One of our favourite spots to stop on our way home from a houseboating vacation is at the mouth of the Tetapaga River. The campsite marked on the map is quite shallow and rocky for houseboats but there is an unmarked campsite on the mainland which is perfect for several houseboats to tie up together. We have stayed there with my parents in their houseboat, a pontoon boat, a 14" fishing boat and Mike's bigger service boat all alongside and been quite comfortable. The shoreline is nice to troll for pickerel at night and there are some nice weed beds to check out for northern pike and smallmouth bass. If you are there at the right time of year there are lady slippers blooming just behind the campsite. It is fairly well protected from the wind making it an all round great place to stop while houseboating. In fact my parents like this spot so well they stayed there for almost two weeks last summer relaxing, fishing and watching a loon chick grow up and learn to dive.
I've been up the Tetapaga several times. The first spring of our marriage we spent an enjoyable sunny day in a 14' steel fishing boat. We traveled as far as we could and explored the shoreline at the other end. It was my first time to see wild rice and I was quite taken with the uniqueness of this special spot. It seemed like there were ducks at every turn as well as a great blue heron that seemed to keep just ahead of us. Mike humored me and took me down all the little trails through the wild rice to see where they went.
It was also my first experience boating in such shallow water and needing to watch for potential hazards in the river. I have to say I was more than a bit nervous that I might not notice a rock but as I watched the bottom there was a special surprise. I was excited to see moose tracks on the bottom of the river! I kept my eyes open for the rest of the trip but didn't actually get to see the majestic creature that had left its mark.
The cutest painted turtle was sunning himself that day, the first I had ever seen in the wild. We watched each other for a while with curiosity and then Mike and I left him alone to enjoy his spot in the sun.
We followed the turns in the river past this cute little island and pulled the boat over a fallen log before we reached the end of our journey. We had a lot of fun exploring the shoreline. I wanted to hike through the bush to Tetapaga Lake but it was really too late in the day so we checked out the remains from early logging days and then headed for our houseboat. All in all it was a beautiful, peaceful day on the Tetapaga.
