2014 Bear Hunt Day 1 (Drive Day)

This will be my third bear hunt.
My first was in 2009.  The older I get, there are less firsts to experience and my first bear hunt was very exciting.  The weather was supposed to be in the 70s, but a cold front came through that was much more powerful than expected and the weather turned very cold.  This slowed down bear movement some, but those of us in camp (I think there were eight of us) still saw a decent number of bears.  Seven out of eight of us got bears and the one that didn't shoot one did have opportunities.  The fishing for walleye and pike was phenomenal.
My second bear hunt was in 2011.  There were only three of us in camp.  This was after I had bought a new house and moved, but before the old house sold.  The trip was scheduled before the move was in the works and the stress of the unsold house was lurking in the background.  All three of us took decent bears and the fishing was great again.

Most of my hunting adventures are alone, but Dennis is coming with me on this one.  He isn't hunting, but the fishing alone is worth it.

Dennis came over a few days before and dropped off a lot of his stuff.  He brought his kayak, but decided not to bring it.  I spent much of Saturday packing and getting ready for the trip.  There was much excitement for the trip.
Dennis came over Sunday morning at around 4:30.  We finished packing and were on the road by about 5:00.  We hit a bit of rain through the morning until we were through Indiana.  Then there was intermittent clouds until Wisconsin when it got fairly sunny.  We missed most of the rain through Minnesota until right near International Falls when about a half mile before the hotel it started to torrentially pour out.  Also as we got near International Falls, the book we were listening to, Bill Geist's Way Off the Road started discussing International Falls and other areas of the frozen north.  It was surprisingly coincidental.  We got unpacked and ate at the restaurant across the street, which was owned by the same people.
The gas station next door to that had ice cream which ended the day.
We were both ready for the next day's cross into Canada for the adventure to really start.