Jon's Never Ending Odyssey

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Labor Day Festivities

This year's labor day weekend, Rachel's family camp up to visit us in the luscious town of Clark, SD. There was no chance we were going to be house the influx of people so the clan reserved the Ringneck Lodge on the west side of town. I was indeed skeptical of the arrangement, but I was beyond impressed with the establishment.
It was an old steakhouse that has been converted to a lodge for mostly large hunting or fishing groups. It was well done, and was a lot more put together than I expected. Wifi for the addicts, cable for the sports enthusiasts, and a poker table because it's South Dakota. There is a bar (un-stocked) a pool table, dining area, and separated sleeping sections.

To top it off, the owner opened up the kitchen because we were a family group. It's a restaurant quality kitchen, and is fully functional.

I was able to Dad's combat style breakfast of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and pancakes with complete ease. It was awesome!!!

After breakfast it was time to dive headfirst into our daily activities. We headed to lake for family pictures and some fishing.
We wrangled everyone near the lake as best as possible and took some great pics of the family. Of course, I don't have any copies of these at this time as they are on Sara's camera, but I will include them when I get them.

Once the kids realized this was the lake we were going to actually fish, it was difficult to keep them focused. It ended up that Austin and Jerry took the kayaks, and Ryan, the boys, and I took piled into the boat.
It didn't take but mere minutes before we had fish in the boat.

Ryker's ratio was about 1 for 1 fish caught to hook buried in my hand. Thus, I did not get a photo of Daxton with his fish. I regret it immensely.
The wind was causing us some difficulty so we moved to the other side of the lake and Ryan made short work of our quick move.

At one point, Jerry came over in the kayak to see how things were going, and we hear Austin yelling from the other side of the lake. I knew already that he boated a waldo and was unsure how to proceed. He ended up throwing it between his legs and paddling to us to put on the stringer.

After an inordinate amount of snacks, the boys finally had had enough of the fishing thing and it was time to call it a day. By the grace of our beloved wives, we dropped the boys off at the dock, and were granted a few more hours to try and finish off our limit. Jerry and Austin declined and went back with everyone else, so Ryan and I had the lake to ourselves.

It took us a little under an hour to finish off our limit of walleye. We even stayed awhile longer just to enjoy the fishing. It was banner day to not be taken for granted of and we hammer them!

When we returned to the Lodge I wanted the group fishermen pic.

Ryan and I then spent the remainder of the evening filleting out our catch, and even pan frying a batch for those that had not already eaten.

The next morning was a little rough as being away from everyone has not been easy, but we managed to squeeze in as much kid time as possible.

Even though the trip seemed short, it was necessary for both of us to see everyone again. The fishing, and what-not was but a mere bonus. Just watching and listening to Rachel showed me how much she missed being away from home. I am beyond grateful that everyone was able to come up and visit, and I hope it can happen again. Until next time;

Stay Tuned

Weekend at Maud

Rachel and I took a break from Clark to spend a weekend with Rick, Sue, and the kids. We were able to get up there in decent time, being so much closer now, and were able to even get on the clear water to see the loons!!!
We enjoyed good conversation, an iced whiskey, and even a fish or two. :) We needed a break from Clark and this was a great get away. Our original plan was to hang out mostly with Grace, as we missed her graduation party, but she was already off to college.

Saturday morning, Sue, Clara, and Rachel went into town for a little shopping and Rick and I were granted a morning of musky fishing.
It was a bit of cluster launching the boat as the usual boat ramp was closed, but we were able to finally get on the water.
The conditions were ideal, cloudy, with a bit of chop on the water, but we were struggling to catch anything.
Until Rick decided trolling a giant spoon was the feel for the day.

MUSKY IN THE BOAT!!!!

No it may not have been the record breaker, but a 38" musky nevertheless. A musky is a musky.
After attempting another one for awhile we headed for The Bridge off of the lake, for lunch with the ladies. I thought it was beyond convenient that all we had to do was tie the boat off and walk the dock to the restaurant. Clara suggested the place, and it was a fantastic recommendation!

We hung out for the remainder of the afternoon and evening, again just enjoying good food, fine conversation, and making some apple pie from apples in orchard on the lake.
Sunday morning Rachel and I cheated and decided to forgo the Polka mass and went out on the lake just the two of us.

It was nice to spend some time with the Mrs, even though this wasn't her cup of tea, she still out-fished me.

We helped with a few things around the house before heading to St. Cloud to see Grace. We came up to see her, and we damn well were going to see her!

We were able to fill the back of the car with the few things she had forgotten at home, as well as a few goody bags from the family. It was nice to walk into a dorm that didn't smell like pee and vomit. Actually refreshing.
Grace gave us the tour, and then we were off to meet Sister Janet for dinner. Because we were unable to make arrangements with the dog, she was in tow and we had to modify our dinner plans to accommodate. We ended up eating sandwiches and smoothies outside on the campus, but it was fun to catch up with both Grace and Sister Janet. We were able to catch Grace between meetings as the next day would be her first official day as a college student, and they keep everyone on their toes. And poof. It seemed she was gone before we even got there.
Rachel and I conversed with Sister Janet for another hour or so before needing to get back on the road.

It was nice to spend a weekend not in Clark. It was Rachel's idea that we head to Rick and Sue's and the St. Cloud visit was impromptu but fantastic. We shall be making that round again.
It's been difficult being isolated from family, especially siblings, so we are trying to make the best of our new proximity to other family.

Stay Tuned

Sunday, August 16, 2015

"Show Me Potato Salad!"

We were able to host a weekend with some friends from college. Aaron and Amanda Steffen came from Ames, and Nate and Emilee Lakner drove up from Denison. Our goal was to do a little fishing, some games, and in general, no set agenda.

Day 1

First day out was not quite as productive as I had hoped. It was a little breezy and with my motor troubles, there were only so many places I could go. The girls and Aaron took the big boat and Nate and I the johnboat.

I did manage a small pike, and the girls caught a few perch, but it was hot and everyone just wanted a nap anyway.

After an afternoon nap we decided that mini-golf in Watertown would suite the group well. Of course, it had to be guys vs gals deal, so a detailed score card needed to be taken.

The group made a huge mistake of making me in charge of the score card. I managed a hole-in-one on the last hole which saved my ass.
After tallying up, the girls beat the guys by 1 stroke.

I told them not to let me do math.
Aaron was not about to let this slide without a recount....
Guys ended up winning by 2 strokes. Again, my hole-in-one at the end saved my ineptitude with simple mathematics.

Never have the guys been more happy that I suck at math.

We had dinner at nice pub in Watertown before returning to the apartment for Cards Against Humanity.

Day 2

We made a late breakfast of french toast and bacon before gearing back up for another round on the water. I chose a smaller clear lake just north of town. The day was beautiful, the water crystal clear, and the fish were biting!

That is Rachel and I photo bombing in the background.

Rachel fished with me and even though it may not be her forte, she can catch fish.

She even found a DANDY waldo on the far side of the lake. She may not eat them, but she feeds the troops with them!

There was a weather system working its way in, so we decided to call it quits. Rachel granted me one last cast and I came up with nothing. I stole one last cast, which gave me a death stare from the Mrs., and I came up with a waldo!

Rachel took this pic mid flop. :)

We got back home, cleaned our feast (the other boat kept 15 or so perch), and made a wonderful feast.

We played more games throughout the evening before bringing our trip to a close. Rachel and I had to work in the morning and the rest of the crew took Monday off.
When we returned home from work the house was clean and the crew left us a pile of change that was deemed "South Dakota Rent".

What a Weekend!

Stay Tuned

Weekend Landscape Project

We planned enough to make sure this project would only take a weekend and in the end it only took us one long Saturday. At my aunt and uncle's house in Sioux falls it was time for a revamp. A "small" trench, and a rain garden right in the middle two tree stumps were our main time consumers but with an exuberant amount of extra labor hands, we were able to blast through this project.

Michael digging the giant hole for the rain garden.

Still working on the damn root system.

Michael assisting with the soil condition

Plants placed!

In the ground and Mulched!!!

It turned out as fantastically as Adam designed it and the crew implemented it well. With a little TLC it will be dynamite by next summer.

Stay Tuned

Got Fish?

I know; trend is leaning heavily towards fish since we moved up here.

Once I acquired the boat from Poindexter, I was able to continue my exploration on the water. While alone, pics are difficult but I have been able to wing it.
This was my third solo outing on Indian Springs. I found a hog walleye while trying to find pike.