Part 4 - Moseying Around Town
While we waited for the weather to clear, we decided to make a trip into town. The drive north the previous two days had taken so much out of us, we bypassed everything just to get to the cabin when we first arrived. So, with time to kill, we made our way there.
There isn't much to Pelican Rapids. You can drive through it within a blink of an eye if you aren't paying attention. There is a small grocery store however. Uncle Ken and I went to have a look around and stock up on provisions. I decided to survive the week off of trail mix, granola and energy bars. In hindsight, it was not the best of ideas and I do not recommend it. But Uncle Ken knew better. He grabbed some eggs, bread and milk amongst some other provisions for us for the week.
We headed back to the cabin to rest and see if the fog and wind on the lake had cleared up. And it had for the most part. I stocked the cooler with some food for us and we set back out on the lake. It certainly got windier the further from shore we were, so we did our best to stay near structure. That wind would be an ever present guest on our boat for the remainder of our week. But it did not deter us from making the most of this trip.
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Most days we would spend fishing for several hours early in the morning until midday, then come back to the cabin to rest. I was restless most days so tended to go explore in town. I decided to stop into the local Co-op and gas station one afternoon while Uncle Ken was resting. The place had random odds and ends including fishing lures and tools that you would not otherwise see in Indiana.
When I stepped inside a customer was talking with the cashier at the counter. They both had strong accents that fit northern Minnesota to a tee.
"Looks like that there bad weather is goin' ta clear up," the customer said.
The cashier nodded his head replying, "Oh ya, those clouds are gone."
The customer walked out after paying and left me and the cashier there alone. He asked if he could help me find anything and how my day was going. Without a second thought I slipped into the same accent he and the customer had.
"Oh no. I'm okay. Just lookin' for two-tree lures fer the lake," I said. Realizing what I just did, I looked up at the cashier to see if he caught on. He didn't.
"Should be a good day fer some goggle-eyes. Those clouds cleared up. Might catch yerself a doozy of a fish if yer lucky!" he responded.
I nodded in acknowledgement and picked up a couple of crank baits and went on to pay. We said our goodbyes and I headed back to the cabin. Half embarrassed and half impressed. I have always had an ear for accents. But never have I done anything like that. If ever they needed extras for the Fargo TV Series, I'd be a shoe-in.
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If we weren't fishing, we'd usually spend a little bit of time in town. There was a pizza place called Pelican Pizza. It was a hole in the wall, but the food was delicious. We took it back for dinner one night after spending a long day on the water.
There was another place called The Muddy Moose. It was a diner with a thrift shop attached to it. One more when it was just too windy to get out on the water quite yet, we decided to have a late breakfast there. The food was good.
Afterward we spent some time looking around the thrift shop. There wasn't much to speak of, but as we were about to leave I saw a picture on the wall that caught my eye. It was a print of someone fly fishing in a stream. Turns out a local priest would take prints from old antique shops and refurbish them. This was one of them. I spent the next few days debating whether or not to bring it home.
The morning before we left I made the decision to purchase it. It now hangs downstairs in our family room. Mabel, my eldest daughter, regularly looks up at it and says that Papa's fishing and asks if she can go fishing too. The picture itself was remarkable, but it has taken on additional meaning to me and my family. It isn't me in that picture. That's not important. Mabel has made an impression in her mind that this is me. And that, that is what we do. We fish. My heart swells every time she points it out.
- WRS
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