A Refreshing Beginning

*Written a week ago - on Saturday morning, July 23rd, 2016*

            I’m not sure what happened, but somehow over the course of the last several weeks, the amount of time that I sleep throughout any given night has slipped away like sand through an hour glass.  As the summer goes along, a person tends to stay up a bit longer anyways, but with my family’s schedule involving work and practices, we continue to get up early.  That, coupled with some health issues and surgery that my wife has bravely battled through, and you have the ingredients for some short nights and long days.  None of the issues involving time mattered now though, as I was once again back North with my cousins; in the heart of Northern Lower Michigan.  We travel to camp in one of Michigan’s beautiful state forests once a year, next to where I grew up as a young lad.  I slept last night (Friday night) for just shy of four hours, or maybe it was five; we don’t keep track of time much, but I also get mixed up between reading my watch that I have laying next to me, seeing it’s time, but also moving it ahead one hour for the eastern time zone.  The point is that I got some sleep and it took the edge off.  When nature began to call, as I lay within my new tent, I knew it was time to get up.  After slipping in and out of the tent under the declining light of the waning gibbous moon, and the gentle glow of a rising sun an hour or so off from breaking the horizon, I turned on my lantern, tucked back down into my sleeping bag, and began to write. 

I had begun thinking about last night, and I had to get it out onto paper.  I would have documented it in my daily journal, but after two full years, and the aforementioned schedule lately, I’m like two or three weeks behind.  It presents itself as a bit of a problem.  My wife says I simply need to draw a line and start afresh.  I’m kind of under the notion though, that I’d like to at least briefly document each day’s events for the last few weeks; in brief snippets of facts for all that’s happened recently.  Regardless, I pulled out my writing journal instead.  After only sleeping two and a half hours on Thursday night, I got up and put the last few things into my Jeep, said goodbye to my wife, and left the driveway and Northern Illinois at 3:00 a.m.  I wanted to beat the heat, as my Jeep doesn’t have air conditioning and it was suppose to be “up there” with the temperature and humidity.  I made great time traveling through Illinois, Indiana, and into Michigan; rolling into town after about seven and a half hours of driving.  I stopped at the familiar State Park for a vehicle sticker, now known as a recreation pass, which I needed for camping out in the state forest.  Together with my cousin Brad, we then met my high school friend Tim for lunch.  Afterwards, Brad and I picked up my fishing license, bought enough food for one meal, and headed out to the woods.  We would complete our grocery shopping for the trip in the morning when we came back out to meet my cousin Brian; as he was coming up a day later.  Brad and I found a familiar site along the river that we’ve had twice before over the years.  After determining who could set up camp where, we began to start the process of unloading our gear.  Cousin Sean joined us at that point, as he had had to put in a couple of hours of work before driving up to meet us.  Brad and Sean hung their newly made hammocks to sleep in, and I pitched my tent.  After jumping in the river to rinse off and refresh, following a hot afternoon, we cooked up a dinner of beans, brats and sauerkraut.  It hit the spot, although as Brad and Sean said, “The only thing missing is the feeling you have that’s close to exhaustion; when you’ve worked hard all day and then eat that kind of food.”  It wasn’t as though we hadn’t worked to drive and then set up camp, it’s just not as much work as when we hike and fish all day (See “Bogged Down”).

Following our meal and clean up, we got out our waders, and boots, and gear.  All of us had invested in new boots and waders for this trip, as time and use had ravaged our old ones.  And so there was the usual reprieve from rushing around to get our suspenders adjusted, and the feel just right.  Not much daylight was left, but we walked downstream a ways so we could fish back.  The efforts were relaxed and we talked as we walked.  Upon entering the waters we thanked God for the tradition we’ve been able to continue now for nine full years, released a plug of sacred cedar, and then stated fishing.  Of course Sean hooked a fish on his first cast.  That’s a bit of a tradition too.  Not that he catches fish on the first cast every outing, but that he catches fish fairly consistently with some obscure spinner that he’s simply picked out and uses as his “spinner of the week”.  Luckily it was just a small little trout; a brook trout; and it fell off the hook before he could bring it to his hand.  Brad and I smiled, shook our heads while mumbling something about how he does that, and then started casting as well. 

    We continued on in the dwindling light for several bends without anything to speak of, other than little hits from trout that wouldn’t fully hook on; that is until Sean remarked that he thought the copper colored spinner I was using should start working for the brown trout who would be coming out to feed in the growing darkness.  No sooner had the air for those words left his lungs, when my lure suddenly hit a snag; a snag that was moving!  It was a load.  It was a slab.  It was big.  It was beautiful.  It was the first monster brown trout of our trip.

            As the male ruffed grouse drummed its wings off in the distance, and a whip-poor-will started its distinctive call that mimics the sound of its name, we all knew at that moment why it is that we do this trip.  This was going to be refreshing.

            See you along The Way…

Caught, Photographed, Revived and Released

Never "Too Much" River

“Water draws the only straight lines in nature.  It is in curvatures, however - in movement - that its true character comes most clear; where a velvety layer of limid water spills over granite ledge, for instance, defining liquidity.  This should not surprise us.  The earth is beautiful because of water.”

John Jerome - Blue Rooms (1997-Henry Holt and Company, New York)

In this blog entry I’ve documented three different outings I was fortunate to have had on some of our area rivers in the last week and a half.  The first outing was with my family on rippling Turtle Creek.  The second involved a friend and his son, together with my son Todd and I, on the snaking Sugar River.  The third trip brought area teachers and members of the “Gulo Adventure Clan” onto the steady Rock River.

Pictures & videos follow each entry.

On Saturday, July 2nd my family loaded up the old Dodge Ram that Todd has been borrowing from Grandpa Firman this summer.  It’s a perfect vehicle to throw our old canoe and two kayaks into, strap them down, and drive the back roads to the “put in” spot.  

On this day we traveled up to Shopiere, Wisconsin and Sweet Allyn Park. We unloaded our gear, and then Todd and I took the truck to our drop off point at the “Town of Turtle Canoe Launch” off South Creek Road.  Afterwards we traveled back in our old Jeep to meet the girls.  It was also the maiden voyage for our dog Kora.  All week I had been getting her used to the canoe in our back yard; having her getting in and out and rocking it around while she was sitting in it.  

She enjoys water, so we decided to have her be a part of our adventure.  The day was perfectly cool early on and then warmed up as the day progressed.  This typically is a fairly quick run, although the water was low due to the lack of rain recently; so for that reason we were a bit slowed when we scraped bottom and had to get out and pull our vessels over the gravel bars.  That led to some consternation, but the struggle also allowed us to get out and play in the water from time to time. Kora ran in the shallows, and probably could have done that all day.  I love this little creek, as it’s shallow in most spots, has a gravel bottom in this section, and has clear water so you can see fish and other fun critters under the surface.  At one of our stopping points we were fortunate to see two red-tailed hawks sitting in a tree beside the creek.  The way they were calling, and since they were not spooked by our presence, it led me to believe that one of their young (called an “eyas”) was up in the foliage, undetected.  Once we were out, a bit difficult with the bank you have to get up, we all loaded back into the truck, drove back over to Shopiere to pick up the Jeep, and then made our way home.

Jodi, Kora and Todd-Sweet Allyn Park-Shopiere, Wis.

Cindy and Kora

Red Tailed Hawks - Do you see the 2nd one?

The Family on Turtle Creek

On Saturday, July 9th our friends, Mark and Garret, drove to our house by 7:30 am and helped Todd and I load the gear that we had stacked and ready to go, into the truck and Jeep.  This time we headed westward out to the Sugar River. We dropped our equipment off, completed the vehicle drop-off, returned to the boys, and then began paddling downstream a little after 9:00.  Mark and I manned the canoe, as it was loaded with an arm full of firewood, and a tub of our food and cookware.  The boys had the kayaks.  Mark and I have gone out on outings with the boys before (See “Men Of The Hood”), and so with Garret college bound this fall as well, this was a chance to continue our friendships with a summertime adventure.  We talked, laughed, found a sandbar to cook breakfast on, stopped to swim and cannonball off the bank into some relatively deep water (if you ran hard and jumped far enough), and had a race down the last stretch to the takeout spot.  We arrived only slightly out of breath. They say, “To the victor goes the spoils,” and perhaps it does.  Our spoils were already cashed in, however, after a great meal, beautiful scenery, a hot sun over cool water, and playing in the water; before we had a picture taken and packed everything back into the old Dodge Ram.  We picked up the Jeep, and through tired eyes, headed back home.

Breakfast on a Sandbar of the Sugar River

Mike, Todd, Garret and Mark at the "Take Out"

Yesterday, on Monday, July 11th, after having left the canoe and kayaks in the back of the truck after Saturday’s outing, I met a group of the “Gulo Adventure Clan” at 7:00 on the Rock River in Roscoe.  We planned a Riverside (Park) to Riverside (Bridge) extravaganza.  The group is made up of guys tied in one way or another, either past or present, to the Prairie Hill School District (Prairie Hill & Willowbrook Middle School).  My friend Louie and I started the madness eight years ago, with an “End Of The School Year Adventure.” Although Louie teaches at Roscoe, we had coached boys basketball together at Prairie Hill for 9 years, and had grown into good friends through the process.  After 5 years of enduring everything from kayak trips, to long distance hiking and biking, we opened it up to some other friends, and then eventually to all of the guys at school.  It’s always an open invitation, so that without pressure men can join us if they want to, based on their schedules and the activity we have planned.  Yesterday our group consisted of Louie, Justin, Tyler, and two new inductees: Doug, and Greg who was five years out of retirement.  This was a different kind of paddling than my first two trips; the Rock River is wide and sweeping. It was early enough though, that we paddled with virtually no other boat traffic, and if you hugged the inside of the bends that turned to the left (as we headed south) you could take advantage of the shade from the trees that provided relief from the hot sun bearing down on us.  The wind was also out of the south, so we paddled into that head-wind most of the morning.  Greg and I paddled the “Party Barge” canoe while the others took to the kayaks.  We stopped at Atwood Forest Preserve at a perfect time for a break, and quickly cooked up the infamous breakfast over a wood fire on one of their massive grills next to the picnic shelter.  It was the inaugural usage (out-of-doors) of my new fifteen inch iron skillet.  The sucker weighs 12 pounds, and is not for the faint of heart.  I figure that on these water outings it could do as an anchor in a pinch!  The rest of the guys talked and tossed around a football while I made the fire, added the ingredients, and cooked.  After presenting the newbees with their official membership cards (thanks for starting the applause Justin), we ate in the shade, under the roof of the shelter, for a break from the sun.  After cleaning up and hitting the water again, we made one more stop alongside the Forest Preserve Headquarters.  We were hot, and needed to cool off, so we pulled up on a sandy shore and dove in for a few minutes. Nothing is quite like your first swim in the Rock.  It really was refreshing, and had we not had to finish off the trip, I think Greg would have reverted to his high school days of distance swimming and gone all the way across the river.  We continued on and arrived at a little marina, near Riverside Boulevard in Rockford, after about three total hours of paddling; four and a half hours with the stops.  The crowning moment was when we then pulled the kayaks out and loaded them onto Louie’s pontoon boat and tied the canoe on behind.  As he said, “This is the first time we’ve gone down and have come back, all on the river.”  It was a great ride back up the river to Riverside Park.  That aspect of the adventure took about an hour and a half, but it gave us the opportunity to continue the conversations, and enjoy the homes and views along the banks. You can never have too much time on a river.

See you along The Way...

Doug, Mike, Louie, Tyler, Justin and Greg at the "Put In"

A twelve pound skillet with a Million Dollar Meal

View of the Flotilla from the "Party Barge" Canoe

A quick stop for a swim break

End of an Adventure - The trip back up River

“I find myself thinking that we’ve finally succeeded in getting away from the world, and then realize I’ve got it backward.  The world - the phenomenal world, unmediated - is just what we’ve found our way into.”
John Jerome - Blue Rooms (1997-Henry Holt and Company, New York)

The 4th of July

Two hundred and forty years ago a new nation was founded; the United State of America.  Many years have gone by since the Congressional delegates from the thirteen original colonies debated and amended “The Declaration of Independence;” and although we live in a new era, it is sometime interesting to note that the words and wisdom of the past can apply to our present world.  Below I have rewritten excerpts of various speeches from two of my favorite presidents of yesteryear; Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Their words, written for events taking place during their terms, still ring true today.  The excerpts were taken from a book entitled, By These Words by Paul M. Angel (1954, Rand McNally & Co.-New York)

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Lincoln:

Mike and Jodi at Lincoln's Tomb - 2013

*An excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address - November 19, 1863

            But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground.  The brave men, living and dead, who struggle here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.  The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.  It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

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The 1865 Inaugural Address-Click to enlarge and see Abe

*The end of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address – March 4, 1865

            With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

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Roosevelt:

FDR's Four Freedoms Speech - 1941

*Excerpts from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s message to Congress – January 6, 1941

 (Eleven months before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii)

            In times like these it is immature – and incidentally, untrue – for anybody to brag that an unprepared America, singlehanded, and with one hand tied behind its back, can hold off the whole world.

            No realistic American can expect from a dictator’s peace international generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom of expression, or freedom of religion – or even good business.

            Such a peace would bring no security for us or our neighbors.  “Those, who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

            As a nation, we may take pride in the fact that we are softhearted; but we cannot afford to be softheaded.

            We must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal preach the “ism” of appeasement.

            We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests.

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            In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

            The first is freedom of speech and expression – everywhere in the world.

            The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way – everywhere in the world.

            The third is freedom from want – which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants – everywhere in the world.

            The fourth is freedom from fear – which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor – anywhere in the world.

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            This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women; and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God.  Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere.  Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them.  Our strength is our unity of purpose.

            To that high concept there can be no end save victory.

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“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

See you along The Way…