Reminiscing at Fowler’s Minnesabic Island

Sunday, 7/7/2019.  Started our morning by getting acquainted with the boat and Lake of Woods again.  We motored down to Copper Island and put our lines in the water and didn’t get a single bite.  Both boats headed over to Minnesabic Island to begin our memory tour and we tied up to the dock to find the Fowler stamped boat cleats (made by Byron himself).  We were met by the current residents who now individually own their cabins and share the dock and beach.  Rosemary introduced herself or in many cases reintroduced herself to them and all were so friendly and we even got to see the inside of some of the cabins. We explored almost every inch of the island and found the spot where we erected the cross back in 1972.  Of course, it hasn’t been there for years and now there is a lot of brush and even trees around it and one boulder has split into two boulders.  We found the concrete slab where the old Witte generator was located and the foundation of the water tower which had Rosemary’s footprint captured in the concrete.  We also saw the hoist on the dock that Byron made. Many great memories.  The Smith Camps staff gave us some fishing spots and bait tips (leaches).  Elaine caught the first fish of the trip and her first recorded catch based on Granny’s travel logs and Jane and Dee Ann also caught a fish.  We released them all but Dee Ann got a walleye and the other two were Northern Pike.  We capped the day off with a lasagna dinner and banana pudding.