Chrisapalooza Day 3 - Home

Mark's House to Home:  About 310 miles.

It seemed like I slept really well, but I woke up and felt absolutely exhausted.  I tried to get back to sleep, but could only fitfully rest until I gave up and got up.  Mark was already up so we solved a few of the world's problems before daylight called and told me it was time to go.

The morning air was cool enough that I debated wearing my sweatshirt underneath my motorcycle jacket.  But I knew the dry air was going to warm quickly with a bright sun and only a few clouds.  I was on the road by a few minutes after 8:00.  As expected, the construction was easy to get through with the non-existent Sunday morning traffic.  Even the construction in and around Charlotte was tolerable.  Early mornings on the road are simply the best.  I continued South, crossing into Indiana.  I'm not sure what was in the water, but even the trucks and the vehicles pulling campers were (mostly) hoofing it.

South for Fort Wayne I was glad to be off the interstate.  I took US-127 since US-27 had so much construction.  I wasn't expecting it to be much better.  But for all the construction in Indiana on Friday, Ohio had very little.  I'll take it!

I really pushed the fuel gauge on the bike, but chickened out near I-70 and got gas.  From there it was a quick jaunt home.  I got home in time to take a dog for a walk and armor up my psyche for another hateful week at work.

After bear hunting, I said that if I could squeeze in one more mini-adventure this summer, it would be a very good year.  Chrisapalooza definitely counts.  It was great to get to spend some time with Mark and see Chris.  I'm glad I can keep in touch with them.  Quite simply, it has been a very good year.  I still have a few days of vacation I have to use, but I doubt they will be used for travel.  With fall chores coming up and deer hunting several weeks away, I still have much to look forward to.

Chrisapalooza Day 2 - Alfas and Campari

I woke up some time at night to a terrible noise and thought, "What the hell are those noisy jack-wads next door doing now?" only to realize that it was just very heavy rain on the camper.  I suppose I have a tendency to always think the worst.

After a little bit of tossing and turning, I got up and as quietly as I could figured out how to make coffee.  Mark and Susan's trailer is really nice (nicer than some homes I've been in), but it only has a few outlets.  I was a bit worried about blowing a breaker somewhere.  Coffee was successfully made, allowing a quiet start to the morning.

Poking around online I saw several pictures posted on FaceBook by coworkers who had gotten together.  There was a brief FOMO, until I realized that I almost certainly would not have gone anyway.  And motorcycling to Michigan to hang out with Mark was much more worthwhile than (inevitably) talking shop.  I have to admit that I continue to find the old-guy work/friend/not relationships utterly vexing.

After the day got going we went down to the camping lot auction.  The campground was much bigger than I thought it was, and it was an interesting group of people there.  It was obvious there were groups of people who had camped there for quite some time.  There were also quite a few faces which showed years of hard living.

Eventually the auction got going and once it did it went pretty fast.  Susan's name was called fairly early and Mark was able to get their first choice for camping spots as well as a good nearby option for a boat dock.  Score!

It was cold and still quite wet, so we decided not to go back out on the boat.  It was a few minutes to tidy up the trailer and the boat before we headed back to the house.  On the way I had Mark stop by the actual dam.  For an earthen dam, it is really large.  I was surprised how calm the water looked below the dam as usually the water near power stations looks like a boiling teapot.  But the electric station runs in peak mode, meaning it may not have actually had much flow when I was there.

Once back at Mark and Susan's, Mark finished fixing the Acura from the previous day and then we went out on the bicycles for a bit.  I am still amazed at how nice the tracks-to-trail paths are for biking with almost no hills so that even the wind on the way back wasn't too bad.  It is nice that there are so few other people as well.

The day got later and it was time to head to Chrisapalooza.  When we got to Chris' shop, our old boss John was there.  Assuming he was just arriving, I just waved, but it turned out he was on his way out and I didn't get a chance to talk to him which was a major bummer.  I was a bit surprised he didn't stay for a few more minutes as well, but I suppose he may have had other things as well.

Most people were behind the shop.  There were a few people I knew and a few more that I recognized.  It was fun with a lot of car-oriented talk.  Chris' Alfa Romeo 4C was pretty incredible as was a Miata with a really well-done supercharger setup.

Happy 50th Chris.

As it started to get later in the day it became time to head back to Susan and Mark's and call it a day.

Chrisapalooza Day 1 - Neighbors Suck

I think I first met Chris in 1991.  We both worked at "the shop" that summer - doing much of the crap-boy work.  I suppose there may have been a bit of initial antagonism, who was going to get to do the better work.  But this was quickly overshadowed by a lot in common while also enjoying the best job of our lives - even if we didn't know it at the time.  Chris went back to school during the fall while I continued working as much as I could during college.  We worked together during the summers.  I was in awe of his ability to get to know people so quickly - how people gravitated toward his intellect and sense of humor.  Our shared tastes went beyond British cars, we had similar interests in movies, beer and music...  I vividly recall how we both decided to come in early one day to listen to the entirety of Pink Floyd's The Wall.  We restarted after the first play of the CD (or was it a cassette?) at a greatly increased volume.  When Caroline came in later that morning, she walked into the back of the shop, and walked out, shaking her head.

We have both also subsequently gravitated toward a similar interest in two-wheeled transportation.

We had - and have - a lot in common.  Yet it has been interesting trying to observe as a third party how our lives have diverged.  Chris: kids, small businesses.  Me:  curmudgeon and travel for any reason.  So when I saw Chris was throwing himself a 50th, I had to go.

I've known Mark for longer than Chris.  Susan invited me to stay at their place for Chrisapalooza - I hope the offer was genuine as I am headed there.  It takes effort to stay in touch with old friends, especially when separated by hundreds of miles.  FaceBook and the occasional text message can only do so much.

The past week has been a horror show at work.  When I constantly find myself saying, "I only have to do this for five more years," it tells me I may not be able to do this for five more years.  But a recent new hire asked me a few weeks ago what I would tell someone like him who was just starting out.  My response was to know that nothing is permanent.  So enjoy the good times and suffer through the bad (note to self).  But at least I was able to shut down with enough time to get the lawn mowed which was good.

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Home to Lowell, MI:  About 300 Miles

There was no reason to rush out the door, so with an exquisitely cool morning, I took the older dog on a walk around the block.  Once back at home, it was a quick exercise to pack up a few things and head out the door.  Temperatures were near perfect in the 60's with bright sunshine.  The sun made it really hard to see the GPS, even with the shade on.  It was a good thing I knew (mostly) where I was going.

About 15 minutes from home I hit a road-closed construction area with no posted detour.  This was a bad omen since there was on and off construction nearly the entire way up to Michigan.  It added time and quite a bit of frustration to the drive north.  And with it being Friday afternoon, traffic was not light either.

I still made the best of the drive.  My thoughts were my own which is a really good state of mind to live in.

I got to Mark and Susan's house after about six hours.  Mark was fixing the shifter on an Acura SUV and he had a few other projects going on as well.  We caught up for a few minutes.  But the campground where they spend most of their summer was having lot assignments the following morning, so Mark and I jumped in his jeep to go up there for the night.

We drove up to Hardy Dam Pond - which is actually more lake than pond.  The campground was quite empty, but the lot next to Mark's trailer was occupied by a small group playing music loudly.

We took Mark's pontoon boat out onto the lake.  Mark did some fishing, but I mostly heckled at him from my comfy seat since I didn't have a fishing license - although I did chuck a lure in for a few minutes.  Mark caught a few bluegill and one tiny perch.

As it got dark, we gave up on fishing and putzed around in the dark a bit before heading back in for the night.

The neighbors had really turned up the noise to a level that I would have found embarrassing.  It would have been one thing if everyone had been hootin' and hollerin' but these jack-wads were the only ones.  They were still going at it when Mark and I turned in for the night.  Thankfully I always travel with ear plugs.  The ear plugs only did so much...  It seemed almost personal to be right next to the noisiest neighbors in the campground.  

Oh well, it was still a good day.

Delta Bear Hunt Days 9/10/11 - Fantasy Camp Ends

The final day in bear camp starts with breakfast sandwiches.  Everyone has filled their bear tag so we all head out for a day of fishing.  I'm in the medium-sized boat with Ron, Justin and Late John, and Max is guiding.

We head out on the river and as we are motoring upriver I notice that the color of the trees is just starting to change.  Fall comes early to Manitoba, and it almost seems like the amount of color in the trees is about twice what it was only a week previous when I had gotten into camp.

I start fishing from the top of the boat - both because I like fishing up high and it gives everyone else in the boat just a bit more room.  I lose the 10 yards right by the boat, but I can cast forever up high and I can also see lots more of the fish strikes.

Fishing in the morning is a bit slow, but not terrible.  Our boat has only a few keepers through the morning.  I land about four fish, but one of them is a good-fighting 33 inch pike.  There are numerous other strikes, but many spit the hook.  Barbless Manitoba is both a blessing and a curse.  Justin also brings in one good-sized pike.

The weather is intermittently good with heavy rain squalls.  We mostly keep fishing through the rain.  The fish are already wet and with camp coming to an end, I don't want to miss anything.  Once the rain starts, I do drop off the roof of the boat since it can be a bit slippery and a fall from the top might be catastrophic.

Lunch comes with a stop to the same shelter as the previous day and more rain.  Instead of the fish and potatoes, lunch is fish tacos which were absolutely amazing.  Of course anything with guacamole has to be good.

Fishing in the afternoon gets much better.  Both Justin and I hook into a ton of really nice fish.  We don't bring in any monsters, but the action is almost non-stop.  John even abandons bottom bouncing to start cast for pike as well.

All good things must come to an end and Max calls final cast.  We bring in our lures and get ready to head back to camp just as another rain squall stirs things up.  The wind whips of the water, but in the covered boat we all stay (mostly) comfortable.  Once out of the rain squall we are treated to a stunning rainbow which puts a capstone on the entire bear hunting trip.

We have a final group dinner of ribs before I settle up with Vance.  I also book for a future hunt; I am not sure if it will be in 2022, but it will not be soon enough.  Hopefully.

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I have a very restless night before the alarm on my phone tells me it really is time to head south.  I had packed up most of my stuff the previous day, so it is a quick shower, load up my bear and head out.  There are a few light sprinkles, but traveling is easy and traffic is light on Canada's Labo(u)r day.

Crossing the border goes smoothly enough, although I do panic a bit when one of the US guards starts to tell me that bear paws are not allowed to be imported.  "I know they can't be brought in detached, but I can bring in the entire in-tact hide."  A quick call to agriculture says no issues there and USFW did not answer.  A minor incident, and thankfully she didn't insist on being wrong.

I do have a spell where I get pathologically tired.  Thankfully this doesn't last too long and I munch on my buffet of unhealthy food during this time.  A good book helps keep me alert.  I listened to Where the Water Goes by David Own.  I had downloaded this book a long time ago but it took a while to get to it.  I wish I hadn't waited so long since it is really good.  It paints an interesting picture of the history of water rights in the Western US - as well as a scary future.  The world is a complicated place.  The book also does a really good job of going into how this complication means every potential action (or inaction) has a unintended consequences on top of unintended consequences.

I have a deer run right in front of me not too long after crossing the border into the US.  It is a very impressive buck which does start me thinking about the upcoming deer season, even if a doe is the mostly likely animal I'll get a chance to take.  There is lots of construction with poorly marked detours through Minnesota.  These probably didn't add much time to the drive, but they can end up feeling really frustrating.

I get to Maria's house with enough time to take a walk with her and Liz and the dogs.  The park near their house is quite pretty, but with the mix of bikes/walkers/dogs is claustrophobically risky.  I'm surprised at how much agriculture there is within the city of Madison.  Dinner is some really good ramen.  It is a short but good visit.

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Maria and I catch up a bit before it is time for the final leg of my journey home.  I listen to a mix of Radio Lab, Hidden Brain and Planet Money podcasts which makes the time pass quickly.

The dogs are happy to see me once I get home.  Maybe SO is as well.  The rest of the day is hairied mix of unpacking and taking care of bear meat.  Everything is separated, cut, ground and in the freezer by the end of the day.  But there is still enough to catch up on that I'll have one more day before I need to go back to work.

Getting to Manitoba during Delta/COVID was an uncomfortable exercise of paperwork, tests and stress.  In hindsight, it doesn't seem so bad and I'm amazed how everything worked out really well.

I'm very appreciative of Mark for inviting me along.  I know I am so fortunate to be able to head north into Canada and go on these kinds of adventures.  And I am really glad to have friends, both old and new who keep life interesting. 

The world is changing faster than ever before, and it gets easier every year you’re alive to be just a bit more of a pessimist, turning the brightness dial of your perspective down another notch. It takes effort, but I believe it’s worth it, when we can, to squint into a visual field of rain clouds loaded with infinite ways we could be disappointed, unimpressed, and dissatisfied with every little thing in our lives, and instead focus on a sense of awe and amazement. - Brendan Leonard

Delta Bear Hunt Day 8 - What the Eagle Sees

I once again slept in far later than I normally do; I was wondering how long it will take to get back on my normal schedule.  But I have several days (and over a thousand miles) until I have to start thinking about that.

After an egg bake breakfast, Derrick took Ron and I in one boat while Max took Justin, John and Mike in a separate boat.  We headed above the rapids and started by jigging which was not working very well.  So for most of the day, our boat set up with Ron bottom bouncing and me casting for pike (or whatever).  The weather was cool and cloudy with just a couple sprinkles.  Not having the sun out was almost kind of nice since I'm a little bit sun and wind burned.

Ron pulled in quite a few walleye and I make good work against the pike.  Around mid-morning I finally get a pike on the line that did not thrash around like a pissed-off teenager and I knew it was a good one.  It gets near the boat before dragging line deep beneath the boat.  After a bit of work, the fish is tired and we get a big fat 36-inch pike in the boat.  I'll take that any day.  I'm equally happy after a successful release back into the Winnipeg River.

We continue fishing for the rest of the morning.  As we are about to head to our lunch spot we see a bald eagle fly low over our boat.  Derrick takes one of our small perch and thumps it on the head and throws it into the air.  The eagle, which is now in a fir tree looking over the bay, sees this and flies down, taking it off the water just a few yards from the boat.  It is very dramatic (I think Ron has a better picture than this which I hope to steal a copy of).

We stop and fish a bit more before heading to one of the beach areas to eat.  I walked out to the rocky point to look for wolf tracks.  They are hard to find after the previous day's rain, but I do find two sets of them, the second set having smaller tracks of very young wolves.

Lunch is once again shore fish and potatoes.  It is easy to eat too much.  Carter and John stop by for a few minutes before we head out for some more fishing.  Temperatures have turned warm from the mornings gloom and I finished the day in shorts and a T-shirt again.

The afternoon's fishing isn't quite as good for our boat, but we still hook into a decent number of fish.  At one point I don't get my line out of the way of the boat in time on a turn and it gets wrapped up in the trolling motor - I felt like quite the waterhead.

As the afternoon wore on, it was time to head in.  The wind had picked up creating waves in the open areas.  At a point near the rapids, we see two bald eagles fighting mid-air.  The go at each other before tumbling in a triple barrel-roll, only to break away and fly off right near the water.  I'm not sure which was cooler, the eagle taking the perch right before lunch or the eagles fighting while headed back to camp?

As it got darker back at camp, the first boat came in early which was a good sign.  Both Amanda and Matt had shot nice bears off their stands.  It wasn't too long before the other boat came in with Mark and Tyler ... and two more bears.

So 10 hunters, 10 bears with one day to spare.  Incredible.

Delta Bear Hunt Day 7 - Spinnerbait Walleye

I slept pretty well and expected to wake up to rain.  But I woke up to another steely grey Manitoba morning.  It was much warmer than I expected as well.

After coffee and reading a few things online, I took my pole out to the bay and cast by the boat ramp.  I ended up catching the largest pike I've gotten yet.  It was a bit tough to get the treble hook off without any kind of pliers.  It was only about 24" but I could interpret it as a good omen.

After breakfast, Mike (guide) took Justin and I out to fish.  We headed into Blind Bay.  On my first cast I ended up hitting a decent pike and bringing it in.  This was followed shortly by another pike.  Neither were huge, but catching pike is always fun.  Even the little guys often fight like big fish.

We worked our way around the bay with both Justin and I bringing in a fair number of fish.  None of them were huge, but it was at least a very consistent amount.  It was also surprising that they were hitting on just about everything.  I did catch one fish which was fairly respectable in size - not a monster, but at least as big as my boat ramp fish from the morning.

We headed in for a shore lunch at the lodge which was good, but not the same as an actual shore lunch in a remote area at the shore.

Once done with lunch I was getting really tired - so it was imperative to get out fishing soon before I got even sleepier.  Luckily that was the plan as Justin, Ron and I headed out again with Mike.  This time we headed up to Petrushney Bay.  We probably brought in even more fish than the morning.  Again, none were very large, but it was still a lot of fun.

It was also an odd fishing afternoon since we brought in fish using unusual tackle.  Justin brought in a mooneye using an inline spinner, and I brought in a big walleye on a spinnerbait.  Sadly, that spinnerbait was later lost to a snag.

As we fished, the expected rain did start.  It ranged from a light mist to fairly heavy rain.  We all had rain gear which made it somewhere between tolerable and fun.  I did borrow Mike's Frog Toggs pants which saved my Donkey pants.

We headed back to the lodge around 6:00 after a very fun afternoon of fishing.  John had shot a really nice and big bear.  No one else had gotten anything.  Matt sat on the same stand I hunted from.  I suppose I was both hoping he would see some gosh-awful huge bear and wondering how I would react if he would see something like that on that stand.

Delta Bear Hunt Day 6 - Princess Bride Fishing

I woke up later than I have in a very long time - possibly years.  But I guess eating and going to bed so late will do that to someone.

After breakfast, Mike and I went out with Carter while Mike (guide) took Justin and Ron out.  We went way up river above the rapids and started by using bottom bouncers for walleye.  This was not proving very effective, so we went a little farther up river and started jigging.  

In the movie The Princess Bride, Inigo remarks, "I wonder if he is using the same wind we are using?" when the Dread Pirate ship is gaining on them.  I can relate to this after the morning's fishing, as the boat we were in barely caught any eating-sized fish, while the other boat limited out within a couple hours.  I wonder if they were fishing in the same water we were using?  This might be understandable if we were in different bays, but we were almost within casting distance the entire time.

It is also possible that some cosmic force knew that I find jigging a very unengaging method of fishing, so our boat was doomed.  This may be supported by the fact that I only caught one good sized walleye, and it escaped the net.  Regardless, by early afternoon, there was enough for a good shore lunch thanks to the other boat.

We headed a short distance back down river to Kendall.  This has to be one of the prettier spots on the river.

Mike (guide) and Carter cleaned the mess of fish caught in the other boat and cooked up a great shore lunch which also included a can of stuffed jalapeño peppers.

After lunch we continued fishing, but switched to casting for pike.  We fished a few bays through the afternoon.  The fishing was good, but not great.  Most of the fish caught were smaller pike, but I did manage to bring in another pretty good smallmouth.

Throughout the afternoon, the wind picked up considerably, making it easy to cast in one direction but hard to cast in the other.

As afternoon wore on, we decided to begin to head down river and try to fish at Lamprey Right Bay.  But once we got there, we were not sure if anyone was hunting that stand so we ended up going back to camp. 

The boat ride back to camp was absolutely brutal in the more open sections.  The wind had whipped the river into a wavey, kidney-punching torture fest for myself in the front of the boat.  Luckily there were only a few sections of river where it was really bad.

There was some down time in camp while the six people still hunting were out (Tyler's bear wasn't recovered).  Once they were back, John (late to camp) had taken a nice sized sow.  Amanda had barely grazed a bear (which oddly came back to the barrel after that) and wasn't able to get another shot.  No one else had shot anything.

It was a good day.  So far the fishing has been a little bit tough this year, and with a storm brewing for Thursday, the future is in doubt.  I guess it always is.

I'm still hoping for one day, or even an afternoon where the pike are biting at anything that gets chucked at them?

Delta Bear Hunt Day 5 - After Bears, Fish

I woke up to a stunning Manitoba morning.  The air was cool and crisp with no wind.  The river was like a mirror.  Pictures on days like this are like cheating.

I sent a few I'm-in-an-awesome-place texts to a couple friends who should do things like this but rarely do.  Over the years I've gotten a few of these back as well so it is all fair.

After breakfast, Max took Tyler and I out for fishing after dropping another dude off at Kendall on the way.  We fished mainly by casting through the morning.  Fishing was good, but not great.  We caught enough fish that it didn't feel slow, but they were all small.  Even if the fishing has remained a little slow, the scenery is wonderful; miles of gorgeous coastline with almost no people and what evidence there is of civilization is not obtrusive and tucked out of the way.  

Conversation through the morning was good, even if some additional filtering may have been appropriate at times.

Lunch was once again soup and sandwich.  

The hunters went out after bears while Carter took Mike, Justin and I out for more fishing.

We started out by bottom bouncing for walleye.  I guess this is slightly less painful than jigging, but it is still not the most engaging way to fish.  It was also not terribly productive.  We did catch some walleye, but only 2 (or was it 3?) were big enough to keep.  We also had a lot of snags with Bag Al's hooks proving to be a frustrating tool for the job.  I think Big Al has some quality control problems.

When we ran out of Big Al's substandard hooks, we switched to casting.  This was a good turn since the fishing in the later afternoon was much better.  We were able to hook into a consistent amount of pike with a few smallmouths thrown in.  Some of the smaller pike were hitting lures with a brutality not commensurate with their size.  Several times we said that we had finally hooked into something big, only to see another snot rocket get reeled into the boat.

I did manage to bring in one smalley which was somewhere in the impressive arena.

We fished right up until dark before heading back into camp.  The six people still hunting filtered in through the evening.  Shockingly, only one bear had been shot at by Tyler, but its hoped recovery was going to have to wait until the morning.  Most of the bears seen were either small or maybe-on-Friday in size.  

I got pathologically tired and was ready for bed about 5 minutes after another excellent dinner.  Bear camp brings some bad eating and sleeping habits.  I love it.