Fish counts, etc...for the record

We woke up early (around 5:30), as our departure goal was 7:00 a.m. It was another calm and beautiful morning...perfect for saying our "good-bye" to the lake, contemplating what might happen over the next year before we are here again. The eagle was on top of the pine tree again...this was the 3rd morning in a row. He has been a pretty cool addition to the resort this year. We were finally all packed up and set to leave at 8:00 a.m. The trip home was uneventful. We traveled with Seth and Maddie for the first 1/2 of the trip, and met them for lunch at Culver's in Rice Lake. We decided to skip our supper stop so we could get home in time for Chloe's friend Dylan's grad party. We arrived at the party at about 10:30 (luckily it was going until midnight).

As has become my tradition, I will end with stats of our Cass Lake 2017 vacation:

Dates: June 30 thru July 15 This was our 13th year at Cass Lake, our 12th at Birch Villa Resort.

People who vacationed with us: Both weeks – Tom, Linda & Chloe (cabin 7, BV); Mom & Dad K & Phyllis (1st week in our cabin, 2nd week cabin 9, Sah-Kah-Tay); Paul, Melissa, Tommy & Benjamin (cabin 6, BV); Roy, Deb, Luke, Kara, Leah & Erin (cabin 5, BV).

1st week only- Tom & Barb (Melissa’s parents); Melissa's sister and her family were also there.

2nd week only- Jared, Seth & Maddie (our cabin); Bill, Beth, Nicole, William, Elise, & Zach (Sah-Kay-Tay apt. over lodge).

Price of gas: $2.17 - $2.25. We took our new Ford Edge with bike rack and 3 bikes, and put around 2,175 miles on the car for the whole trip. Jared arrived in "Blue," the Red Chevy Express van, and Seth and Maddie came in their "new" Mercury Mariner.

Number of fish caught (including Dad's and Phyllis' the first week): 154 (129 perch, 21 Rock Bass, 3 Walleye, 1 Northern Pike). We ate 38 over 2 meals, and Mom & Dad and Phyllis took 21 of these home (plus what they caught the 2nd week). We brought home 95; 70 (59 perch, 9 rock bass and 2 walleye) for us in 14 freezer bags, and 25 (19 perch, 5 rock bass and 1 walleye) for Seth & Maddie in 6 bags.

Restaurants we ate at: C.K. Dudley's (Bemidji), Benson's (Walker), Ruttger's (Bemidji), Club 209 (Bemidji).

Biking: Tom biked 295 miles. I biked 144 miles. We biked the Heartland Trail, around Pike Bay on the Migizi trail, around Cass Lake, around Lake Bemidji, portions of the Paul Bunyan trail and the Mississippi River Trail, and various other Minnesota country roads.

Church Attended: Evangelical Free Church of Bemidji

Other activities: A stop at St. Olaf to talk to an admissions counselor to help calm some fears before Chloe leaves in the fall, Mall of America, shopping in Walker, ForestEdge winery, Paul Bunyan and Babe, movies in Bemidji (Spiderman, Baby Driver, The House), water relay, egg roulette, kayaking, tubing, card games, etc.

That pretty well sums it up! It was another awesome year at Cass Lake! Until next year...