Thaismiths Travel Abroad: On a Houseboat in Amisk Lake

At Saskatoon and Amisk Lake - July 15-21 2019

Background:

On our recent trip to Canada, we had the opportunity to spend some time on a houseboat in Amisk Lake, which is close to Flin Flon. This blog entry covers our time on the boat, plus a couple of days in Saskatoon before we left for the drive to the lake.

Amisk (which means "beaver" in Cree) is in east-central Saskatchewan, but those of us who grew up in the southern part of the province consider it "up north". It's a large lake - 430 square kilometers. Darrel's nieces and their husbands bought a houseboat in B.C. and had it transported to Amisk Lake for their summer enjoyment.

Part of the lake - bird's eye view (not our photo).

The red dot marks Amisk Lake. Moose Jaw is "down south".

A map showing all the lakes in the northern half of Saskatchewan.

Itinerary:

June 22 – depart Phuket

June 23-28 – in Beijing

June 28 to July 15 – with our son and his family

July 15-17 – in Saskatoon

July 18-21 – staying on houseboat (as yet unnamed) on Lake Amisk near Flin Flon

July 22-29 – with family in Saskatchewan

July 29 – depart Saskatoon for Phuket

July 31 – arrive Phuket

July 15 (Saskatoon)

We woke up at Marleen and Larry's after a great night's sleep. After breakfast Marleen gave us a tour of their condominium and its facilities. We then went for a walk in their neighborhood of Nutana.

Marleen and Loretta enjoying coffee on the balcony.

Kevin yelled hello on his way to work.

That evening Loretta and I went to visit our life-long friends Norm and Jan. We had a delicious barbeque and then watched a storm roll through the area which dropped hail for about 20 minutes. We headed home around 2100 so I would not have to drive in the dark. Yes, it is still light in Saskatoon at this time of night in the summertime.

July 16

After breakfast, Loretta's sister, Anita, came and picked her up so they could spend the day together. They went to the Berry Barn for lunch and then toured Anita’s and her daughter Heather’s gardens.

Larry had to work for a few hours so Marleen and I went for a walk across the new Victoria bridge to see the farmer's market, art gallery and some new condos being built on the river bank just across from Marleen's. We then walked to Bessborough Park to have lunch at A Taste of Saskatchewan which consisted of two entertainment stages and about 24 different food stands, one of which was from Thailand. I had perogies and apple strudel, Marleen had dumplings and noodle stir fry.

The Bessborough in the distance.

A taste of Saskatchewan.

(Not our photo)

Nearby construction

Plans for more construction.

Home of Marleen and Larry

At dinner, our nephew Kevin joined us and we caught up with his news.

We chatted in the evening and had an early night.

July 17

Today we headed off to Creighton where we would be spending the next three days on our niece's, Jody, and her husband Jodi's houseboat which is situated on Amisk Lake and which they co-own with our other niece, Candice and her husband Scott. We started off the drive with Marleen and Larry.

With Marleen and Larry

With Dawn and Rob

Where the heck is Caribou Creek?

The drive is about five-and-a-half hours but we stopped at Tim Horton's in Prince Albert where we joined up with my sister, Dawn and her hubby Rob. Loretta and I switched vehicles at this stop so we could catch up with them. Our next stop was at Caribou Creek where Marleen and Dawn had planned for us to stop for lunch. We actually overshot Caribou Creek (by only 5 minutes but we thought it was by an hour) and waited for 30 minutes so Marleen and Larry could catch up to us, but they waited at Caribou Creek and ate their lunch while waiting for us. We returned to Caribou Creek just in time to collect our lunch and cookies.

We arrived in Creighton around 1500 where we stopped and bought our groceries, then headed to Jody and Jodi's to meet up with Jodi ♂ . Jody ♀ is a paramedic and she was working nights so we planned to meet her on the houseboat tomorrow.

By the time we boarded the houseboat and motored off to the anchorage it was time to eat dinner. When I say anchorage I should explain that although the houseboat remained in the water, Jodi had nosed it right up to land where we could easily walk from and to the houseboat via the gang plank. We tied off the two rear corners of the houseboat with lines onto two anchors set into the rock. After a homemade lasagna dinner (by Dawn) and carrot cake (by Marleen) we sat around the fire and had a few after-dinner drinks before we all tucked into our berths for the night.

I think we had enough supplies.

The fishing boat, and transport to the anchored houseboat.

The large dining area.

The kitchen and fold-out couch.

Negotiating rooms.

Surveying the kingdom.

Visiting while underway.

Captain at the helm.

Captain at the other helm.

We didn't go hungry.

A convenient and scenic mooring.

Warmth, ambiance, and a place to gather.

The houseboat was amazing. It had four private berths as well as a fold-out couch so it could easily accommodate ten people. There were two bathrooms, one containing a shower and a sink, and the other with a toilet and a sink. The roof was great for sunning and sightseeing and it had a second helm station so even the captain could join us. It used to have a hot tub but they converted it into another berth accessed from below.

July 18

We woke up to a yummy Belgium waffle breakfast by Rob who also made a Saskatoon berry sauce.

After breakfast and doing some log cutting we all went fishing. Jodi used his skills and a fish-finder to locate two great spots about 12 miles away where we all caught more than enough fish for tonight's meal. We used the fishing boat to get there and back, leaving the houseboat where it was tied up.

Log cutting.

A good day for fishing.

Yup, coats and scarves in July,
which was apparently the globally hottest month ever recorded.

We had good luck fishing.

Jody ♂ did a great job of cleaning the fish.

Jodi ♀ got the potatoes ready for the deep fryer.

Team effort.

Perfect side table.

Back at the anchorage Jodi filleted all the fish so there were no bones in the meat. For dinner we had fried fish and the best homemade fries I ever had.

That evening some went for a sunset cruise while the others stayed back and played cards.

Again we sat around the fire pit and talked, laughed and saw the International Space Station cross the sky above. Then off to bed.

A close-up look. (Not our photo).

July 19

The breakfast was a repeat of yesterday. The fishing was much the same but the weather was not. It was a cooler and wetter day. But we still managed to catch enough fish for tonight's meal.

Jody and Jodi's daughter, Taryn, and her friend Danny came out to the anchorage on a seadoo for the afternoon and dinner.

Jody and dog Sterling on the seadoo.

Jodi filleted the fish and again fried the fish while I deep-fried the fries. Another delicious meal.

The evening fire was well attended and appreciated for the warmth.

It started out as a very grey and wet day.

It was soon nice enough for some partying up top.

Supper included some mouth-watering bacon-wrapped pickerel.

Here are some photos from Jody ♀:

Darrel and his sisters.
Yes, a thorn between two roses.

Everyone pitched in.

The making of the meal was well-supervised.

The generation of older folks,
looking happy about how the future is unfolding.
(Or looking tipsy ... whatever).

Loretta sweeping the rocks
with an ingenious broom made by Jodi ♂.

OMG make sure she doesn't fall asleep at the wheel.

This was the fishing team for today.
A short-lived storm caused us to turn back before we caught our limit.

Bathing beauties.

Cheers.

Striking a pose.

Looks like Darrel should be in the sun.

Romance at sunset. (Rob and Dawn).

Cheers to the fishermen, the cooks, and all the rest of the team.

July 20

Today was our last full day here and the weather was terrific. After breakfast Rob fished off the back of the houseboat and caught a pike. He placed the pike on the filleting table to release the hook but just as he did so the fish jumped up and the hook that was in the fish dug deep into Rob's arm. I have read many times that when you are caught with a barbed hook the best way to free it up is by cutting the hook from the lure and push it through rather than trying to pull it back out. The problem here was the fish was also still caught by another hook from the same lure. Dawn held the fish stationary while Jodi cut the hook free from Rob's arm. I then tried to pull the hook through but it was not moving and causing too much pain for Rob. Paramedic Jody came to the rescue and placed a bag of ice over the wound and the embedded hook. Once the wound was frozen we were able to finally pull the hook out.

Ouch.

The surgeons at work.

Once the excitement was over we untied the houseboat and went on a two hour cruise to another beautiful anchorage. Here we played with the stand-up paddle boards, slid down the slide and jumped from the rooftop into the very refreshing water.

Sangria time.

Jody using the serving tray from Dawn and Rob.

Four out of six got a Sangria.
A larger serving tray is required.

Dawn and Marleen picked paddling over fishing.
(Photo from Jody).

Bathing beauties.
(Photo from Jody).

A view from a paddle-board.

Confidence: Loretta paddling with her clothes on.

Braving the cool water.

Rob on the paddle board.

Some of the brave ones did, including Darrel.

Scenic Amisk Lake.

We also took the fish boat to a spot out in the lake and caught our limit of 20 pickerel.

We raised anchor and while making our way back to the anchorage we left that morning, Jodi filleted all the fish. I drove the houseboat. We ate our last dinner of fish, freezing the remaining fish to take home.

Can't keep Darrel away from the helm.

The final product.

A dining room with a view.

And the sun sets on another great adventure.

By 2300 we were all asleep.

July 21

We were dropped off at the dock at 0930 and started our way back to Saskatoon. All we could talk about was how much fun we had on the houseboat. Thanks gang!