Canada 2014

Great friends, great weather and great fishing are a perfect description of this 9^th biennial Canadian fly-in fishing trip of the Kohibas, as we call ourselves.

My Dad “Fast Eddie”, brother “Fingers John” and I “Skipper Dave” began using Canoe Canada Outfitters in the early 1980’s. My good friends, “Catfish Larry”, “Hooks Len”, “Backwoods Bob” and “Thumper Scott” joined us in 1998. Catfish, the now eldest of the group, coined the name Kohibas because of our love of cigars and it stuck. "Fast Eddie" passed away in 2008 and "Fingers" died suddenly in 2012 so the group is now down to 5. Some of "Fingers’" ashes were spread over McQuat Lake where we returned this year.

I departed Illinois on Wednesday, July 30, spent a few nights on the road and met up with the group in Atikokan Ontario on Saturday, Aug 2^nd.

My first night was spent in Black River State Forest near Black River Falls WI. Nicely wooded, pull through site here with good Verizon reception for the Internet and several over-the-air TV channels available.  

Camp at Black River State Forest

The second night was at Pattison State Park, south of Superior WI. This is the home of Big Manitou Falls, Wisconsin’s highest waterfall. The park also boasts a swimming beach and hiking trails. Another nicely wooded pull-through site but strangely enough Verizon Internet coverage was spotty, although talk and text worked OK. No over-the-air TV stations were available.

Beach

Bridge over the Black River that feeds Manitou Falls

Friday morning I crossed the high bridge that connects Superior with Duluth MN. Then over the Laurentian Divide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurentian_Divide), through Superior National Forest and the Mesabi Iron Range (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesabi_Range) past the US Hockey Hall of Fame and Voyagers National Park and finally into International Falls MN.

International Falls, aka "The Nations Icebox" or "Frostbite Falls", is proud of its Voyagers history as noted on this plaque.

There used to be a 22 foot high thermometer in the park here but it no longer exists. The Smokey Bear statue still stands, although it was a bit sad to see sponsor labels on Smokey’s vest.

After crossing the border into Ft. Francis Ontario, without incident I might add, and stopping at Rainy Lake Sports to pick up 5 pounds of leeches I met the group at Canoe Canada Outfitters. We had a great meal and played few games of pool at local establishments before spending the night in one of the outfitter's bunk-rooms.

Canoe Canada Outfitter

The "Ready Room" at Canoe Canada

Walls decorated with paddles left from many, many past canoe parties

Sunday morning we drove out to the seaplane port for our short flight into McQuat Lake. Atikokan Areo is owned by Canoe Canada and the planes are De Havilland Beavers.  These single engine workhorses can carry the pilot, full fuel tanks and 1200 pounds of passengers and gear. You can read more about these classic planes here: http://www.bush-planes.com/DeHavilland-DHC-2-Beaver.html

Wonder if anyone actually reads this?

De Havilland Beaver

Gear, food and passengers are weighed so the weight can be divided between two planes. Bob and Scott took the first flight in and Larry, Len and I followed. Even after so many years the flight over the Canadian wilderness is enthralling; on occasion the sharp eyed pilot will spot a moose and point it out. Nothing for us to see this year, although on his mid-week flight check to our cabin the pilot spotted a moose swimming across North Bay on McQuat Lake.

Weighing of the gear

"Catfish" loading up

Arrival at camp means chores. All food and gear must be hauled up to the cabin, things unpacked and stowed. Boats need to be taken off the hard, motors gassed and fishing gear readied. There are 2 propane fridges for food, beer and bait as well as a propane stove and hot water tank. The cabin has running water for the kitchen sink and shower but the “little brown shack” still stands out behind the cabin. Once the sound of the plane engine fades and the initial chores are done we can all settle into the silence and solitude of being the only cabin on the lake. No phones, no TV, no radio, no newspapers; just the mid-week flight check to bring in more ice, and perhaps more refreshments.

Arrival

Main cabin

Kitchen

This is for heat

Bunk room

Sauna cabin (door on the left inside screened area leads to a wood burning sauna). 

Little brown shack out back

The days pass by, all similar; a relaxing morning and breakfast, getting on the lake around 10 AM and back at the cabin with our limits of bass and walleye by 2 PM for a big lunch of fresh fish fillets dropped into the turkey fryer. Then time to chat and have a cold drink with a cigar during the heat of the afternoon before heading out later for some catch and release fishing. A hot shower and light dinner followed by camaraderie on the cool, screened in sauna cabin porch and a good night’s sleep. Except for a few drops of rain on Sunday the weather was perfect all week; sunny with highs in the mid 80’s and cool nights in the upper 50’s. I think "Hooks" caught the largest Smallmouth of the week, which we released for breeding. He may have also had the largest Walleye.

Dock

"Catfish" (foreground) and "Hooks" clean fish

The skilled hands of the "Catfish"

Waiting for lunch. "Catfish" on the left, "Hooks" on the right, "Thumper" right rear

Fresh fried bass and walleye fillets

"Catfish" and "Hooks" with the morning catch

"Skipper" with a nice Smallmouth

Ready to be taken to the cleaning table

"Backwoods", the Condiment King

Some nice "smallies" and a Walleye

"Catfish" with the catch of the day

"Backwoods" ready for a days fishing

Evening camaraderie "Backwoods" left front, "Thumper" left rear, "Hooks" right front and "Catfish" right rear

We did become familiar with some of the local wildlife. There was Sweet Sarah, the VERY large spider who greeted us on the dock when we departed each morning and returned each afternoon.

Sweet Sarah

Greedy Gull, who liked to stick his head into the fish gut bucket for his afternoon lunch.

Greedy Gull

 And Len’s favorite, Rodger Rabbit who lived under our cabin.

Rodger Rabbit

Sadly I didn't bring the long lens because there was a pair of nesting Bald Eagles with 2 youngsters who, while very large, hadn't yet gotten their distinctive white head and tail; that takes about 5 years. There was also a large turtle near the dock that always seemed to elude me when I had the camera handy.

Before one realizes it’s time to say goodbye to our lake and take our sea plane ride back to civilization. 

Morning on McQuat

Mid-day

Early evening

Artsy pic

Twilight

Boats "On the hard" at the end of the week

"Hooks" contemplates the past several days as the float plane glides up to the dock to take us back

The experience will supply us with enough memories to last until 2016. To all my Kohiba brothers; it was “Tres Good”!!

Traditional group shot for 2014

Bringing you up to date....

Well, let’s see….. last time I posted I was at Brown County State Park in southern Indiana. A lot has happened since then so I’m going to keep this brief.

I made it to Illinois in early April and spent a few weeks at Ronna’s waiting for the state parks to open for the season. On May 1^st I headed for Yankee Springs Recreation Area where I started this adventure in May of 2013. The RV dealer where I purchased the camper was on the way so I stopped and had a sealant check done. No charge for this service and no problems found.

Ronna met me at Yankee Springs for a 10 day vacation. After she headed home I went south to Goshen Indiana where I attended the Escapees Escapade Rally. The Escapees are a very large RV club and several hundred rigs were in attendance. Great rally with lots of informative seminars and a huge vendor area. I was also able to meet my friend Chris for lunch. Haven't seen her since our dinner in Florida earlier this year.

Between May 16^th and June 11^th I visited Kettle Moraine State Forest and Bong Recreation Area in Wisconsin as well as Rock Cut State Park in Northern Illinois. Ronna, her son Art and his family joined me for a stay at Jubilee College State Park, IL. We met 2 other Northwood owners there, James & Kim and Steve & Annette, and we all had dinner at Gil’s in Hanna City, IL. One day was spent at Illinois Prairie Wildlife Park with Art, his wife and Ronna's 2 granddaughters. 

During this period I also managed a sail with my friend Bonnee in Milwaukee, WI. She put together a crew consisting of fellow sailors Arlene, Marjory and Chris and we sailed the clubs 30 foot C&C for a few miles out to the green bell buoy and back.

Photos by Bonnee:

In mid-June Ronna and I again met with her son Art and his family at Starved Rock State Park, IL. This time my sister Nancy, her daughter Chris and Chris’s daughter Angie and her boyfriend joined us. I had begun having trouble with my lower back and right hip just before this scheduled meet and found it very painful during the trip, to a point that I was almost unable to walk.

This whole back / hip thing laid me up well into July, although I did manage another trip to Bong Recreation Area and a trip to the Milwaukee Art Institute with Bonnee. We had planned on attending the Milwaukee Community Sailing Centers Moonlight Sail but it was canceled due to poor weather.

As for the hip / back thing I did see an orthopedist, had 2 MRI’s done, one of my lumbar spine and one of my hip. I also received a cortisone injection in the right hip as the doc thought the problem could very well be bursitis which could also inflame the sciatic nerve. But it also could have been a bad lumbar disk. Got the injection 2 weeks ago and things are progressing nicely. Still not 100% but getting a bit better every day.

Last week Ronna and I drove out to Amana, IA for the second annual Mid-West Truck Camper Rally. Some 36 rigs were in attendance, 13 more than last year. We had a great time seeing old friends and meeting new people. There was a tour by the Amana Historical Society which took us to a woolen mill, furniture factory and a brewery. Ronna and I decided to skip the brewery tour and opted for a lunch of Bavarian sausage and sauerkraut at the Ox Yoke Inn. A bus was chartered the following day and we were taken to the Northstar factory for a tour and fried chicken lunch (Northstar builds truck campers).  Every night there was pot luck dinner and a showing of “Field of Dreams” on Friday night at the campground. Ronna and I were both winners at the Saturday night raffle. I got a new camp chair and Ronna got a casserole dish with an insulated carrier.

Today is July 30^th and I’m camped at Black River State Forest, near Black River Falls, WI. I’m headed for Atikoken Ontario where I will meet up with old friends Lenny, Larry, Bob and Scott. We will take a float plane into a remote Canadian lake for a week of fishing and relaxation. No phones, no TV, no radio, no newspaper; just a week of quiet solitude and great fishing. My plan is to be near Duluth, MN tomorrow night and International Falls on Friday evening. On Saturday I will cross the border and make the final leg to Atikoken where we will all meet.  The other guys are flying from Chicago to International Falls and then taking a van to Atikoken. Hope to have some “fish pictures” for my next update.

Hope you are all happy and healthy!

Great Smoky Mountains

My stay at Norris Dam State Park in Tennessee was somewhat interrupted by weather and having to get the right front tire replaced on the truck. But I did manage a day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Norris Dam

 It was a 3 hour round trip and passing through Pigeon Forge made it a bit longer. This place is a tourist town on steroids; everything from Dollywood to Jurassic Park to Feuding Lumberjacks. And the fact that many of the local schools were on spring break didn't help the heavy traffic conditions.

Still, I did get to do a few hour “auto tour” of the park. There were more people than I expected for the first week in April and some of the locals I spoke with said they wouldn't even consider coming to the park during the summer months because of the crowds.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park was chartered by the United States Congress in 1934 and officially dedicated by FDR in 1940. It encompasses 522,419 acres making it one of the largest National Parks as well as the most visited.

Having a limited amount of time, my plan was to drive the Newfound Gap Road for 29 miles from Sugarland’s Visitor’s Center at the west end, through the park, to the Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center at the east end, stopping at Clingmans Dome on the way which would take about an hour. Then drive back to the Sugarland’s Visitors Center, pick up Cades Cove Road and make the 27 mile, 1 hour drive to Cades Cove Loop. Both of these roads wind through the mountains with sharp curves and steep grades so going is slow.

The Newfound Gap Road had several areas of road construction and the drive took longer than planned. I made it as far as Clingmans Dome and had to start back toward Sugarland’s or I wouldn't have time to make it to Cades Cove. I did manage a few photos along the way but didn't have time to do any trail hiking.

Along Newfound Gap Road

Along Newfound Gap Road

Newfound Gap Overlook

At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the highest point in Tennessee and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. There had been a foot of new snow a few days earlier and some of it still remained at the summit. While the temperatures were in the upper 70’s near the park entrance, it was only 56 up at the dome.

View from Clingmans Dome

I think the drive on Old State Hwy 73 Scenic, AKA Cades Cove Road / Little River Road, was much prettier than Newfound Gap. It follows the Little River and Laurel Creek, providing great scenes of these clear mountain streams flowing over boulder and rock strewn beds.

Along Cades Cove Road

Along Cades Cove Road

Along Cades Cove Road

Cades Cove is an isolated valley which was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the park. It attracts more than two million visitors a year because of its well preserved homesteads, scenic mountain views, and abundant wildlife. The Cades Cove Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Cades Cove Valley

There are about 10 homesteads and churches located on the 11 mile Cades Cove Loop. I understand that during the busy season this 11 mile drive can take up to 4 hours to complete. My limited time and completely full parking areas at most of the buildings allowed me only 2 stops; the Primitive Baptist Church and Cable Mill visitor’s center which has a large parking lot and a nice collection of buildings in one place.

The Primitive Baptist Church was constructed in 1887. The church was organized as the Cades Cove Baptist Church in 1827, and renamed "Primitive Baptist" after the Anti-missions Split in 1841.

The John Cable Grist Mill, constructed in 1868.

The Becky Cable House, constructed in 1879, adjacent to the grist mill.

Various buildings have been moved from elsewhere in the cove and placed near the Cable Mill visitor’s center, including this barn.

You can read more about Cades Cove here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cades_Cove

It was a short stay for such a large park but I thought it was worth it, seeing that I was camped so close. I’m now in southern Indiana at Brown County State Park and should be back in the Chicago area next Tuesday. Will be spending a few weeks at Ronna’s place until the state parks up north open for the season.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy!