Merry Christmas Yeah! We made it through 2022.  It started with the flooding.  The good news is we only lost the fish cleaning building and the Northern Outback dock.  It put us behind MORE and/or AGAIN!  We figured there was around 3 feet of water on the road coming from the parking lot to the camp. The flood water got into the generator building and barely into the generator. Thank goodness the generator survived.  We almost lost the building that contained the boats motors.  Go there was some positive.  Everything was floating in that area such as LP tanks.  Then we got 6 inches of snow which knocked down 33 water drenched pine trees like toothpicks.  At that time, we were stranded at the camp.  We were thankful for Adam to cut a path to the parking lot.  The Bill Ware group helped Dean rescue the marble counters from the fish cleaning building.  The Jeff Obrecht group helped with our free dock.  We think the dock came from Ogani Lake over the falls. Then it was just a matter of cleaning up.  We also were in the process of finishing our cabin while staying in the Skunk Hollow.  Another rush job.  Dean did get the wonderful, new fish cleaning building finished. My every day job was to keep the phone and internet working.  I finally made the phone into cell phone.  Wrong year to have a litter of pups in Canada .  It was a cooler summer/fall and a struggle to keep everything warm enough.   I finished out August with breaking my patella (bad leg) by falling into a step carrying a vacuum.  Thank goodness it was a non-displaced fracture.  Adam saved the day AGAIN and brought me home.  I was placed in a brace from the hip to the ankle for 7 weeks. Brings back nightmares!  Dean brought home the nine adorable pups and four dogs.  I had a neighbor help me out for a couple weeks and then I was able to manage.  The only problem was I became attached to those little pups because didn’t have Dean to spoil.  Then the insurance company said we needed to replace all the fireplaces because they didn’t meet code.  More stress! Ahhhh! We decided we had enough and wanted to sell. The insurance company’s way of working with us was to give us two months to replace the fireplaces with no heat available to guests.  We changed our insurance company.  That was a relief. Sorry for any inconvenience and any stress that might have been shown.  Things are now improving.  We are ready for 2023 and my leg is good.  Cabins will have new vacuums and cleaning supplies.  We did sell our cabin in South  Bay .  Our retirement plans have changed for some reason (Covid).  Even after all the craziness, we did enjoy 2022.  We love being on Bluffy and at the Lodge and seeing you! The fishing was great and we ate lots of fish.  OUT WITH COVID RESTRICTIONS AND IN WITH A PROSPEROUS, ENJOYABLE, UNEVENTFUL 2023!             Our family is doing well.  Our oldest son, Grant, moved to New Mexico  because he hates snow and winter.  He kept his job working for the Beltrami Telephone Company in satellite systems.  He has great friends in New Mexico  and is enjoying the weather.  Our oldest daughter, Danielle, moved to Waterloo  Iowa  and is working for the City of Waterloo . Our youngest daughter, Jen, is still working for the State of Iowa , and youngest son, Adam, lives close by and works for one of his best friends in the trailer business.  Our grandkids and 3 great grandsons are healthy.  Which is a lot to be thankful for.  P.S.  I have a new, warm place to visit in the winter (Tularosa , New Mexico ).             We are changing a few things for next year.  We didn’t change pricing of packages much this year but instead took away free gas.  Between the gas, LP, and diesel, it took a big bite out of expenses.  Dean is working at finding a way to weigh or measure gas. Each gas container will have 5 gallons.  The containers take 6 gallons but cannot have that much because of spillage.  The gas will be charged at the current Canadian price and converted to USD. Hoping for cheaper gas next year.  The highest price in 2022 was $10 gallon CAD.   I can’t imagine that LP and diesel will go down but we can hope.  Our minnows went up with the higher gas prices. Each fly-in last year of minnows was $850. The week before you arrive, we will ask if you will be using minnows and arrange bait accordingly. Because of the 25% increase in LP, the LP deep fat fryers will have a charge.  We will have new vacuums and cleaning supplies in each cabin to help both your group and us get the cabins for the next group.              At this time, there aren’t any Covid restrictions for next year.  The ArriveCAN is available for those that really enjoyed using it.  I am pretty sure we will not.  Otherwise we don’t know of any changes for fishing or hunting.  Of course, fishing was great in 2022 and will be great again next year.  The biggest fish caught were walleye at 32″ and northern  at 46″ in Whitemud by a female guest.             We will be closing the camp for the season the first weekend in September 2023.  Economically it isn’t worth keeping the open for a few people in September with generator costs around $500 CAD per week.  It also gives us more time to get home and get ready for winter.  Our plans are to open up for rifle moose hunting in October.              Dean did get our home and garage stained before the early cold set in.  He didn’t get as much wood cut.  Deer season gave Adam and Dean bucks.  I took a vacation with my sister to Kauai  in January.  It was great to have family time!  This year it is a vacation in New Mexico .  I do keep busy but it is mostly on my butt!             Plans for next year are remodeling Walleye Shack (mosquito haven) and fixing the Northern Outback dock.  Dean needs to get electricity and water to the new fish cleaning building.  We are looking for carpenters in the spring to get a jump start.  It never ends!  We call it job security.  Only we don’t pay ourselves.             Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a super, wonderful, prosperous 2023!  Thanks again to everyone that made the trip to Bluffy Lake Lodge in 2022 and for the people that helped us get caught up.  Donna and Dean

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I (Donna) was born with a fishing pole in my hand. Not really but my dad loved to fish. Mom wasn’t much of a fisherperson but did go with dad. My Deike grandparents had a cabin on Lake Elysian, Minnesota. It wasn’t insulated but was lots of fun. Back then we didn’t think anything about using the outhouse as we also had one at home on our acreage/small farm. My dad would laugh at me fishing for sunfish with pole between my toes. With my grandfather passing away when I was 7, my parents starting going to the Mississippi River. We had a pickup camper that slept 4 but would have 6+ cramped it. Little ones slept on the floor. In 1979 they bought a trailer in a park in Harpers Ferry, Iowa and then bought a cabin on the river. What a fun town! One of my most memorable fishing trips was to Harpers Ferry, Iowa. Dad said the Northern were biting in the backwater boat slips. We moved the boat no more than 20 feet and caught seven Northern in a flash. The first one I caught was around 7 pounds and didn’t even put up a fight. I thought, well this was easy. The next one made me rethink the fight of the fish. That is where all of us kids (except Dennis the vegetarian-fish have brains?) got the love of fishing. Dad would get up a 5 in the morning to go to the dam and try his luck. If you have never been to the Mississippi in the McGregor area, it is well worth the drive. It would always tear our hearts out to leave the area with the magnificent hills and bluffs.  Dad and mom also fished in Canada and had a place in DelRio, Texas on the dam. Our acreage/farm backwater had lots of bullheads. Of course I can’t forget to mention introducing fishing to my sons. They are a great part of my life and they loved their fishing trips as much as I did. Remember to “Cast away your troubles and go fishing!” Grant ended up being a vegetarian for a few years and gave it up. He also was a great shot and could outshoot everyone. So he doesn’t fish or hunt! My family is still into fishing. My brother’s family bought my parents cabin and replaced with a new place. My nephew and other brother’s family bought park models in Prairie du Chien. My sisters’ families love to fish also.

Dean was also raised fishing. His deNeui Grandparents had a cabin on One Lake, Backus, Minnesota. He loved to fish and swim. Dean caught one of the biggest bass and mounted in that 80 acre lake. He didn’t fish the Mississippi or the Cedar River. He thought the fish were dirty tasting. I could never figure out what he meant. He would say when he was a kid, he would watch toilet paper come out of sewer lines into the Cedar River in Waverly, Iowa. He was raised in town and loved to go to the Cedar River which was two blocks away. He would climb under the Waverly bridge and catch pigeons for a little extra money and run home before the police caught him. Dean has lots more crazy stories than I have. His grandparents’ cabin was passed on to his parents and then to the kids. Dean would tell stories how he would turn over the boat and float out in the middle of the lake and dive underneath. Dean swims like a fish and was a lifeguard for a while. We sold off our share of the cabin when we bought Bluffy Lake Lodge. His two brothers still own it and it gets lots of use. Dean’s daughters don’t fish much but his grandsons do. Dean loves birds and dogs and other animals. We had an exotic license and had bobcats, cougars, raccoons, Canadian Lynx, emus, deer, quail, and black bears. His most favorite time was raising bears. His favorite was a cinnamon black bear (Kneewaw), would give us kisses and new commands. He was around 550 pounds at his heaviest. We raised Kneewaw in the house and bed him with a bottle till he was two. Kneewaw loved to swim and wander through the woods. Yes, there is a thing called bear hugs! We would have a litter of three cubs from Bertha (the bitch or a bitch) every year. Some were sold to individuals like us (Idiots) and some went to parks and France. We purchased all the animals through other breeders. Dean said he would like to raise another bear but they live to be 15 plus years. 15 years on to our age???? And now we raise and breed Gordon Setters. Our first Gordon was in 2008. They are very intelligent. Now if we could teach them to do chores.

Dean and I met at a local bar even though we hardly drink. We might have crossed paths earlier since my brother and cousin graduated with him. My sister is a good friend of Dean’s. He has taken me on a lot of adventures. Life is never boring! I swear that we moved to Longville so I could get weaned off of the local Walmart. We live in the middle of nowhere or an hour from the nearest shopping town. Now we are in the boonies again. Life has been very interesting and there are more fun years to come. Please join us for the next adventures!

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