCAR repairs so hopefully it will hold for us until I get home to make a repair. I never travel in the RV without duck tape and baling wire. I have used both on multiple occasions over the years.

June 4th - 5th - Lake Critters in Addition to Fish

Yesterday and today the weather turned really hot - up to 98 degrees each day. Quite hot for Minnesota. Because of the heat the fishing has slowed up as has our desire to get out in the boat in the heat. We have fished in the morning with limited luck. I caught one this morning that was a size that had to be thrown back. Carlene and John caught four smaller keepers.

Kellen has been entertaining us in the afternoon riding a water bike and getting up on a paddle board. Here are a couple of pictures.

One of the other creatures on the water, which we don’t see in Missouri, is a swan family that swims by every morning. Parents with six youngsters.

One of the adults is tagged on the neck. We don’t know if it is the male or female. It is interesting to see how they feed the young. They kick with their feet to stir up stuff on the bottom and also duck their heads down in the water to stir stuff up for the babies to eat as it floats to the top.

Another creature up here that we don’t see in Missouri is the Loon. Most move around individually searching for food but sometimes they are in pairs. They are beautiful birds. It is amazing how long they can stay under water. On the boat tour the other day they said they can dive down to 30 feet easily and have been known to dive up to 230 feet deep. We also learned they cannot walk on land.

The last creature to catch our attention is a turtle who came out of the water to lay her eggs on the beach in back of the cabin. Here is a picture. Fortunately so far nothing has dug up the eggs.

The hottest days are supposed to be over. We have AC in our RV but the cabins are not air-conditioned so they get pretty hot even with fans going. Fortunately it cools down at night and everyone has been able to sleep.

 

May 2021 - Two Week Fishing Trip in Minnesota - May 29th - June 3rd.

May 29th grandson Kellen flew in from California to join us on a two week fishing trip in Minnesota. We picked him up in St. Louis and immediately headed north. We made it to a KOA campground in Waterloo, Iowa. A long day. He had started out at 3 a.m. in California. We were lucky to get a campsite for the night because it was the Memorial Day weekend. The place was crowded. Here is a picture from our rig. Campers as far as you could see.

We were tired from driving all day and went to bed early. We also got up early Sunday and headed north. The directions John gave us to the resort in Minnesota were great but we missed the resort entrance and had to back track a couple of miles. We got parked, set up and visited with Carlene and John before turning in for the night.  There are only about six campsites.  Here is a picture of our site.

Carlene and John rent a three bedroom cabin because their kids and grandkids join them later on. With a bedroom not being used until their kids arrive they offered to let Kellen stay with them rather then sleeping on the blowup mattress in the RV. Here is a picture of their cabin as it faces the lake.

Monday morning Kellen, John, and I went fishing for Northern Pike. We did well. Here are some pictures of our catch.

They were fun to catch. The next day I got one over 28 inches, you are only allowed two that size the whole season. Monday afternoon Kelly, Carlene, and John went out. While John and Carlene caught a few Kelly didn’t catch any.

Tuesday Kelly and Kellen went out fishing with John and really did well, getting well over 15 bites. Kellen caught two over 28 inches so he has caught his limit of the big ones for the season. Kelly caught several she had to throw back because were not large enough but she also caught a couple of keepers.  Here is a picture of their catch.

Wednesday we took a day trip to Lake Itasca State Park where the headwaters of the Mississippi River begins. Here are some pictures of us walking across the Mississippi there.

It was great fun. Afterwards we ate some lunch and took a ride on the “Chester Charles” boat  around Lake Itasca and to the head waters. Here is a picture of the boat and the headwaters from the lake side.

A couple pictures of the boat riders.

After the cruise we walked to the “Old Timers Cabin” which was built using huge fallen logs in the park. The logs were so big it only took four high on each wall. Here are some pictures.

John caught a Walleye. They are hard to catch so he was thrilled. Here is a picture.

John has also caught the largest Northern Pike so far. Here is a picture.

This morning John and I went out and caught a couple of pike. Then the ladies went out with John and did quite well. Kelly caught a monster but it broke her line.  Carlene caught a big one over 28 inches. Here is her picture.

This morning, Thursday, it is starting to get really hot. The next couple of days may be record breaking heat. That won’t help the fishing. John said we are lucky they have been biting as much as they have been so far. We are having a blast. We are all going out to eat tonight to celebrate John and Carlene’s 54th Wedding Anniversary. We are glad we get to celebrate it with them.