Rainy Relaxation

Another weekend at Wallace Lake, in the South Attikaki Provincial Park, another weekend of miserable weather. But that’s ok, it’s to be expected at this point, and we had a great time anyways.

My wife and I set aside time to head up to the lake this weekend for our anniversary. We arranged a dog sitter, packed up and headed out on Saturday afternoon to meet my parents at their trailer. We got there around dinner time, got settled, and enjoyed some delicious BBQ ribs.

We did a fairly quick evening fish on the boat without much luck, but it was nice to get out on the water for a change after all the rain and storms we’ve had at home lately. Wallace Lake is a nice lake and it’s always pleasant and scenic even without catching any fish.

Sunday morning we woke up to an ominous looking sky. There was a really nasty looking storm front blowing in from the east and it was coming in quickly. As much as we didn’t want to get rained on, we figured that it would likely blow over quickly and if it got too bad we could just head back to the trailer, so we packed up and headed to the channel to Siderock Lake. I was extremely happy that my wife finally agreed to wear a floppy sun hat after relentlessly making fun of me for buying one. She looked adorable, and she was glad she wore it as we were getting rained on.

Siderock Lake is a place I’ve wanted to see for quite awhile now, however every time I’ve taken my kayak to Wallace the weather has just not been cooperative enough to risk going there. This time though, we were able to go with my parents on the boat and make a day of it.

Even though we were getting rained on, the channel was an awesome ride. Very twisty, only a couple feet deep, and completely full of all sorts of aquatic plants. It was a great view all throughout.

As we got to Siderock the rain finally stopped and the sun began to peek out and we all had a chance to warm up and get to fishing. We didn’t explore a lot of the lake, but we did get a good up close look at the cliffs that run the whole length of one shore and give the place it’s name. Definitely a sight to behold.

Fishing eventually picked up for us and we caught pike, perch, and walleye. Enough to make a meal, which is as good as you can ask for on any day out. I also managed to play around with my action camera a bit and finally got a fish recorded while it was underwater, which is always fun.

We fished for a few hours and then headed back up the channel and back to the trailer to get ready for dinner. The weather really cleared up for awhile and the ride back through the channel was even better with the sun out.

 

I took charge of the BBQ for the evening and grilled up some nice big steaks, mushrooms and asparagus that we had brought with us. The old man fried up some of the walleye and we had a perfect surf and turf meal with plenty of leftovers. 

The plan was for another evening fish, but the wind was still blowing, the sky was still pretty grey, and we were all stuffed from dinner and comfortably lounging around in the gazebo. We decided to stay in, have a few drinks and play Cards Against Humanity. Let me tell you, that is a game that can be both hilarious and incredibly awkward when played with your mother.

We wrapped up the game and sat around the fire a little longer before we all packed it up for bed. Having actually taken the time to set the futon up properly this night, I managed to get a really decent sleep. Being that space on the futon was limited, it was also nice that my wife was forced to sleep in my arms for a change.

The morning brought fresh coffee, some more sitting around enjoying the peacefulness of the lake, and a quick pack for home. Naturally, the sky was clear and sunny and the water generally calm on this day.

Overall, it was a relaxing weekend of quality time with my wife and parents. We didn’t spend a lot of time fishing, and my wife was disappointed that she was the only one not to catch anything, but by and large it was fun and we got a meal out of it. The time spent just sitting around the fire chatting or playing games was certainly welcome and my wife is already trying to figure out the next time we can head back up there together. It was an excellent way to spend our anniversary weekend together.