April Wamhoff

I think anyone who has spent time on Lake Vermilion knows about this phenomenon. The islands move. I think they dance.
It must happen mostly during the night. They try to conceal their movement, of course. Can you just imagine the chaos it would create if it got out that Lake Vermilion had islands that go dancing all over the lake at night?
Yikes!
Oh sure, I think they dance in the daytime, too. But it’s certainly under some kind of cover. Sometimes it’s fog or heavy rain, or dare I whisper, snow.  In my experience, I think almost certainly they dance in the fog. They must like fog.
The size of the island doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve even seen it happen to mainland. That seems to me to be an even greater feat — but there it is. I suppose they want to join in the fun. I think islands dancing must be great fun.
There must be some kind of island code or rules or something, though. Just like Cinderella, they must have to be back in place before the concealment is gone. I’ve been lost on Lake Vermilion in broad daylight, of course, but it’s getting harder for the islands to fool me. I’m on to them.
I say this because I’ve been turned around on this lake more times than I care to count. I’ll be running along, happy as you please, and out of nowhere, there’s an island in front of you. An island that is certainly not where it was the last time I went through. Curious … I ease off the throttle in this kind of weather or at night. I think it would ruin both our days — the island and mine — if I ran into one.
Old timers and people who spend lots of time navigating the lake don’t seem to notice this as much. Also, GPS seems to have lessened the occurrences. I’m quite sure it still happens, but the islands must get sneakier.
I’d sure like to be invited to an island dance, but I suppose I’d be out of place. I do wonder what they dance to. It certainly wouldn’t be anything we listen to. I think they’d get enough of that from the boats during the day. Birds and wind noises, I suspect. Entirely lovely!
Possibly this is not just an occurrence on Lake Vermilion. Maybe all islands, everywhere can dance. I hope so. I know the islands on Lake Vermilion can most certainly, definitely dance.