96 DAYS IN THE OPEN 



Itasca, and the central lodge and adjoining cot- 

 tages, all built of pine logs, are very attractive. An 

 automobile trip on an ideal day gave an opportunity 

 for visiting this interesting place. We wondered, 

 as we approached the lodge, at seeing the boarders 

 playing tennis and pitching quoits when ten rods 

 away was the lake and fishing. But more intimate 

 acquaintance with the lake dispelled the wonder. 

 The shoreline is timbered and beautiful, but the 

 water looks dead, and not a sand beach is to be 

 seen. 



It is now all in the past except the memory. 

 That will abide. The last afternoon of our stay 

 we rowed across the lake and picked a gunny- 

 sack full of hazel nuts, took a swim in the lake, and 

 then built a fire on the shore over which we roasted 

 the delicious sweetcorn, took our supper in the 

 open, and rowed home as the shadows deepened 

 and the crescent moon hung low in the western 

 sky. We shall often recall the sunny days and 

 peace-filled nights, the glory of the sunsets and the 

 enticement of the beautiful lake. Possibly we 

 shall feel, at times, the tingle generated by the big 

 bass or the ten-inch trout. Certainly we shall live 

 over again the picnics in the pine woods and the 

 days spent in the boat voyaging in search of the 

 wary bass. 



