The remaining island of ice on Devil Track Lake fell victim to a stiff easterly wind this morning, and I suspect it was whittled away by the waves before reaching the western half of the lake. It is very exciting to see open water, despite the daily snow showers and chilly winds.
Our month to relax, replenish, and re-focus is disappearing as fast as the ice and we still have a lot to accomplish before our reopening date of May 6. We had originally planned to open on the first of May, but we still have a lot of cleaning and maintenance to finish in order to prepare for the season ahead. Time flies when you are having fun, and the first half of this month has been all about the family fun.
Our trip to Orlando, Florida was excellent, despite being two hours from the ocean, in one of Florida’s busiest cities during Spring Break. We did manage to escape the concrete for one day, and go for a boat ride with our friend, Roger Campbell, who spends the winter months chasing wild shiners on the Kissimmee chain of lakes.
Roger took us for a scenic boat on lake Kissimmee, and it was nice to be a tourist for a change, especially when there is so much life lurking in the heavily vegetated lakes of central Florida.
We idled the shallow sided bass boat alongside wild buffalo grazing belly-deep in the water, saw snail hawks eating snails from the tall blades of grass, and osprey nesting with their young 20 feet above us on top of a dead tree. We even saw a few juvenile gators sunning themselves in the warm Florida sunshine. Disney World will never compare to the experiences that occur naturally in the wild – but good luck convincing a 5- and 6-year-old of that.
Spring Break in Florida has become a wonderful family memory to be relived someday while scrolling through photos, and now we are focusing on the numerous chores ahead in order to get this place ready for summer. April is the best month for us to leave town since the tourists are no longer around to help support the business. Everybody deserves a break, and we feel very fortunate to have the ability to spend our break-time with our kids—making memories.
Cory Christianson has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing or wildlife reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@hotmail.com or call 218- 388-0315. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
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