Spirit Lake Campground to Cass Lake, Minnesota

Well, our stay at the Spirit Lake Campground (and casino) was enjoyable - we slept well that night. We got up leisurely next morning, and got on the road sometime around 10:00. That day was pretty cool, because on our way past Grand Forks Air Force Base, we observed a Predator UAV drone landing on an airstrip to our left. It was a very cool sight; unfortunately, however, we did NOT get any pictures of the drone. That night, and for several more, we camped at Stony Point Resort and RV Park, at Cass Lake, Minnesota. We pulled in around 2:00, and managed to set up quickly enough that we were able to take advantage of a delicious offer - buy one ice cream cone and get one free (only from 2 pm to 4 pm). Obviously, since we were camping there, we slept late that night.

The next day, we slept in, and hung around most of the day. Philip and I went swimming, played pool, and rented a paddleboat ($2 for a half-hour - amazing), while Dad relaxed and Mom did laundry. Mom also went with us to reserve a guided fishing trip for the next day, from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. Around 4:00, Philip and I washed the camper, and managed to get off a whole lot of bugs. After that, we ate supper, watched a movie, and went to sleep - Mom, Philip, and I had a long day ahead of us.

Early in the morning, say, six-o'clock, we got up to get ready for our fishing trip. We gathered our gear, headed over to the dock, and awaited the arrival of our guide, Steve. Steve arrived shortly, pulling up to the dock on his skiff. Of course, he brought up whether or not we had fishing licenses. Mom was startled as she realized that she had not purchased a fishing license for Minnesota before the fishing trip. Therefore, she ran back to get the truck, and drove away to a nearby gas station. By the time we all actually left, it was about 7:30. For the next five and a half hours, we sat out on Cass Lake, catching fish as if we were simply picking up sticks from the ground. By the end of our trip, we had caught a total of about 18 perch and walleye, including the biggest perch I've ever seen (Mom caught this one - 13 inches). Over the whole trip, we had a whole bunch of fun, and were extremely satisfied with the fruits of our efforts, considering the fact that before this occasion, we had caught no fish whatsoever. After pulling back up the canal, we all hoofed it over to the fish cleaning house, where Steve sliced off enough fillets to feed an army for two months. Before we ate them, however, Philip and I had to continue our job from the day before by washing the truck and shining its wheels. After that, we breaded and floured the fish, and had a delicious fish fry. We must have fried about 12 full fillets, but we ate every last bite, incredibly. We slept well that night, dog tired, and with full stomachs.

Next morning, we got up around 9:00, and Philip and I waxed the truck from top to bottom. Our job complete, we had each earned 40 dollars from cleaning the whole setup. Anyway, we followed that up with a pontoon boat rental from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm. After getting a crash course on driving the boat from the guy at the dock, Mom carefully maneuvered the boat through the canal, and out onto the water. For the next five hours, our whole family (minus Scout, unfortunately) lounged about on the big pontoon boat, catching a fish or two, or swimming in the cold lakewater. Our only regret was that Scout wasn't with us. Maybe next time... After our jaunt on the water, we headed back in, and ate a simple supper. After watching a movie, we went to sleep, and awaited morning, when we would break camp and head away from a very fun stay at a great campground.

Mom will continue blogging next, so this is Spencer, signing off. Stay tuned for just a little longer!