Bright warm sunshine wakes us today! Although, we make a startling discovery upon exiting our now grotesquely bug covered tent. Finally having an idyllic weather day motivates us to get out of camp early. Vickie, Aurora & I paddle back over to the Isabella River portage to explore & play in the rapids on the other side. We also check out the portage trail on the south side of the river. It has a pretty decent hill & is slightly overgrown but, we are rewarded for our efforts with ripe red strawberries & the occasional raspberry that are peppered along the path. From there we hopscotch down along the large shoreline boulders to find a nice spot to lounge in these tumbling rapids while a cedar waxwing provides free entertainment fluttering to 'n' fro in the nearby cedar trees.

On our way back to camp Aurora & I harvest the bountiful strawberries on the Quadga portage. Of course non of them actually make it back to camp. Fishing continues to be exceedingly rewarding on the return paddle as well. Uncle Clay & Dan are still out on the lake, so we have camp to ourselves upon our return; and we take full advantage of the empty hammocks.

After Uncle Clay & Dan return it's time to try swimming. Aurora does pretty well, although she doesn't quite completely trust that her PFD will keep her afloat. Never the less she has a grand (although relatively brief) time frolicking in the water. Afterwards she even thanks Dan for helping her by letting him nap with her little stuffed black bear. If it accomplishes nothing else, at least this nap gives his damp sleeping bag a chance to air/dry out.

After supper, as evening draws near, we all head out for a leisurely paddle. This time we locate the closed site just to our NE. While the closed site we seen yesterday looks like it could re-open soon, this site appears to be doomed; as it was almost impossible to locate and leaves little hope of reclamation. Yet again excellent fishing keeps us from making steady progress on our exploratory paddle. (Not a bad problem to have.) Eventually we do pull up to the NW site. Harebells with a tasteful intermingling of daisies cloak the grassy shoreline. While the best landing area is a bit west of the fire grate area, this site is expansive and provides direct access to the Pow Wow Hiking Trail. We attempt to hike a short distance but the bugs chase us back towards the lake & windier locales. They have been bad enough at our rocky site, we dare not imagine what they would be like had we stayed at this swampy grassy plot. There is, however, a neatly sawed log seat here & the nicest allotment of (still) living trees at any site on this lake. Overall it's a pretty decent site but, overall we still prefer ours.

We soak up the quiet ambiance of Quadga Lake on our last night. Fortunately, the bugs aren't nearly as bad as the previous evening, so Vickie is able to do a little baking and we have a tasty evening snack before calling it a night. No rain tonight so Uncle Clay & Dan can sleep easy.