Monday July 7: Buckhorn – Traveling Solo

After breakfast and a trip by Steve to the grocery store, we headed south toward Buckhorn – 16 miles across Pigeon and Buckhorn Lakes.

Positioned very prominently on the waterway out of town is Gordon's Yacht Harbor. As is stated on the sign, it has been here for over 100 years – which I find amazing. I don't recall this from when we were kids and up here in the 50's but it surely must have been. I'm thinking we probably bought fuel here as the opportunities for fuel back then were very limited.

The engine on the 21' Lone Star on which we traveled burned white gas. Not sure exactly what that was but I remember my dad using a stick to dip into the tank to measure the fuel level. No fuel gauge on the boat.

Anyway, we weren't in a hurry. It would be Sunday night so there shouldn't be any problem getting a spot on the lock wall in Buckhorn. Steve wanted to fish – time to find a perch hole!

The second place we stopped, on Buckhorn Lake, was successful. Not wildly so but enough to produce enough perch for a nice dinner or appetizer (Steve's trip to the store was for some salmon backup in case the fishing didn't go well :-) ).

Just as we were pulling up to this island, a bald eagle flew off. Looking more closely there was the eagle's nest – with two young, but hardly small, eagles. It appeared they were not able to fly yet as both just were sitting around the nesting area.

I kept hoping to see the adult fly back but it never returned to the nest while we were there. First eagles we've seen up here this year.

By the time we pulled into Buckhorn about 4 pm, Jim and Linda on Symmetry were already at the lock and settled in. Time for the freshest fish you can get: from lake to cooked in an hour and a half! This is the first perch we've made since last year when Becky was with us. Good stuff – sure miss the perch fishing on Lake Erie …

After a quiet night and a nice breakfast at the Willows, it was time for Jim and Linda to head out. They have grandchildren flying into Toronto tomorrow to join them and so will make their way back to Lakefield where they will be able to rent a car in order to pick them up.

It's not a nice day and we don't need to go anywhere so we are staying put for another night. Who knows – we may see them again this summer on the St. Lawrence. It's again been an enjoyable time traveling with them even if it was for just a short time.

It might finally be time for some projects today!