Sunday, July 09, 2017

Twin Falls Lodge, Churchill River, SK.

After spending time at ‘Country at the Creek’ music festival at the Ness Creek site near Big River, Sask, Hailey and I headed back up to Prince Albert National Park.

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There were some very cute and unafraid foxes on the road – hopefully they have not been fed by passing vehicles.

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I had made contact with friends and former college classmates who are presently operating a remote fishing lodge north of Lac la Ronge.  They invited me to come on up and spend some time at the lodge.

A meeting was set up at Stanley Mission a day or two later. A boat would be on a fuel run to pick up fuel for the lodge, and Hailey and I were able to catch a ride back to the lodge with it.

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Twin Falls lodge has received some major upgrades in the last few years and now boasts four brand new guest cabins, as well as a new generator system and fish cleaning facilities.  Plans are underway to replace the old aging main lodge as well.

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In the meantime, Hailey and I were given an older cabin all to ourselves, with probably the best view of all!

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Some of the lodge staff were away on days off, so I was glad to be able to help them out, and ended up spending a full week there!

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The lodge sits on the Churchill river, but other than the double sets of falls, it is more like the shore of a huge lake with hundreds of islands.

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Most of the guests arrive by boat from Missinipe, which requires a short portage, and a second boat ride, but the lodge also provides air transport upon request.

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Pelicans and gulls were fishing below the various falls in the area. Unknown if they had fishing licences!

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We celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday at the lodge, complete with chainsaw carved signs and an impromptu fireworks show in the evening.

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Hailey made a few friends that may or may not have enjoyed her game.

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When the time came to leave, Hailey and I got on board with some of the guests, and enjoyed a shore lunch of fresh walleye at the historic church at Stanley Mission.

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The cemetery has a lot of historic graves, and appears to be still used at present.  We were told the historic church, which is the oldest building still standing in Saskatchewan, is still used for weddings and funerals, but since most of the community lives across the river, they normally attend church on that side of the river.

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After departing the fishing lodge and Stanley Mission, we toured a bit further north to Missinipe and Otter Rapids on the Churchill river,then we headed south, before making a slight detour to Flin Flon and The Pas, Manitoba before finally making another brief stop at home.  But not for long!  Stay tuned, we’re off again.

3 comments:

  1. Looks like an interesting place to spend some time. You do seem to be enjoying your travels these days.

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  2. I am hopeful our paths will cross at some time. We came close many years ago in Lake Havesu. I've been following for years and you have been an inspiration to go truck camping. We've lived in Tisdale and have lived and worked along the Churchill River out of Missippe. Following his Smoke Jumper days as Jumpmaster for the Sask Government, my Uncle Walter built and ran Twin Falls (Beyond La Ronge Camp in those days.) My folks built and ran a lodge on Nipew Lake, upstream from Otter Rapids. Always enjoy reading your blog.

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  3. Thanks for that interesting information Kyle! I'd love to hear more of where you've been and where you are now! I see that the e-mail link seems to have disappeared from my blog sidebar (!), but you can reach me at: narrows@gmail.com
    Ivan

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