Sam's BWCA Solo Paddle

Decided to go back out into the same area we did last week as a solo trip with my Vagabond, and a small Duluth Pack. The trip turned out to be quite an adventure from the start. As you can see in the dock photo the weather was threatening, but I thought I had time to make it across Snowbank (about 2 miles) to the portage before all heck broke loose, wrong!

Learned that the 14' Vagabond is not suited for rough seas on a large lake, made to to an island in the center of the lake, and had to wait it out with the loons and grebes for about 3 hours.

The dark skies of the storm against the deep red sun delivered it's own sense of beauty, and that combined with watching the birds helped pass the time.



The portages out were fairly easy, and my homemade yoke for the Vagabond worked fine, in spite of the slippery, wet conditions on the trails.




But made it back to Disappointment Lake and got a great campsite on a high bluff overlooking a narrow channel where Dennis, Sean & I had caught fish last week. Quickly threw up the Hennesy and a tarp, thinking the weather may return, but the rest of the week was fine!

















The views from high on the bluff were beautiful! Especially the early sunrise.

And the fishing right in front of the bluff was good:
The largest ones were 2 to 2-1/2 lbs.













The bite overall was excellent, I lost count at about 30, all smallmouth, kept a few for evening dinner...fried in a mixture of lemon seasoned batter and Japanese bread crumbs - yum!

Very different from bass fishing in Louisiana, the fish really do follow the rules uo here! We often joke about the fish not reading the bass fishing

books, but they sure do in MN.



So, what a great two weeks! Anyone who's never been to the Boundry Waters is missing one of the last pristine wilderness areas left in the lower 48. It reminds me of Alaska, but much easier to get to, and many, many routes to explore by canoe, foot and even snowmobile in the winter. And the town of Ely and it's residentd are a delight, so what are you waiting for? Come on up and join us on the next paddle!

Sam's BWCA Trip with Sean & Dennis Thomas

This trip all started at Steve Joffrion's fantastic log cabin that is located right on Miner's Lake in Ely, MN. Steve and his Son's built the main structure from standing timber! The wildflowers in the yard were beautiful.

We used the cabin as a staging place and spent the first two nights there, since our permit started Tuesday. The stay at the cabin was quiet & relaxingand the town of Ely was fun & interesting. http://www.elyminnesota.com/

On the way into town, we went to the Bear Center, next day toured the town and did the "Root Beer Lady" tour. http://www.canoecountry.com/dorothy/ "Big Teddy" was out, tearing apart a log that had ant larvae inside (one of their favorite foods!).

Ely has a rich history, both as a mining town, and one of the most northern entry points into the remote & pristine Boundry Waters Wilderness.

We launched early Tuesday morning and spent four days & three nights in the Boundry Waters. The temperatures were moderate, and the skies crystal blue, reflecting into the clear waters below.




Sean (Dennis' Son) was a real "trooper" and proved to be a good fisherman. It was almost impossible to keep those two in camp. They were hard at the fishing most of the day.

This trip was quite different than the one I had made last year, especially the first part, more pocket lakes and portages and almost no river travel. We put in at Snowbank Lake and ended up going all the way to Ashigan Lake on Tuesday, heard the fishing was good (and it was), but the campsites were pretty barren, with very little shade. The underbush was "spring-green" and the blueberry bushes were loaded with fruit rippening for the July season. We decided to stay the two nights at Ashigan, since we were on fish & Sean was having a good time.
Sean had fun sleeping in the Hennessy Hammock those first two nights.



The third was a bit too cold! The nite temps were 45-50, perfect for curling up in a light sleeping bag!

We swam a lot, caught many fish, and found a superb waterfall, next to one of the portages on our move Thursday morning! It was very surprising, I just didn't realize this loop had one, it wasn't mentioned in the books. The glistening waters crashed over the top, roaring past us, filling the air with a chilling spray!

As Sean discovered, a smaller set of rapids at the other end of the portage was perfect for taking an exhilerating dip.

The last day & night was spent on Disappointment Lake. Unlike the name suggest, it was absolutely beautiful, with many small islands and an interesting shoreline. We lucked out and got a great campsite (one of only 4 on the lake), across from a small island. I swam out to it yesterday afternoon and explored it, another highlight of the trip.

The fishing was great here, better than Ashigan. Dennis & Sean went off in the canoe yesterday evening to fish, I caught many nice ones just walking the banks near the campsite.

The second to last portage brought a surprise "close encounter" with a beaver lodge.

We left camp about 9am this morning, paddled to Parent Lake where we did more fishing and had lunch at a nice shady empty campsite. Around 11, we started seeing dark skies to the West, and the winds were building, so we decided to head for the entry point early, and it was a good decision.

By the time we crossed Snowbank, the rollers were starting to lap over the gunwales. We finished unpacking, and got the gear in the truck just in time for a massive downpour!

We topped the trip of with a good old fashioned hamburger, and an ice cold beer at Cranberry's in Ely - a perfect ending to a great adventure!

Day 3

We left after a line of thunderstorms went through early in the morning. We headed up Hwy. 3, the Great River Road. It was a very interesting and scenic drive. One of the towns we went through was the town of Chester, Illinois. Chester is known as the home of the creator of Popeye. They say that many of the characters in the Popeye stories were created from people in the town. It was a very quaint town with many old buildings.
After passing through town, I spied a strange mailbox at the side of the road. It was on a pulley. The owner of the mailbox evidently didn’t want to have to walk down the hill from the house to get his mail, so he put his mailbox on a pulley and a wire. All he had to do to get his mail was pull the mailbox up the hill, retrieve his mail and send it back down the hill again to be ready for the next day’s delivery. Very ingenious.

Most of this day was spent on the interstate making our way to southern Wisconsin. We decided that tomorrow morning we would make a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home Taliesin near Spring Green, Wisconsin. As a result we had a long drive to make it through the whole state of Illinois. We ended up at Bob’s Riverside Resort on the Wisconsin River. The Wisconsin River is a beautiful smooth flowing river. Sam and I both wished we would have had the time to paddle a section of it. I guess we’ll have to make it back here at some point.

Day 2

We were up early and on the road. After stopping at Cracker Barrel in Batesville, MS for breakfast, we drove up through Memphis and into Arkansas. We had another scare when another 18 wheeler passed us and sent us fish tailing again. That, the high winds and a sign for Hampson Archeological Site, helped us decide that getting off the interstate and seeing the real U.S. was what our adventure was all about so we left I-55 for the back highways.

The museum ended up being closed for lunch. We didn’t feel like waiting around so we admired the huge cypress trees in the park. Who would have ever thought Arkansas would have bigger and prettier cypress trees than Louisiana? A quick peak in the trailer led to the discovery of a major mess. Everything had fallen out of the cabinets in the last fishtailing episode.

We left the interstate again at Cairo, Ill and headed north of Hwy. 3 to follow part of the Great River Road. Not long afterwards we saw a sign for Horseshoe Lake State Conservation Area. After pulling in and talking to the camp hosts, Jack and Peggy, we found a nice, quiet spot on the shore of the lake. This is a place that made Sam and I feel at home. Who would have thought there would be a place in Illinois that would look just like a Louisiana swamp?

The species of birds in this place are numerous. We saw in just a few hours of sitting and talking, bald eagles, white breasted nuthatches, northern flickers, robins, Baltimore orioles, blackbirds, mourning doves, bluebirds, and cuckoos.

The day ended with a beautiful sunset right over the lake.

Day 1 - Before the Departure

I felt like I would never finish. After going through closets, extra rooms and used rooms; after having a garage sale; posting items for sale on the internet and just plain giving stuff away - continually; after at least 2 weeks of intensive going through things and cleaning up – I finally finished emptying my house!

I wish I had a picture of before, during and after but in all the stress and busyness, no pictures were taken. There wasn’t time to think of picture. Many loads of furniture, knick knacks and just plain junk were hauled away! My daughter, Kristin took what she wanted and what she was forced to take by me. There just isn’t much room in a small apartment for all of her mother’s things.

Sam of course, had gotten the job of taking care of his house after its sale months before. Despite him wanting to “help” me, I insisted on doing it myself.

On top of trying to empty the house, I was busy either finding homes for my dogs or getting them to their yearly vet appointments. By the grace of God, fantastic homes were found for all of my dogs. I am very thankful for my friends for giving them a better home than the one I had given them. I am missing them all!

Some of you already know that Bo, my quarter horse gelding died several months back. That left CW, my quarter horse mare, by herself. I had already found a home for the both of them near Mobile, AL. Since CW was lonely by herself, I brought her to her new home in March. Her home was another made in heaven.

We finally left at 2:30 after working all morning trying to get the house finished – emptied and cleaned. Thanks Lisa for helping make this happen. Towards the end, anything left was shoved in bags and crammed where they needed to go.

We discovered after only a few minutes on the road that the trailer handled differently fully loaded than it did when we had taken shorter trips in the past 6 months. This meant that we couldn’t go any faster than 60 mph without fear of fish tailing down the road. We had a scare when the trailer felt like it was going out of control after an 18 wheeler had sped by us. Of course, this knocked things out of all the upper cabinets.

We only made it as far as Durant, MS. where we spent the night at Holmes County State Park. It was a nice quiet spot with the exception of a yappy dog a few campsites away.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesen East

As we worked our way up through the beautiful area of Spring Green, Wisconsin there was little doubt as to why Mr Wright returned to this family property to build his summer home. Of all the areas we passed through on the drive up to Duluth, Kim & I agreed that this spot was stunningly beautiful, as seen in this short taken fron the top balcony of the house.

There have been many books written about Mr Wright, and tons of info on the internet. We found it very difficult to try to capture his work in photographs, you really need to visit this key site. It's awesome in today's world of architecture, and unimaginable as to the impact it had on fellow architects and folks back in the forties!

Our introduction to the site began in the Visitor's Center, which is housed in a resturant building that Mr Wright started, but never opened. Thank goodness this work of art was preserved and not torn down, since it never was functional!

As, most of Wright's works, every detail was addressed, from visual delight when approaching, to the vertical drops at th rear of the building...
and of course, the fabulous open interior!

As we gazed out on the scenic panoramic views along the Wisconsin River, we made a pledge to come back and paddle this on a future trip. What an introduction!

The setting also includes many other buildings and houses that Wright design & built for the family. Our tour included the school and his home. The home originally served as the school, but as student numbers grew, Wright created an entire facility for this purpose. Amoung the many features that impressed us were the main meeting center, and the site landmark - the Romeo & Juliet windmill.

Moving to his home, one could not help but feel you were in a fabulous resort! Set within a large hill, it's sprawling low-set multiple roof lines seemed to blend harmoniously into nature.

No photos were allowed within the house, but no amount of pictures can covey the uniqueness of design and striking beauty of Wright's work here. Our tourguide (who actually grew up on the "farm") recomended this book at of the hundred's written on the man and his work. Be careful, it's hard to put down once started!

http://www.amazon.com/Working-Mr-Wright-What-Like/dp/052158714X/ref=sr_1_2/002-0399804-6777619?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192364730&sr=1-2

Kim & I also have really enjoyed the excellent PBS DVD series on his life & work. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BITUH0/ref=s9_asin_title_3/002-0399804-6777619?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=10R76ZV4DZ32CXEG36BN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240701&pf_rd_i=507846

We also plan to visit his most famous creation, Fallingwater, when in PA. http://www.paconserve.org/fw-building.asp

Big Bend April '07

April 5 – left about 9 p.m. and spent the night at the rest area in Butte LaRose.

April 6 – Got on the road about 8 a.m. Stopped at Camper World near Katy, TX. Spent the night at Kerrville State Park in Kerrville, Tx. Very nice campground. Everything clean, shady. Nice trails to hiking or biking. Right on the Guadalupe River. Good possible paddling. Wildflowers along the road absolutely beautiful. Pinks, purples, blues and yellows.








April 7 – Got on the road about 8 a.m. Ate breakfast at McDonalds. Rainy and very cold. It is near freezing. Chance of sleet and ice north of us. We end up driving through icy rain and sleet for most of the day. We get over an inch of ice on the boat tie downs and on the front of the trailer. We stopped in Fort Stockton for lunch at the Dairy Queen.




We drive through some wet snow on the way down from Fort Stockton.

By the time we get to Big Bend, we are in warmer weather and the rain is over.







We arrive at the park Saturday afternoon, tired from driving through hours of ice & snow. The beautiful Yucca flowers at the entrance were a surprising welcome to a desert land filled with wonderful colors & beauty.

By the time we get to Panther Junction, we are in warmer weather and the rain is over. We drive down to the spot at Cottonwood campground that Bob and Joy Loudon have saved for us – No. 27. After dinner prepared for by Bob and Joy we go to bed early for the night.

Our Wedding - Ms Ollie's Reading

The Art of Traveling

When you pack your bags to explore the beauties of your own country or to travel around the world, consider these keys to a happy journey.

Travel lightly. You are not traveling for people to see you!

Travel slowly. Jet planes are for getting places not seeing places; take time to absorb beauty and inspiration of a mountain or a cathedral.

Travel expectantly. Every place you visit is like a surprise package to be opened. Untie the strings with an expectation of high adventure.

Travel hopefully. “To travel hopefully,” wrote Robert Louis Stevenson “is better than to arrive”.

Travel humbly. Visit people and palaces with reverence and respect for their traditions and ways of life.

Travel courteously. Consideration for your fellow travelers and your hosts will smooth the way through the most difficult days.

Travel gratefully. Show appreciation for the many things that are being done by others for your enjoyment.

Travel with an open mind. Leave your prejudices at home.

Travel with curiosity. It is not how far you go, but how deeply you go that mines the gold of experience. Thoreau wrote a big book about a tiny Walden Pond.

Travel with imagination. As the old Spanish proverb put it, “He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.”

Travel fearlessly. Banish worry and timidity; the world and its people belong to you just as you belong to the world.

Travel relaxed. Make up your mind to have a good time. Let go and let God.

Travel patiently. It takes time to understand others. Especially when there are barriers of language and custom; keep flexible and adaptable to all situations.

Kim, Sam…

Travel with the spirit of world citizens. You’ll discover that people are basically much the same world round. Be ambassadors of good will to all people. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Love and God Bless
Ollie McGillivary
31 March 2007

Our Wedding

Needless to say, we could write many paragraphs and still not convey the wonderful day we had, with all of our friends, relatives, fantastic food, a great site that allowed us to be married from canoes, on their lake and a fun Cajun band!

Also, it's so hard to go through and pick a few representative pictures out of the 1200+ that were taken, all great shots, all of you & us having fun together. So, we decided to post a few of all the best, and let the photos speak for themselves.

We personally thank everyone who came and shared our beautiful day with us!