14 Sep - Day 2 Fishing, Preparing to Leave Antigo

14 Sep
This morning I drove over to Greg Noskowiak's house and we headed out fishing again.  Doreen had plans to go shopping with Diane this morning.  Was an outstanding day on Mueller Lake near Polar WI.  We even managed to catch a few fish but that was secondary to renewing our friendship, telling stories and enjoying a great day on the water.

The trees are starting to turn but the colors not as great on this lake as we had on Moose Lake yesterday.  Still beautiful and serene.  The lake was like a piece of glass, just like yesterday.

Mueller Lake.  The swimming area shown.

Some colors on the east shore

Amazing scenery!

We did manage to get a few fish in the boat, but nothing worth keeping.  The only possible keeper was a nice large mouth bass I caught on a Mepps Aglia #3 spinner.  While reeling him in he jumped out of the water and proceeded to spit the lure out.  To be caught another day!

We fished for about three hours and then headed back to Greg's house.  After unloading the gear we went inside and he presented me a quart jar of his famous dill pickles!  They are as good as they look too.  It is questionable they will lake it all the way to Iowa.!!

Delicious dill pickles

Greg is retired now but he used to work for a wood working company here in Antigo.  The company made all sorts of wood products, one of which is turkey calls.  Greg had several he had acquired over the years and gave me one.  

Turkey call

He showed me another product he developed and they went on to produce -- an ice fishing jig that holds a small pole.  It is balanced in such a way that when a fish nibbles on the bait, it will tip down to indicate a bite.  

We finished up with some adult liquid refreshment after a hard day of fishing (ha ha!) and then I headed back to the RV to get things packed up in preparation for our departure in the morning.  Doreen was shopping and having lunch with Diane, and she was back when I returned.  We finished working around the RV and then met Greg, Diane and Greg's aunt Helen at a local Mexican restaurant.  The food was great, and then we sat and talked for quite a while.  We reminisced about our time at Loring, and we laughed a lot.  

It is difficult to describe the relationships we built up at Loring.  We were a long ways from nowhere up there.  We were one of the only married couples in our shop, and so we hosted many of the holiday dinners at our house/apartment.  Doreen was "mom" to many of my coworkers.  Our daughter Michelle was born up there and these guys literally helped to raise her!  Keep in mind Doreen and I were only 18 years old when we were married and traveled up there, and when I say up there it was one hellofa long ways up there.  The winters were long and the summers short.  There was not much fall or spring. 

So we had a great time with Greg and Diane Noskowiak and we are so thankful to have had the opportunity to camp here and reconnect with them.  As we departed the restaurant, Greg and Diane presented us with a fantastic basket with two kinds of Wisconsin wine, six Sartori cheeses from Antigo, and a six pack of different Wisconsin beers!  There were a lot of tears as we parted company tonight.   We are so thankful for our friends and military comrades!

A bit blurry, but priceless none the less!

Tomorrow we head to Yogi Bear campground in Caledonia WI.  Our daughter Michelle and her family are camping there and it is "parents weekend".  Will be great to see Michelle, Keith, and grandkids Joe and Jon.  We have not seen them since we left Michelle's house after her hip surgery in May.  The smoker will be smokin', the barbecue will be barbecue-in', and the beer will be cold.  There might even be a Captain or two there LOL!

Next report, Caledonia WI