Fishing With My Uncle - The Long Drive North

 Part 1 - The Long Drive North

My uncle reached out to me on Memorial day weekend. He wanted to know if I would be interested in joining him on a trip to the far reaches of Minnesota for a week. "Roughing it", I thought. For as long as I can remember we had talked about doing something like this. Literally, since I was a child. I'll be 30 in less than two week's time if that gives you perspective.

Without hesitation I told him yes. We set the date. We would begin our journey the weekend of Labor Day. I spent the next two months preparing to for the biggest fishing trip I have ever been on.

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I have always looked up to my uncle Ken. He and my dad are the two main people that got me interested in fishing at all. We would visit him and my aunt Laura a couple times throughout the year as a child. What seems like every time we went, he would find time to take me fishing at one of the many lakes in the area. I caught my first bass on a lure with him. Threw my hat in a lake for the first time with him. I'll tell some of those stories on another day.

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And so, we gathered our gear. Four rods each; two ultralights for panfish, and two "standard" rods for bass and pike. Mind you, we had to make certain the rods were stiff enough for a monster pike. We brought all of our fishing gear. I had more lures than I ever needed. Fish finder, trolling motor, food and drink, enough clothes to make it a week and then some (in case we were caught on the lake in a storm). It took a five hour drive for me to get up north and get packed with him. Then we began the drive to Pelican Rapids, MN. Lake Lida was our destination.

It was a twelve hour drive from Kalamazoo to Pelican Rapids. Fortunately we had a brand new car making it's first big journey in uncle Ken's Chevy. Anytime you make a drive this long, you begin to appreciate the distance that you are separating from home and where you are. It can set in one of two ways. Either a great relief; there's nothing out here to really hinder your trip given the distance. Or it is anxiety that develops as you realize you are so far from home. If something happens, whoever you left behind is on their own just as much as you are. I had both of those feelings the closer we got to Pelican Rapids.

Some interesting notes about our drive up. Wisconsin seems to be suffering from a severe lack Cracker Barrels along the I-94 corridor. Baraboo, I learned, is the water park capital of the Cheese State. Much of the interstate in Wisconsin is monitored by air surveillance. Uncle Ken and I surmised that this must mean that the state police has Canadian geese on their payroll. Drivers in Minnesota actually obey the laws surrounding using the passing lane on interstates. It was quite refreshing after white knuckling it through the Chicago area and northern Illinois. Once you pass Minneapolis on I-94, there is next to nothing until you hit Fargo. And lastly, "Hey Jude" by the Beatles, is not the number one voted song as voted by the fans on Sirius XM radio. Yes, we listened to 100 of the Beatles top songs. I did not realize I knew so many of their songs!

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I have intentions on writing out more parts of our trip to share with any of you who enjoy a read.  There's plenty more to be said on here and I have spent the past week digesting all we got to do together and recuperating. I think, at this point, I have most of my thoughts together and feel that I can tell a proper story. So stay close by reader. There is more to come.

Lastly, I want to leave one final note. Uncle Ken, assuming you read this, thank you for being a role model to me and putting a fishing rod in my hand. Without you and dad, I don't think I would know the enjoyment that is spending time out in nature and catching fish. I hope to share my love of this hobby just as you have done with me. Hopefully my niece and nephew will take to it with my help.


- WRS