Friday, June 08, 2007 We had a lot of wind and rain all night. Thinking we were going to wake up to wind and rain, we planned for the worst. Rain gear was ready and all of the boys wore theirs on the tow boat ride to Prairie Portage. Little did we know that would be the last time any of us would wear our raingear! We had the wind to our backs the entire way. The portages were short, but when you have to double portage every single one, they get longer! The boys did pull their weight, helping in any way they could. They even put on a pack on a couple of the shorter portages. I forgot how beautiful the BW is. The air is truly different here, it wakes you up to what is around you. The boys can't help but notice how clean the water is and my own son is mystified that I can drink the water right from the lake. I should say that we did filter all of the water once into camp, although I was amazed that the water was so clear in the middle of Knife! We paddled into Knife Lake and began to look for a camp. Our original plan was to make it to the South Arm of Knife, but the day was long already and we thought we may want to just find a nice spot. We paddled past Dorothy's old place and I thought of the "The Root Beer Lady" and just then realized the magnitude of what she did year after year! We just got a boatride, portaged a little, and paddled what she would do alone with two packs and a canoe, a few hundred times! Wow. We found a spot Bob LaTourell recommended on the east end of Robbin's island that was vacant. The site was on a point and elevated. A little challenge fitting three tents, but we set up camp and set out to fish. We grilled (on the grate) those steaks LaTourell's sent with us and they were perfect. Cooking on an open flame sets everything apart.