Earlier this summer we decided to strike out on our own on a fishing trip in north-central Saskatchewan. It was a four hundred kilometre round-trip from the village. Even with only the two of us, the truck and boat were loaded with stuff.
I knew this wasn't going to be my preferred style of glamping, but The Hubs has wanted to go on a fishing trip for so long. He has gone on many trips to places I have chosen, so I had to buck up and take one for the team. The things we do for the men we love. He enjoys the outdoors, that is his happy place.
We left the village and motored passed Shellbrook, Canwood, Debden and Big River before we reached our destination. The accommodations were rustic but better than the last resort he took me to. That one had no glass in the bedroom window, only a screen. It was September and the temperature dropped down to near freezing at night. It was a little nippy.
The Hubs doesn't like to stop once we are on the road. The kids and I have jokingly referred to him as “SWAT” because everybody must be prepared to move when he is ready to roll out. He detests being late. Trying to take scenery pictures at highway speed is always a challenge. I have many pointless pictures of the hood of our truck and a sore neck from whipping my head around trying to see something interesting that we just zipped past.
It was 25 Celsius when we left home, but only 7 degrees by supper time at the lake as it had rained all afternoon. The television didn't work, but we did have patchy internet service thank goodness. I am not sure if I could go cold turkey from technology in one afternoon; I would need to wean off slowly.
It is not as easy as one would assume to go from doing something all the time to just sitting around in silence. It makes you realize how much noise we are exposed to on a daily basis. The quiet in that cabin was so damn loud.
We didn't get the boat in the water the first day, but we barbecued, went for a walk and relaxed. The lodge at the lake put on a small fireworks display to acknowledge Canada's birthday and I watched it cozied up in the cabin.
Our first full day at the lake dawned brighter than the previous day, but it was still cold and extremely windy. We layered all the warm clothes on that we could find and ventured out on the lake in the morning and again mid-afternoon. We didn't catch any fish, but we toured the long, narrow lake with trees on either side that go on for days.
We saw some wildlife including twin one-year-old deer that were playing on top of a beaver house. A young bear that had been on our neighbour's deck earlier in the day was frolicking along the shoreline. We also saw pelicans and mother ducks with their broods swimming casually along a small bay.
The next morning, The Hubs was greeted by the bear we saw the previous day. It was on our deck investigating what goodies were in our garbage can. The Hubs chased the bear away, but much to my disappointment didn't take a picture first for the blog. Seriously, good help is so hard to find.
We headed out fishing and The Hubs caught a couple of small Walleye. At least we didn't have to return home with the stench of skunk clinging to our broken spirits. Well, he didn't, I guess technically I did get skunked. In my defence, I drove the boat while he fished and passed him the net so that should count for something. The weather didn't cooperate that day either. It continued to be cold and windy and we were forced off the lake twice by thunderstorms.
I foolishly packed for summer but I should have brought winter gear. Any respectable Saskatchewan girl knows better. I will be better prepared next time.
We fried up our little catch of fresh fish and devoured it like two starving wolves. When it was all gone we sat staring at the empty plate wishing there was more.
All in all, it was a good trip. We were fortunate to be able to go camping and fishing and spend time together. We survived on our own and are even talking about where to go on our next fishing trip. A day together at the lake is always better than a day working, even if you freeze your butt off.
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