The Absent Uncle: Old friends continued

In last week’s column I indicated I was taking a trip to the Warroad/Lake of the Woods area with three fellow graduates of the class of 1969 in Marshall, Minn. As I write this, that part of the ‘Minnesota Boys’ get-together has been completed. 

The four of us had a great time boating, fishing (me not so much), riding ATV’s (first time for me), reminiscing and teasing, cooking together, and generally just being together. I had never visited that part of Minnesota, so it was good to see new country and appreciate the size of the Lake of the Woods.

I traveled with two other classmates from the Twin Cities area to the cabin in rural Warroad. It was a trip of about seven hours in total with a stop for breakfast/lunch in Akeley at a local café (Nappy’s – I recommend it if you are traveling through). 

After that drive I want to describe the welcome we received upon our arrival. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon. 

I had been warned that the area was “buggy”. 

We pulled into the cabin yard, opened the doors to disembark from the SUV and were swarmed by thousands of hungry, good-sized mosquitoes. They were everywhere; in my life I have never seen this many and so aggressive. They flew into the car, all around us, as we tried to unload our belongings and carry them to the cabin door. It was incredible. 

At least we had a cabin to get shelter from them – just think of the pioneers to the area who couldn’t isolate themselves effectively from the swarms they experienced that I am sure were as bad or worse than what we experienced. 

In subsequent days we continued to experience mosquitoes and huge horseflies (called ‘Bulldogs’ in the Warroad area – with good reason). It was indeed a “buggy” experience.

Fun times with old friends – overall – it just can’t be beat – even by swarms of mosquitoes.