Back at Deer Trail resort for the not-sure-how-manyith time.
I remember the very first time I was up here; might have been in the mid-1960’s.
Here was a resort with an outdoor screened in snack bar, huge stone grill, playground; all the extras. The resort we had stayed at during the summers before we stayed at Deer Trail was called Pine Haven — it didn’t have all the extra stuff, so, staying somewhere there were the real extras seemed like a big deal.
Deer Trail also had a gas pump, right down by the water next to the fish cleaning house. It was an old-fashioned pump. A bell rang every time you pumped a gallon of gas.
Boats used to come from all over the lake to fill up their red five gallon tanks with gasoline to which was then added oil. Depending on how I was doing, the boats were either exciting to watch or intruders in our one-week world up north.
Today the screened in snack bar is old and falling down and most of the extras are gone.
The gas pump just sits there, like an old postcard of the days when the beach at Deer Trail was bustling and busy.
I’m glad I’m here.