The reason we missed our turn. Straight out of Narnia, right?
The other day a reader sent me a link to a story that was truly “Midwestern”. It was about a bar. A bar on a lake. I don’t mean next to a lake, but literally, ON a lake. Ice Hole Bar, located in Lake Lida, Minnesota, opened this winter. The bar caters to fishermen (and curious outsiders) wishing to warm their bones with a little barley pop and assorted spirits. It took me about three seconds into the article before I had new weekend plans. I had to see this.
My boyfriend Blake, always enthusiastic about a new Midwestern adventure, said he would accompany me on this hour trek to Lake Lida. We set off towards the lake and soon realized we were lost. The dense fog and lack of GPS guidance spelled disaster. We must have gotten twisted around while gawking at every frozen lake we passed and the breathtaking trees covered with Hoar Frost (definitely just learned this phrase) that looked straight out of Narnia. I soon began to panic. Where the heck were we? Just as I began to recommend we give up and head home, the fog began to part and across the frozen landscape appeared a golden shack of hope. We were here. Or… well… sort of. I told Blake we could just park near the shore and walk out to the bar. Though I saw trucks driving out on the
Ice Hole Bar, Lake Lida, MN
frozen water I didn’t want to take my chances. Ice was not for driving on. Of course Blake ignored me and claimed the only way we could get the true Midwestern experience was to drive my little blue car out onto the lake. As I screamed with protests and threatened to jump out of the moving vehicle, down the boat launch we rolled and onto solid ice. We krept forward. Silence. No cracking. No creaking. Ok… let’s do this.
After about a quarter mile we arrived at our destination. We parked my little car next to two
Little ice house shanty town
giant trucks and got out. That first step on a frozen lake might be the closest I ever get to feeling
what Neal Armstrong must have felt taking his first steps on the moon. “One small step for man, one giant leap for Midwestern kind”. It took a while for my brain to register what my eyes were seeing. With the combination of fog and frost, it looked as if the entire landscape had been painted in shades of white and grey. The only thing interrupting the whiteness were tiny fish houses dotting the barren landscape. It reminded me of a little frozen shanty town. After a few quick photos we decided to wet our whistle inside the bar… purely for anthropological purposes of course. After all, how can you really understand the culture unless you experience it yourself, right?
We opened the door into a room about the size of a small trailer. There were a few bar stools, two bench seats and a handful of folding chairs. An electric fireplace was mounted on one end of the bar and a flat screen TV (complete with Direct TV) was on
Blake trying his hand at ice fishing.
the other side. Towards the far end of the room were two ice holes with line dangling in and a bucket of bait close by. We grabbed a drink and were soon told to pull up a chair next to some fellow patrons. It didn’t take long for us to strike up some great conversations with the locals. For the next two hours I had died and gone to Midwestern heaven. I learned about different local fish, swapped hotdish recipes,
Baiting my hook
raved about NDSU and their amazing football season, and even baited my own hook. (Don’t worry DNR… I didn’t actually fish). Eventually the conversation took the inevitable turn to how in the world we ended up in Fargo and my favorite experiences so far. Of course that very moment was already heading towards the top of my list. People laughed as I talked about my first time driving in heavy snow, my confusion with the phrase “I suppose” and how I cried after watching the movie Fargo for fear that it was a good representation of the state I was about to move to. The only downfall of the entire trip: I made the mistake of taking off my coat and revealing my JMU t-shirt. “WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WEARING THAT FOR IN HERE?” Whoops.
It was soon time to say our goodbyes and make our way back to Fargo. We shook a few hands, snapped a few photos and hit the road. On our way back we couldn’t stop raving about the past few hours. Our favorite part: The fishing? The beer? Driving on the ice? No way. Like all things that make the Midwest so enjoyable, it was the people. After all, it isn’t everywhere that even in the middle of a frozen lake, you can find warmth.
Best. Day. Ever.
[...] We spent an entire day swimming in Lake Lida (which looked a little different than the last time we had visited when it was frozen solid and had ice houses and a bar atop it), hiking around the [...]
Well – on your quest to becoming midwestern my next suggestion is the POLAR PLUNGE!! There are many of them in the winter throughout Minnesota and North Dakota. The one I suggest is the Polar Plunge to support MN Special Olympics. Website is http://www.polarplungemn.org/ … it’s an experience (a cold one, but a memory that’s for sure) for the jumper and you raise money for a great cause!! And this is surely the winter to do it … it could be 40 degrees on jump day and every degree helps!
I found your blog tonight and just finished reading the whole thing. Thank you for reminding me why I’ve lived in North Dakota all my 60 years.
Thats awesome. Next winter you will have to check out the ice bar in two harbors, mn. Oh and what is the confusion about “i suppose “?
Even though I am from the Northern Wisconsin (originally), I am still amazed when I see a lake with plowed roads on it, and on the biggest, even stop signs out in the middle of a frozen lake.
It used to be it was cool to have a good beer supply in your ice house. Now it looks like the cool thing is to have a fishing hole in your bar.
I’ve hear when the lakes get really busy… especially during fishing competitions… road signs are a must!
When I was reading this last night at about 10:10 PM, I had on KSTP news from St Paul. And just then they had a story about a board room on a lake. What a co-incidence! Here it is:
http://kstp.com/article/stories/S2487321.shtml?cat=0
Midwestern Auntie Ellen says “way to Hailey!” Another great one (as in, blog). Enjoy your observations. Come and enjoy some meat products with us again, when your schedules permit!
that would be “way to GO Hailey”
Hi!
Great to run into you today at Bertrosa’s! Keep up the great work! You are a terrific writer!
Great meeting you as well! I always like to meet people who actually read my blog. By the way, I promise I do wear other clothes besides my JMU t-shirts.
it’s OK – how else would we recognize you?!
Keep up the great work!
Kudos to you and Blake for venturing out to places unknown and experiencing all the midwest has to offer. A bar on a lake — go figure! Makes me want to make a trip in the middle of winter just to visit this place!
If you want fun on the ice, the Eelpout Festival begins Feb 17th in Walker MN.
http://eelpoutfestival.com/
Someone mentioned this to us! We may have to check it out!
I am so glad you had fun! You talked me right into going to check this out myself!
I LOVE your blog. We met at the Ice Hole Bar. I was with my Father and Brother-in-law. I was the one that was horrified by your JMU sweatshirt, lol! When we got back to the cabin my B-law looked up your blog, more laughs were had! Having met you, I figured it would be good.
It is said that North Dakota’s greatest export is our young people that leave. Maybe if you and your boyfriend decide to make this your home, we will be able to say that we are good at importing every once in awhile.
If you and your boyfriend would like to try snowmobiling on that same lake, send me an E-mail. This region is filled with so many fun things to do. Maybe I can help you two become Midwestern.
Rich–
Obviously you guys were a majority of the reason we had such a good time on Saturday. Thanks again for the good conversation! We will most definitely need to take you up on snowmobiling! This is probably the winter to do it when its not freezing cold… though I guess there isn’t much snow either. Thanks again and expect an e-mail soon.
Hailey
NOT freezing cold? Sure looks mighty frozen to me!
I can’t wait to read your blog post about the snowmobiling adventure!
I work in corporate America in the Twin Cities, and I can tell you the natives of North Dakota (and South Dakota) not only make up a very large percentage of co-workers here, but some of the best. Hopefully with what all is going on in Fargo and Minot and Sioux Falls will allow natives of the Dakotas to stay home if they wish.