Ice nearly out of Red Lake; we're ready to go

Brenda, our dog, Sam, and I will head to Red Lake this weekend.
Enid Carlson reports on her Viking Island blog that the ice on Red Lake is breaking up. It probably would have disappeared on Monday except the weather took a turn for the worse with cold and snow flurries.
Still, by all reports, there is a lot of open water around the sides of the ice and that always means the lake is within days of opening up. And the forecast is for near-normal temperatures which should mean a record-early breakup. The previous record was April 20 set just a few years ago. The average ice-out is May 8.
We will get to camp a couple of weeks ahead of the staff.
I'm sure everyone will be delighted to learn that Ben, Jenn and Steph -- our wonderful staff from last year -- are all returning this season.
They are sure a skilled, hard-working and fun group to work with.
It may be a little difficult to reach Brenda and I for the first couple of weeks once we are at camp. We probably won't run the generator full-time when it is just the two of us (and Sam). However, we will check e-mail messages every day or so and will also check our telephone messages. Call the 807-727-0439 number and make sure you leave a message and we will get back to you. You should also be able to reach us by calling our winter number 807-475-7246 as these calls will be forwarded.
We've had some new information from our IT representatives about e-mail for our guests this summer. The upshot is it is going to cost $3 (not $1 as previously reported) for guests to pick up e-mails using our computer and $5 if they access Facebook or any other social networking site. The reason is the extra data that is transmitted in photos on Facebook-type sites. There will be absolutely no downloading of videos allowed. We will have a laptop computer for guests to use in the lodge.
Our e-mail connection is not like what you have at home. It is all done on our cell phone minutes and our company does not offer an unrestricted data plan. Text messages use little data but images use a lot and video way too much.
We will once again try to create the connection where everyone can use their own cell phones at camp this summer. Last summer we installed the system but it never worked correctly. This winter we had all the equipment checked out -- it all seems fine. So we will give it another try but I wouldn't hold my breath. We did a pretty thorough job of trying every configuration for the system last year with no success.
Remember, you can always use the lodge telephone to make calls. And they only cost $3. That is probably far less than what it would cost on your cell phone anyway. But I understand that people would like the convenience to use their own cells and so we're working on that. If we get the system running it will mean there will be a small area in camp, such as the lodge porch, where your cell phones will work. They will not work in your cabins or out in the boats.
I've been asked to do an update on the lake trout population and study but I've been holding off because I think there may be some news from the Ministry of Natural Resources on this coming in the near future.

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