We left at 8 am on Friday in order to get to International Falls by 1 pm to go fishing. The trip was going smoothly UNTIL we pulled into International Falls. Thinking we had made it safe and sound, and EARLY, which rarely happens, we were excited. We stopped at the red light across the street from where we were meeting our guide and.....BOOOOOOOM!
A pickup truck slammed into the back of our truck going 30 MPH. Jagger was laying in the back seat but flew up and hit the dashboard pretty hard. Mick and I both had our seat belts on so we were fine, and Jagger ended up being fine as well (except for a little scrape on his nose).
We got out of the car and made sure the other driver was not hurt, which he wasn't. Our car was drivable but the poor guy who hit us totaled his car. We felt so bad for him because he had just WON the brand new pick up truck he was driving. But cars can be fixed, and luckily no one was hurt so we were very thankful!
After a two hour set back, we were FINALLY able to go fishing. Our guides, Wes and Dave, were so nice and waited for us the whole time we were dealing with the accident, but of course, as soon as we were able to go it got cold and started to rain. We went anyway :)
We drove 40 minutes away to a boat ramp and the boys put the boat in. We went down through rapids to a little fishing spot on the United States side of the river. The other shore was Canada so half of the river was Canadian territory and we did not have the license, or whatever its called, to fish on their "side." I found it to be so cool that half the river and the other shore was a different country! I took pictures of Canada since I have never been there before.
Mickey with one of his walleye!
We had such a great time fishing...we must have caught AT LEAST 50 walleye! I think every other time I put my rod in the water I hooked a fish, and same for Mickey, Wes, and Dave. We were able to keep 8 fish under a certain length. We got all 8 fish within 5 minutes, and the rest we released.
After fishing, we were cold and wet so we drove back to our hotel. We stayed at a cool lodge called the Thunderbird, and when we got to our room Friday night this cute little fruit basket was waiting for us. So nice!
On Saturday we went to the expo which was located in a church gymnasium. We had no clue that the Expo was a Christian event! They kicked off the day with prayer and had bible verses about the outdoors all around the gym. Pretty awesome! Mickey and I sat at a booth and he signed autographs. It was a pretty easy job. Jagger was even allowed inside so he sat with us and enjoyed the attention.
The older man sitting beside Mickey is Frank. He was the first Minnesota Viking ever signed! He was a neat guy and told Mickey stories about how the NFL used to be.
After the event there was a walleye fish fry. It was sooo good! We ate our fair share of fish, and then went back to our hotel just in time to take a few pictures!
After the event there was a walleye fish fry. It was sooo good! We ate our fair share of fish, and then went back to our hotel just in time to take a few pictures!
View from our room!
Overall, we had a great weekend! If any of you want a beautiful vacation spot with AWESOME fishing, check out the Thunderbird Lodge in International Falls, MN. The scenery was gorgeous and the food at the lodge was AMAZING! Check it out here.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
We thoroughly enjoyed fishing with you and Mickey and were glad the walleyes were cooperating. Thank you Lord! Sure hope you can make it up here again soon. Our summers are to die for - the weather, the beauty, the fishing. We don't take it for granted and thank God every day for the privilege of living here. Wes & Lynn
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to see you guys found this post! Thank you again for a fun filled weekend! We had a great time..can't wait to come back and fish some more!
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