Heading North: A Narrative

Donald R. Belik and four of his friends took their first fishing trip in August 1967 as a way to celebrate their graduation from high school. The idea was to enjoy one last time together, but their journey to the Bottle Lakes twenty miles north of Park Rapids, Minnesota, left such a vivid impression on them that they made plans to go there year after year. For the next fifty years, the friends would find a way to traverse the same landscape, going back to enjoy heaven on earth once again. Among tall pines, colorful maples, crystal-clear water, fresh air, foggy mornings, and crisp and cool evenings, they would savor a glorious week of fishing, camaraderie, and rekindled friendship. This book is a refreshing account of a tradition that stood the test of until their fiftieth year getting together at the same place in 2017. It highlights how five friends did not let a changing world deter them from appreciating what makes life worth living.