Tag: Caspian

Owen’s Big Catch

billkralovec

 

Owen’s Big Catch, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Owen caught his first fish yesterday! He is shown above with his monster fish. After a ferocious fight lasting seconds, Owen pulled up his catch. The behemoth took the bait of Canadian crawler only minutes from our arrival. It was such an impressive specimen, we practiced “catch and release” so it can continue breeding. It is a type of freshwater fish known as a “blue gill.” He was very pumped! Now we have to get one from Ollie. It was the only fish we caught.

In the debate about what to call the Capsian Pit or Pond, I think I found the best solution. My Dad says a guy in church yesterday called it the “Caspian Sea.” Very funny! I knew people who worked in Baku, Azerbijan, which is located on the Caspian Sea. They reported the water is quite polluted, so this is a better example of the Caspian Sea.

Fishing With Grandpa Kralovec

billkralovec

 

Grandpa and the boys, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Yesterday my father helped the boys go fishing for a second time this summer. We went to the nearby Caspian Mine Pit. It is a former open pit iron ore mine. The Caspian Mine had its heydey back about 100 years ago. In the 1960’s, my grandfather and mine employee, Arthur Heikkila, was the last man in the mine and as he shut down the pumps, the water began to fill in. The Iron County Museum is based in one of its buildings and the city of Caspian has turned it into a recreational area. The DNR planted trout in the pit this spring.

We had a few bites off of the fishing dock shown above. Owen is getting good at casting and even Ollie managed to bring a shiner up to the surface. Owen was so excited to get a shiner out of the water. I can imagine his reaction if he ever catches a fish.

It was a very cold and rainy day. Nadia went for a run in the afternoon and took Oliver and Ocean out in the wagon following her. Last night we watched movies.

Family Journal: Sunday June 22, 2008

billkralovec

 

 

Caspian Fire Whistle, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

I have not been posting much lately as I have been extremely ill. Yesterday morning I went into the walk-in clinic at the Iron County Community Hospital. I was diagnosed with strep throat and tonsilitis. Since Thursday evening I have had fever, headache, sore throat, and muscle aches. I think Nadia is coming down with it too. It is Sunday morning and I am finally feeling well enough to write a bit on the computer and drink a cup of coffee. I still have a sore throat and head ache.

The video above is from earlier in the week. I was raised in the town of Caspian, Michigan. It is located in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula, about 6 miles from the border of Wisconsin. There are around 900 inhabitants of the town. They have a quaint tradition to sound a “fire whistle” at 9:00 PM. This is to warn all the children to go home. In the winter it sounds at 8:00 PM. My sons really enjoy it and we have to go up to the town hall and sit directly under the horn to get the full effect.

We also rode bikes on the Apple Blossom trail. This is a trail that runs along the Iron River through town over to the nieghboring town of Iron River. It follows the old railroad tracks laid down by the iron ore mining companies at the turn of the century.