Great Lakes 2018 Day 3 - SS Badger

Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Tustin, Michigan: 66.4 Miles

After another breakfast of gratis hotel waffles, we headed out to see a bit of Manitowoc.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit, effectively starting the space era of human existence.  This also set off the space race between the USSR and the USA.  Some of us still shudder at the sight of CCCP.

On May 5, 1960, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 4 into orbit, and this was to be the test flight for a future launch which would put a human into orbit.  Sputnik 4 was to reenter the earth's atmosphere four days later, but it failed to do so and was lost as one of the first pieces of inadvertent "space junk."
On September 5, 1962, over two years later, it finally found its way back into the unrelenting tug of earth's gravity.  Most of it broke up and burned on reentry into the atmosphere, but a chunk of it made it all the way to terra firma in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, landing on 8th avenue.  The sidewalk near this spot has a plaque marking the location.  The actual landing spot has a brass ring embedded in the road.

So here I am standing on the exact spot where the first salvo was fired in a future space war.  It hasn't happened yet, but the Russian's fired the first shot so long ago.

Interestingly, there is a theory, backed by some evidence, that Sputnik 4 was NOT a preparatory flight for a manned space flight, but was in fact an actual manned space flight.  Since most of the successes of the early space race days were done quietly and only celebrated after, this could have been kept very quiet by the USSR.  This makes the location in Manitowoc a little more macabre.  Search Achille and Giovanni Battista for more information on this.  And remember that some conspiracy theories really are correct.

All this space mayhem took place right in front of the Rahr art museum, where we also spent some time - if for no other reason than it also houses a replica of the Sputnik chunk.  The original was returned to the USSR (it was probably needed for a proper burial).

I can't say fine art is really my thing, but if this one counts, then I guess I like art.

It was fitting that an Andy Warhol of (communist) Mao was at the museum.

There was also a pre-cubist Picasso.

I think this was the first time I got to see a real Dali print in person.

The least Georgia O'Keeffe painting I've ever seen.  Maybe I'm looking at it wrong.

The Rahr museum itself is a near work of art as a mansion built in 1893 for Joseph and Mary Vilas.  Joe was a successful businessman so the $50,000 it cost to build a 13-room house was money well spent.  The entry to the museum is a little bit of a letdown as it is a newer addition that has an institutional feel to it.  But much of the art is in the actual house which is a treasure if one ignores the requisite modernization of things like conduit and security cameras.

After revisiting the space race and seeing some art, we spent a short time at the Manitowoc Public Library en route to Lake Michigan.  The library was right across the street from the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.  We had seen this during a past visit and it would have been nice to do so again since that was so long ago, but timing didn't allow it.  The USS Cobia looks as cool (and ominous) as it ever did moored in the channel.

The coelacanth is a fish which has a fossil record going back 66 million years and was "known extinct" - much like the dinosaurs or saber-toothed tigers were known extinct.  It was "known extinct" until 1938 when Majorie Courtenay-Latimer "discovered" one at a market in East Africa.  Both "known extinct" and "discovered" are in quotes, because they are both wrong.  Obviously the fish was not "extinct" since one was available for purchase at a market.  It wasn't "discovered" since this was a fish that while not common, was well-known to indigenous people who fished in the area.  The fish was also known to be oily and quite foul tasting, and so it was often avoided.  But it does illustrate a certain Euro-American-centric ignorance to say that the coelacanth was discovered after it was known to be extinct.
Moving on before this turns into some kind of finger-wagging lecture - which would be an imperfect message from a slightly hypocritical perspective anyway.
A huge coal-fired ferry has no right to exist.  Diesel and gasoline replaced coal long ago.  Electric also chipped away at it; electric continues to now chip away at petrol.  Al Gore has been preaching the message of evil coal for some time (while living his uber-1%er lifestyle).  Diesel is more efficient and faster.  Wind is very green, although I wouldn't want to depend on a wind-powered ferry.  Aircraft carriers are cold-war nuclear clean.  But large coal-fired boats are extinct.
Except they are not.  The SS Badger is a coelacanth.  A huge coal-fired car ferry that carries 180 vehicles and 600 people back and forth across Lake Michigan between Mainotowac and Ludington should not exist in 2018.  But it does and we should be glad about that - the coelacanth still swims and eats and mates.
The EPA (and other complainers) have tried to kill the SS Badger off several times.  And changes like stopping the dumping of coal fly ash into the lake is a good thing.  Still, I fear the SS Badger's days are numbered and it will only be a matter of time until it is shelved and sold for scrap or evolved from the living, breathing museum that it is into another mummified maritime museum.  Heaven forbid we lose even more connection to our past and this persistent historic boat gets converted into some Elon-Muskovite electric water-Tesla.  No, the world will not stop turning if SS Badger is scuttled.  But the world wouldn't end of the coelacanth is killed off either, if it finally earns its "extinct" label.
I wanted to cross Lake Michigan on the coal-fired SS Badger before it is lost to modern-day oversensitivity.  I wanted to ride the coelacanth!

Cars are driven on the boat by staff, but motorcycles are handled by their owners.  Motorcycles staged near the SS Badger and a ship officer came out and gave us all some instructions on parking.  After that, we all rode into the gaping maw of the coelacanth.

Once on the boat, we were directed to park with our front tires against the bulkhead.  I had brought four sturdy tie downs, but several guys didn't.  The ship had a few which could be used, but I wouldn't want to depend on them in rough waters.  Four was almost certainly overkill, but better safe than sorry.

Eventually everyone got their bikes all tied down for the trip across the lake.

SO had to walk on the Badger, so I headed up ship and found her.  Access to the car deck is forbidden when under way, but I was allowed briefly back down (before departure) as I had forgotten my sunglasses.  It wasn't that I desperately needed them, but I was worried they would fall down into the never never of the coal-fired boat and be used for fuel.  When down below I saw a tractor-trailer backing into one of the last available spots.  Watching it expertly being put into a very small space was impressive.

Fuel for the boat sits idly by waiting to be used for future crossings.  The burning of the coal does produce just a little bit of odor, but it was almost pleasant - in the same way an old barn feels comforting.

Watching the SS Badger pull away from the dock was surreal.  The ship feels so huge and the coal burners run continuously so initial movement was almost imperceptible.  The ship gains speed fast and announces its leaving with a crazy loud horn.
Many people staked out spots on deck before leaving.  Once underway the wind whips up and many fled to more covered ground.  We stayed out for a while, enjoying the cooling breezes of Lake Michigan while riding the yesteryear boat and watching Wisconsin fade into the distance.

After a while we headed toward the back of the boat to eat.  En route, I looked down to see the parking deck.  Originally the SS Badger was designed to carry train cars across the lake.  Remnants tracks can still be seen in the decking.

The four-hour transit passed quite quickly on the boat.  There is a small museum giving information about the boat (8000 horse power and 167,000 pounds of torque - jeepers steam can be impressive).  There is a gift shop, TV lounge, XBox rental, a bar, and two places to eat.
Food on the boat was a little bit pricey, but all in all not too bad.  SO and I both got Mexican food and it was actually very tasty.  I wouldn't take the trip just for the culinary experience alone, but it wasn't bad as a meal.  It probably helped that we were both very hungry.
While tying bikes down I was parked next to a man with a GS.  I saw him on the deck and stopped to talk for a while.  We talked various past and future adventures.  He was a geographic modeler and was heading to Thailand soon to do work on tiger longevity; I just knew there was a story there!

Soon enough the sandy dunes of Michigan began to come into view.  Against the blue water and humid haze of Lake Michigan, I could almost hear Eric Johnson playing Cliffs of Dover.

As with departing, watching and feeling the enormous boat pull a 180-degree turn in the water to back into port was impressive.
And then all of the passengers scrambled down and out.  Cars were being driven out as I untethered the bike.  The lake had been so calm that I'm not even sure that tying down was needed.  But as the Arab proverb says:  Trust Allah, but tie your camel tight.  I eased out of the ship and onto Michigan bitumen.

Avoiding the rush of leaving vehicles, I headed through Ludington and out into Michigan's gorgeous and lightly-traveled rural roads.  I was headed to see another of my Uncle and Aunts who have a cottage about an hour from Ludington.  The ride there was spectacular.  Cool temperatures with phenomenal light from the setting sun.
It took a few minutes on loose gravel and sand to find the cottage, but I kept the behemoth GL1800 upright.  We visited for a few minutes until we decided to take advantage of the remaining light to boat around their lake.  It was hard to believe we were the only boat out on such a nice night.  As the sun set the placid scenery was an amazing end to the day.

This was followed by a "birthday" cake for me, even though my Aunt was a bit a lot off on when that day is.  I was fine with the very tasty mistake though.

I'll have more time to ponder the day, but I'm really glad I fit the SS Badger into our route.  No, coal is not the cleanest fuel, but some much of American history (and industrial history around the world) has been built on coal that it just seems wrong to relegate one of the last few huge coal vessels in the US to the scrapheap.

Great Lakes 2018 Day 2 - Volo Auto Museum

Grayslake, IL to Manitowoc, WI:  166.7 Miles

While an hour may not sound like much, the time change added to my normal early wake-up time had me up painfully early despite feeling like I had slept in forever.  The very weird dreams told me that my brain was ready to be up.
After lollygagging for far too long, I had a stupendous gratis hotel breakfast of waffles saturated in syrup.  The Volo Auto Museum didn't open until 10:00 which is FAR too late for a museum to open; watching all the other people mill around the hotel I just wanted to scream at them, "Mornings on vacation are the best!  Get going people!  The museum I'm going to opens late - what is your excuse!"

After surviving the morning, we headed out to Volo.  We found the museum easily enough and sat around outside until it opened.  The exterior facade was a little grubby.  It wasn't off-putting, but the place had the feel like it needed a good scrubbing.
Discount tickets were available online, but without any way to print them out we paid full price.  The very nice lady selling us entry allowed us to store our motorcycle coats and helmets behind the counter (THANKS!).  The payback for this was SO's small cell phone charger must have fallen out there - not the fault of the Volo Auto Museum but a bit of a bummer.
The museum itself is an odd mix of cars for sale and cars for show.  The cars for sale run the gamut, but lean heavily toward modified American Muscle cars.  But there does seem to be something for everyone.  One of the first signs on entering gives a good premonition on what will be seen:  Lots of interesting stuff, not necessarily Pebble Beach restorations.  Standing in front of a Duesenberg, this felt refreshingly honest.

One of the first cars I happen to see was a 77-newer MGB - presumably for sale.  The telltale coolant leak was a little disconcerting...

Much of the space is a mix of showroom and museum.  It was hard for me to tell on much of it whether the prices were reasonable, but for the few vehicles I had some inkling on, they seemed at least not horrible, but not a great deal either.  There was this sort of art-on-a-cruise-ship scam feel where every car had an appraised price with an actual price that was below that.  When the appraisal is done by the car salesman, be very wary...

This car was for sale at a crazy cheap price until I saw that it was a replica on a corvette body.  It was still a pretty good replica.

But it would have to be blown up with dynamite as this one was.  Or it wasn't?

Tucked away in a tent was a sadly-filthy car I would actually really like to own - a Fiero GT.  These were much different from the garden variety Fieros with the tepid 4-cylinder engine.  If I'm honest, this low mileage (<8000 miles) Pontiac just screamed 1980's and the $12,000 wasn't too heinous for what appeared to be a very un-messed-with car.  This is probably pretty close to what the MSRP for this car was new (1980 dollars were more real though).

I enjoyed the "Hollywood" cars scattered throughout more than I thought I would.  Most of these were not actual movie cars, but were traveling movie adverts, or built by the same builders or tribute cars (basically made by someone who likes shows like Knight Rider?).
What can I say, "We're on a mission from God."

And from another Belushi.

Y'all got your redneck on?  This one was actually assembled from other pieces and parts of wrecked General Lee cars.  That should tell you something.

Until I saw this and read the description, I had no idea that this Aston Martin was based on the Mustang Chassis while Ford owned it.  So replicas take on a whole new complication.  And James Bond drove a pony-car?

Excuse me, I gotta go shoot some womp rats with my T-16.

That supercharger alone should give this one away, Mate.

There is another one of these only a few miles away at Historic Auto Attractions.  Or is there just one and it time travels between the two??????

Not the actual Bonnie and Clyde death car, but an actual car used by a period huckster to hawk access to the "actual" car.  The owner of this one was eventually put in jail for fraud.

Yes, for a time Lamborghini made a tractor.  Sadly, it was typically owned by trust fund babies farmers and caught fire when they over-revved the diesel engine.

A "Harley Davidson" jet bike based on the Nazi V1 "Vengeance" rocket used in WWII.  The political implications of the mash-up makes the mind reel...

Nearby is a Harley Scooter.  With the current dismal financial state of the MoCo and the myriad of directions they seem to be going now, the commentary on the sign might need to be revised.

I hate, hate, hate motor homes.  They are evilly slow, can't turn, obnoxious and are too close to the anti-christ.  But seeing some of the immaculate condition old-school editions was quite neat.  All motorhomes should stay in this state.  And they should stay pristine by not being on the road.  Ever.

And I'll end with the car that made the whole trip worth it - a 22,000 mile Ferrari Testarrosa (flanked by a Lamborghini Diablo and Countach - which have somehow avoided catching fire).  If the Fiero GT screams 1980s, this car screams successful 1980s.  Or maybe it screams cocaine and huge cell phones.  Or maybe it just screams since the all-too-frequent belt service costs north of $10k.  Actually what really screams are the cheesy Pep-Boys looking fog lights behind the grill...

Which meant that it was time to get back on our 10-year-old Gold Wing and head out.  We did spend a little time looking at the Antique Mall - and if you need something - anything - it is there.  It is there if you can find it.  There were a few neat things to look at there, but it felt a little like a high priced flea market.

Overall the museum was worth the trip.  The used car lot plus museum is a much different spin compared to most automotive-based museums I've been to in the past.  But other than my $15 entrance fee and a slightly overpriced $2.29 fountain drink, my wallet stayed happily in my pocket.

Guidance before we left was that it takes all day to get through the museum.  Three hours was enough so we headed north and found a library to borrow WiFi from for a while.  This also got us out of the rain since SE Wisconsin decided it was time to get wet.

After borrowing the Union Grove library's excellent WiFi, we headed into Racine to see my Uncle and Aunt.  My uncle had a job similar to my own.  Family lore is that my Aunt was the one who potty trained me.  If that is true, just think of how different my life would be now without her.

We got to their house and my Aunt had me park in her garage which was most gracious as it was still raining.  We talked for a while before sharing a local pizza for dinner.  The pizza was super and it was great to catch up with them for a while; my Uncle has a striking resemblance to my dad and isn't doing so good.

With the rain letting up, we hit the road again.  My past experience in Milwaukee was repeated in that those sons-a-bitches drive really fast.  The speed limits aren't even a suggested place to start.  If you want to know if your car can break the sound barrier, just go to Milwaukee - the attempt won't even be noticed.

Once north of Milwaukee the traffic largely vanished.  It was getting dark and the clouds created a very gorgeous night with a near ideal temperature of around 70F.
We got to Manitowoc with just enough light (I was still wearing sunglasses) to get gas and ice cream.
Our hotel for the night was not nearly as nice as the previous night.  The ubiquitous pictures glued to the wall.  The drapes that just don't work right.  The sanitized feel of the room without any of the cleanliness.  The claustrophobic atmosphere with carpeting and fabrics designed to hide what 10,000 previous people have left behind.  Perhaps David Foster Wallace was right; hell may very well be a chain hotel.
But the Cedar Crest ice cream, made right in Manitowoc, was really good.

Great Lakes 2018 Day 1 - Getting Around Chicago

I woke up to a humid morning, going through an almost normal weekend routine.  This was after a Saturday and Sunday spent wrapping things up while also wishing I had found a reason to leave on Sunday.  Best made plans and all that.
I wasted spent time doing some final preparations.  In the back of the cupboard I found the leftover Pop Tarts from the Yellowknife travel; finishing these off as breakfast in preparation for a new adventure seemed appropriate.  Dogs had to be dropped off at beagle-jail.  Final packing and we were on the road.

Home to Grayslake, IL:  340.7 miles
We started out on 2-lane roads for a while.  It was a nice way to start with cool temperatures, especially in the valleys and warming East-facing slopes.

There was one detour that I made my own shortened detour for - only to end up behind the construction which was now open for light traffic.  Thankfully even the GL1800 is considered light enough I guess.
Shortly after the detour, we superslabbed it for the rest of the day.  Traffic around Indianapolis was tolerable as rush hour was pretty much over.  Onto I-65 toward Chicago, the traffic wasn't too bad.  At some point the Google StreetView car went roaring past.  This isn't the first time I've seen it, but it is the first time I've been so close to it for so long - so maybe my 15 minutes of fame will be on StreetView?  Or not.

I saw many signs for Fair Oaks Farm which is something I think I want to do sometime even though it appears to be geared toward kids.  This could have been the reason to leave Sunday.  Oh well - it wasn't something I REALLY wanted to do.

After a too early gas stop (given the rate of fuel consumption, I question the gas quality from my local hardware store), the skies started to look more ominous.  We thought about putting on rain gear, but ultimately decided not to.  With as warm and sticky as it was, water would probably be a relief - at least initially.

But the rain held off as we headed into both construction and the traffic that plagues Gary to Chicago.
I very often question the routing on the Garmin as it took me off of I-94, then immediately back on and onto I-294.  I've learned that the GPS must be accompanied by some common sense and a bit of innate directional sense.
Once on I-294, traffic absolutely evaporated.  It was eerie, almost like 405 The Movie.

But the Toll Road all to myself didn't last.  And I must admit that the traffic, while aggressive, wasn't that bad.  A coworker had recently gone to the Chicago area for a wedding and he talked about hours stuck in stop and go traffic on I-294.  Maybe I was lucky, but it was only a little slow and only came to a stop briefly a few times.  Still, pretty heinous compared to the rural roads around home.

Any real Chicagoite will scream that I didn't go into Chicago and I'm not even staying in Chicago - both right, but I was close enough to ponder Chicago:
At home I don't have any kind of pay TV.  But it wasn't always that way.  In his bid to rid the US from the scourge of free Over-The-Air TV, Michael Powell pushed analog TV to digital.  While this was a natural progression, it wasn't all good.  Those of us who live at the margins could watch a slightly fuzzy analog signal.  Those of us at the margins could not watch anything on an over-pixelated jerky digital TV signal.
For a few years I succumbed to the allure of satellite TV.  I learned to hate the cost and the over-repetitive nature of it.  But there were bright spots.  One of them was The Travel Channel's No Reservations.  Anthony Bourdain came across as obnoxiously brash and, dare I say, even slightly authentic.  But food-as-travel was an interesting way to represent the world (PBS' Globe Trekker might actually do this better).  The show often had an ethos of everywhere is better than the US, unless it was New York or Chicago.  I have to admit I avoid Chicago.  Chicago defines Midwest Sprawl; it tries to paint itself as the only worthwhile location in "flyover country."  Big city traffic plus big city corruption (ahem, "I've got this thing and it's fucking golden" Blagojevich) plus big city tolls are a special kind of hell.  Still, I did see something in Bourdain's Chicago.

I no longer pay for any kind of TV, but saw a few episodes of  Parts Unknown some time ago - likely in another soulless hotel similar to this one in Northern Chicago.  Sadly, Bourdain came across as somewhere between over-scripted and a sanctimonious jerk:  the Bourdain way is right and everyone else is an idiot.  Parts Unkown looked as authentic as an 80's sitcom.
And yet, Anthony Bourdain's suicide earlier in the year has troubled me for two reasons.  First, the people around him in the days and weeks leading up to it reported no clue about his mental state.  But more importantly, he was an individual who could have stopped at any time; said I'm done with the forced travel, the scripted TV; I'm done with portraying this part of me on TV and am going to change now.  Most of us don't have the financial ability to make acute angle changes in our lives.  It also shows what absolute bull-shit his TV machismo really was.
Do not speak ill of the dead, and that is not my intent.  Given the entertainment choices on TV I do believe the world was a better place with him.  Few of us really knows what is going on behind the closed doors of the people living next door.  None of us knows what is really going on inside the craniums of even our closest friends.
“We know, for instance, that there is a direct, inverse relationship between frequency of family meals and social problems. Bluntly stated, members of families who eat together regularly are statistically less likely to stick up liquor stores, blow up meth labs, give birth to crack babies, commit suicide, or make donkey porn. If Little Timmy had just had more meatloaf, he might not have grown up to fill chest freezers with Cub Scout parts.” 
― Anthony Bourdain

We checked into our hotel early, maybe too early.  But getting around Chicago wasn't too bad, which was the point to leave early.  And we also managed to avoid most of the precipitation while on the road.

Dinner was burgers at Bakes, but we forgot to get our discount for staying at the hotel (grumble grumble grumble).  If there was any consolation, it was that the food was excellent.

Great Lakes 2018 Day T-3

If fishing on Lake Erie was a brief interlude, that was all it was.  Other than that, it will have been over 139 days since my last adventure.  I'm overdue and the Gold Wing needs to spread its feathers.
To be clear, this is not an adventure that is all about crossing state lines or burning up fuel and rear tires in the quest for miles.  My family is getting together for a few days and there were a few other things on the "some day" list that I'm looking forward to getting through.

In the extended family, I'm not the planner.  But somehow I ended up planning more of this than I am comfortable with when I think about it.  Hopefully the rental house is good (enough).  Hopefully there is enough to do to keep the nephews entertained.  Hopefully there is enough to keep the siblings entertained.  Hopefully there is no other implication of duties left undone.

Over the last few weeks I've tried to time all those things which need to get done.  Getting the lawn mowed.  New tires and maintenance preparation for the bike.  My old, faithful Tourmaster Transition jacket had lost its waterproofing after somewhere far north of 100,000 miles so I had to replace it; it was brutally hard throwing the old one away after all this time and I penned a tribute to it that I do not believe was accepted once submitted.  So it goes.

I will occasionally put the date (not including the year) into Google Photos and see what comes up.  Since many of my adventures take place late summer into early fall, the pictures have begun to show past road trips.  I probably save too many pictures, but even seeing the more mundane shots can be fun.

"Memory is insubstantial. Things keep replacing it. Your batch of snapshots will both fix and ruin your memory of your travels, or your childhood, or your children's childhood. You can't remember anything from your trip except this wretched collection of snapshots." - Annie Dillard

But Annie Dillard is wrong on this - not that memory can be transient, but that what is remembered isn't always the big grand moments, but often the small ones that are sometimes recalled and replayed.  No pictures or written description will ever fully tell the Tale of an adventure, but pictures can be the gateway drug to memory, sometimes even to nostalgia.
Wile the Lake Erie fishing trip was only a few weeks ago, the scene of a mother and son eating their $0.50 ice cream cones in McDonalds has replayed in my head.  There is no reason for this other than they looked so placid in that brief mid-summer moment.

"We keep passing unseen through little moments of other people’s lives." - Robert Pirsig

Things are wrapping up at work.  I'll likely be bouncing off the walls this weekend before finally heading out.  But it almost seems imminent at this point.

2018 Lake Erie Fishing

I'm fortunate to have worked for the same place long enough that I've accrued quite a bit of vacation (by US standards).  And looking back over the last 10 years, my average time between vacation is about 40 days.  So the past 111 days since returning from the Frozen North has become increasingly painful.  Granted in 2009, I went almost 200 days and 2011 (after moving into the new house) was 178 days, so it has been worse.
The crabby factor has been increasing and I do have other things to look forward to.  But suffice to say, I'm due for at least a brief a break from the routine.

This will be my third time heading up to Lake Erie for walleye fishing.  It is fun, but exactly how much fun is dependent on lots of factors, most notably the people.  I suspect that even if it was terrible weather with lousy fishing, the right people would make it enjoyable.  The inverse is probably also true.
The recent heat wave broke through the day on Friday with the brutally oppressive humidity going with it into Saturday.  Saturday seemed to be one of those days it was impossible to be in a bad mood.  Perfect weather, nice breeze; a lot got done.  The past couple weeks were ugly, I'll take the weather respite even if it is forecast to be brief.  It is July after all...

Sunday came with more cool weather and the mandatory early morning dog walk.  I thought about trying to ride the bike as well, but that could have turned the morning into a scramble.  So time was spent finishing getting ready.  I was at Dave's house at the requested time and we transferred my stuff to his car, leaving shortly after.
We stopped by to pick up John - Dave's almost, sort-of relative who it also turns out works in the same building as I do (although I've never met or recall seeing him).  Then it was on to Nick's where we got there very early.  Todd was already there so we sat around and lollygagged a bit before Tony showed up.
Once the whole group was ready, we caravanned up in Dave and Tony's vehicles.

The drive seemed to take much longer than I recalled, but we actually made good time.  The condos where exactly as I remembered them - clean, everything in its place and nothing seemed to be too broken.

It was already getting later in the day so we started dinner by cutting up a diabetes-inducing heap of potatoes and combining them with peppers and onions.  Once cooking in foil in the oven some of the guys wanted to go find the marina and boat, but leaving the potatoes cooking in the oven and potentially erupting over seemed like a bit of a risk - besides, I was already getting a little over-peopled.  I stayed and fished off the condo deck.  Initially I caught some bait-sized bluegill before switching over to going after bass.  People came and went, but the condos didn't seem nearly as busy as the previous year.
I ended up catching three small bass while some of the others brought in some impressive ones through the evening.  Overall the amount of bass brought in was pretty impressive and much better than I recall from the previous year; the pond is 100% catch and release so there are lots of chances for them to grow big.

Dinner was phenomenal with huge ribeye steaks and salad in addition to the potatoes.  Since I'm still working on bringing down the wild game mean level at home, it was the first time I'd had beef in quite some time.
The evening ended with more fishing and my apple pie which turned out quite well.  Todd ended up saving his pie for breakfast which was not a bad idea.  Once darkness came, I went to bed.  I have no idea how long anyone else stayed up, but was very thankful to be able to get to sleep.

I was up at my usual time which gave me a chance to get a shower.  However, I didn't want to disturb anyone else so there wasn't much I could do after that.  The others started moving soon enough and we packed everything up to head out to the boat.
Captain Steve was getting ready when we got there - there wasn't near as much lollygagging as the previous year.  Out we headed towards Kelly's Island.

As we motored out I could see Cedar Point in the distance.  I don't have much use for amusement parks anymore, but jeepers that was the "it" place when I was a kid.  Had I known about the fishing so close to the park way back then, I might have been torn on which was better, but I think I still would have chosen amusement parks.  Amusement parks are expensive enough that they were a financial rarity.  Guided fishing was out of the question.

We started drift/cast fishing using Erie Dearies and worm harnesses and it was ... slow.  Not slow enough to give up, as just enough fish were caught to have us keep at it.  That was pretty much how the fishing went all day.  We'd drift over an area and catch a few, repeat and take in a few less, then it seemed to dry up.  It was some kind of fish titration, where a few more brought in the boat would give a reason to keep at it.

Of course we also brought in a fair number of sheep heads and catfish.  If there was any surprise, it was that most of the walleye actually caught met the minimum of 15 inches; very few needed to be thrown back.  Some of the sheep heads and catfish were quite impressive.

My fishing was painfully lethargic as it was a few hours until I caught my first fish.  Things picked up after that for me, while it waned for some of the other guys in the boat.  On one cast I had a walleye going after my Erie Dearie, but not committing.  Captain Steve said to open the bail as that would make the fish think the bait was wounded and go after it.  The anthropomorphic level of intelligence given to fish (or deer, or ducks, or any game animal) always amuses me.  Or maybe it frustrates me.  Regardless, I did end up catching the fish and the "wounded" bait remained a running joke on the boat.  Captain Steve was quite proud of his tip.  "I'll never fish with a closed bail again," was my response.
There were lots of other shenanigans and BSing on the boat - suffice to say that potentially one guy revealed he peed in an inappropriate spot in the morning which became the source for much of it.  Some things that happen on the boat should generally stay there.

Weather during the day was great.  It started cool and got warmer, but not hot until the very end.  Wind seemed to die down through the day as well with a tolerable level of humidity.  For July, it was about as good as it gets.
We spent some time fishing in over 40' of water.  This was painful as it takes forever for even heavy baits to get near the few fish at the bottom.  If fishing would have been more productive it would have been better, but I can't say I really liked fishing the deeper water.

We ended the day in a small bay (Watkins?  Race Track?) which seemed to be one of the better spots.  There didn't seem to be very many other charters out so either they had given up early or maybe the other captains knew something Stevo and his few contacts new.

As time to head back approached, I brought in my one and only sheep head of the trip.  I would have liked the final fish to be a walleye, but I decided to end it with a caught fish.  I was hot, tired and a bit sore for the ride back.
Total walleye for the boat was 23 keepers - about half limit which wasn't too bad given the conditions.  I contributed 3, with one throw back as well as a white bass.  I guess I'll see if keeping that was a mistake.

We cleaned up a bit at the marina before heading to McDonalds to eat.  I don't remember the last time I ate fast food - maybe while hog hunting in January?  Actually I think it is before that?  I guess it might be Tim Hortons in the Calgary, Alberta airport depending on what one calls "fast food."  The McDonalds crispy chicken sandwich was only tolerable and even the fries weren't as good as I remember them.  So it goes.
We picked up our cleaned fish at the cut house - I really value the fish-cleaning service but I have to wonder if anyone gets used to that smell?
We split up the fish between the group and headed back toward home.

The drive back went well enough and with time spent in air conditioning I felt pretty good.  After dropping John off, and after getting to Dave's we split up our stuff before I headed home, arriving just after dusk.  With work coming quickly in the morning, I took care of only some of my stuff before calling it a night. 
As I started to fall asleep, I could still feel the remnants of the rocking boat and the subtle tug of a fish on the line.

Yellowknife Adventure Day 5 (and 6)

There was no reason to hurry so the day started out slow.  Coffee.  Packing.  Breakfast.

After buttoning everything up there was no reason not to leave, so we headed out the door of the houseboat for the last time.  I'm not sure I'll miss the off-grid potty, but the houseboat was a spectacular place to watch the Northern Lights.  I left still thinking about the vivid display of the Aurora Borealis from the previous night.

We left - of course via the Ice Road - and headed into Yellowknife.  First stop was Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.  This is a fairly nice museum dedicated to First Nation's people as well as the overall history and heritage of the Northern Canada area and its history.  There were a lot of interesting artifacts and tidbits.  It was well worth the hour or two it took to take in everything.

From there we went to the NWT Diamond Centre.  I was under the impression this was also a museum dedicated to the mining industry and specifically the diamond mining which occurs to this day in the Northwest Territories.  While there was an informational video playing down a hallway with some pictures, we were herded away and told to go to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.  Weird...

From there we headed to the library to use their WiFi and as a home base since we had checked out of the houseboat.  Sadly, the WiFi was beyond terrible to the point I hotspotted my phone for the few things I felt needed to be done.

Then it was down the street for an excellent lunch at the Black Knight Pub.  There was only one waitress working and she was running around like crazy.  I felt bad asking for the check, but the time on the Ice Road Spark parking meter was nearly up.

We wound around to get gas in the Ice Road Spark before heading back to the airport.  Before turning into the airport SO said that we still hadn't seen the Aurora Village.  With time to kill, we headed back out on the Ingraham Trail.  We sparked down to the village, but once we got there we saw nothing but warning signs and private property placards.  It was not a very welcoming village.  We thought about driving in to take a look anyway, but were worried the Aurora cops might get all aurora mad if we did.  

Back to the airport.

Unfortunately, I didn't fully recall the rental car agreement only gave us 200km and we went well over that.  So that effing trip to the Aurora Village cost me about $10 Canadian.  Not that it really amounts to much considering the cost of the whole trip, but there is a principle here.  Or maybe there isn't.

We had to have the gate agent print boarding passes since online check-in didn't give me the option of e-boarding passes.  At least they didn't cost us $10 Canadian...

Getting to the Yellowknife airport with ample time was definitely the right thing to do as the security area is very small with only one lane.  The line got arrogantly long quickly.

And so the arduous journey home began.  Yellowknife's airport is small.  And as its population moved in to go about their separate journeys, the frontier feeling of Yellowknife turned decidedly more third world.  It reminded me a lot of Hawaii - odd how two places so geographically different end up in a similar state.

The flight out of Yellowknife went well enough.  There were several people on the flight south who were also on the flight north - so about four days in Yellowknife must be about right.  Once in Calgary I deleted all the bookmarks and apps on my phone for forecasting the Northern Lights.  But before that, I checked to see what the Kp index was around the time of the spectacular aurora the previous night. 

The Kp was a solid six which does happen a few times a year.  But having it happen at night with clear skies - and after three days that already had good auroras was like hitting the powerball on the lottery.

Continuing home through two more flights, we were exhausted but very happy to be done with airplanes for a while.  I will give two thumbs up to WestJet that all the flights went well enough even with some weather and mechanical problems.

I've been thinking a lot about the Total Solar Eclipse last year and the Aurora Borealis on this trip.  The solar eclipse is definitely rarer as the Northern Lights occur very frequently.  But the solar eclipse was so defined and so short that it had to be experienced very deliberately - and the two and a half minutes made it seem like it was a rush to both watch it, the surrounding area, and get pictures, etc.
The Northern Lights are far more colorful and animated.  And with several days to observe them, there was lots of time to take pictures or just watch.  Yellowknife also offered so much other stuff that made the whole time spent so great.
I have a hard time saying one is better than the other.  I guess I'll just have to go with admitting that I'm probably very fortunate to have experienced both the Total Solar Eclipse and the Aurora Borealis within a few months of each other.