2003
First Trip
- June 6 (Thursday), Sakeenah, Hidayat and Don leave Boulder and stay in Sidney, Mt.
- June 8, Arrive landing, portage and boat to island.
- July 2, All leave island for Boulder.
- July 4, Arrive Boulder at noon.
Second Trip
- July 15, Don leaves Boulder alone.
- July 16, Don meets Ury's in Braybant for night.
- July 17, All arrive landing, portage and boat to island.
- August 1, Ury's leave island and Don is alone.
- August 4, Joe Roberts and grandson Keifer arrive island by canoe.
- August 11, Joe and Keifer leave island, Don is alone.
- August 17, Dick Berrteth arrives island by canoe.
- August 22, Dick leaves island by canoe, Don is alone,
- August 23, Jay arrives landing, portage and boats to island.
- September 1, Jay and Don leave island for Boulder.
- September 3, Don arrives Boulder.
Click on large photo to view first photo of 2003 or click on small Thumbnail to go directly to the full sized version of that photo.
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20030010Boot Fence
A few miles south of Miles City on Highway 59 a very unique fence has been constructed on the east side of the road. For perhaps ½ mile, every fence post has been covered with a cowboy boot. Certainly this is a very creative use of old boots. The poles receive some protection from the elements and friends and neighbors from all around have a handy spot to dispose of a favorite but worn out pair of boots. I need to stop there sometime and find out the real story behind the boot fence. Sakeenah, Hidayat and Don left Boulder on Saturday June 7.
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20030020Boot Fence2
We spent the night at the Richland Inn at Sidney, Montana. The day was over caste but comfortable for driving. We had a very easy trip north with an easy schedule to follow and no mechanical problems to deal with. The next night (Sunday) we stayed in Brabant at Cabin #1. On Monday we drove to the Wathaman River and had a normal portage and trip to the island except for the dreaded last 4 miles. A sudden change in wind for the last 4 miles of our boat ride to the island gave us a bit of a scare. How the weather can change so suddenly at this precise spot so often, then change back to a calm lake 5 minutes after we land at the beach is beyond understanding.
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20030030Hidayat s Wound
Hidayat had cut his leg riding a dirt bike around Boulder before we left on the trip. The stitches needed to stay in until a few days after we were to arrive at the island. Don acted as the doctor and removed the stitches on schedule without complications .
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20030040Bug
Hidayat found this bug. I have no idea what kind of bug it is. It certainly is not too common or one that causes problems like a mosquito.
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20030050Sakeenah s Fish
Sakeenah caught a northern pike.
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20030060Duck Eggs
These mallard Duck eggs were discovered while uncovering the lower cache. This seems to be a favorite nesting area but at least half the time, the nest is found by some unknown predator that has a taste for eggs.
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20030080Dead Bear2
This is the dead bear we found at the entrance to the cooler shack. It had been dead for some time. The maggots had finished their job and were all departed. Note the black specks on the white plastic scrap which are the empty shells of maggots. Don managed to avoid “processing” this carcass for over a month. The smell was overwhelming and Don always was able to find an alternative task to work on rather than attach the bear carcass. He talked with a biologist at the Denver Museum of Natural History to learn the best way to proceed toward salvaging all the bones of the bear for a possible re-assembly. Don chose to follow the simplest process, one commonly used by taxidermist and definitely “low tech”. It consisted of sorting out the bones from all the remaining hair and putting the bones in a sealed bucket (two 5 gallon ones) until the end of the summer. The bacteria already in the remains will consume the remaining scraps of flesh and soft tissue in a process called maceration. The water line had large holes chewed into it by a bear sometime after leaving the island last September and required patching.
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20030090New Rug
Sakeenah writes in her log. Much of the mess of getting the cabin up and running for the summer has been straightened out and a fairly comfortable state of existence attained.
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20030100Bunk Bed Work
Logs and saplings have been cut and skinned in preparation to building a double deck bunk bed for the loft. The tarp allows a dry, shady place to work and make a sawdust, wood chip mess.
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20030110Mudroom Bed
Hidayat got to sleep in the mudroom sleeping cubby hole.
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20030120Mudroom Shop
The work bench is a natural magnet for collecting tools and various projects. If Don is not able to keep this area organized, at least it tends to isolate the mess in one area.
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20030130Kitchen
The kitchen is definitely ready for business. Hidayat and Sakeenah did a good job of keeping the kitchen clean and well organized.
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20030140Hidayat with bark
Hidayat finds that the bark peeled from the black spruce logs can be used for a scarf but it isn’t too comfortable.
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20030150Nesting Merganzer
We were surprised to find ducks nesting at the top of these spruce trees in the front of the cabin.
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20030170
Glowing coals in the stove create a great atmosphere in the evenings.
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20030180
Sakeenah makes a fashion statement with her bibs.
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20030190
Hidayat built this model tank that then did maneuvers on the beach.
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20030260
The Labrador tea white flowers are now in bloom.
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20030200
The front entrance to the cabin is a great addition to the cabin and greatly increases the ease of getting onto and off the deck.
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20030220
Sakeenah shows skill with the draw knife, cleaning up the surface of logs and saplings to be used in the bunk bed we are now building.
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20030230
Don works a draw knife on the pile of logs required for the bunk bed.
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20030270
A mother grouse is never too far from her brood.
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20030280
How long did it take you to find the grouse in this photo?
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20030290This baby grouse is pretty well camouflaged as well.
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20030300
The bathing rock is bathed in gentle waves and sunshine.
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20030310
Don holds the results of a fishing trip to the “Honey-Hole”.
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20030340
Don cleans a walleye.
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20030350
Don tries out the bunk bed. Note the peg wedge attachment joint holding the stringers attached to the bed post.
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20030360
Don checks the fit of the various parts of the bed before applying glue and a polyurethane finish.
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20030370
Sakeenah drys her hair after a shampoo.
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20030390
This lure holder was an unscheduled project that somehow became a high priority for Don. The inspiration for the design was a lure display at Sioux Narrows, Ontario that stuck in Don’s mind from trips there in the 1950s.
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20030400
Hidayat seems to have lost some height on our fish diet. What was that French guys name anyway??
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20030420
Sakeenah has a mosquito net protecting her sleeping bag in the loft.
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20030430
Sakeenah in the loft.
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20030450
Don and Sakeenah like the comfort of their bibs.
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20030460
On the way home from the island on July 2 we stopped at the Robertson Trading Company where they lowered the canoe they had on display for the dual purpose of cleaning it and also allowing Don to take many measurements.
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20030480
Lashing is accomplished with split spruce tree roots.
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20030490
More measurements.
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20030510
The bow and stern are identical.
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20030520
The ribs force against the thin slats on the bottom of the canoe.
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20030530
The thwarts are held in place with spruce roots.
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20030540
The ribs at the end of the canoe have cracked because of the sharp bends required but they still work even though they are cracked.
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20030560
The headboard piece is typical structure technique among bark canoes. Design differences in the head boards from area to area represent not only design differences but also can reflect differences in available types of wood or even different uses for the canoe.
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20030590
The seams on this canoe were not sealed all the way to the top of the canoe, probably because the canoe was intended as a show piece versus a working canoe.
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20030610
More measurements.
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20030620
This canoe has a small deck over the bow and stern in one of many treatments of this detail. Here the gunwale boards bend down below the deck while they more frequently bend up over he top of the bow.
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20030650
North of Prince Albert we had a very strange sun set with even more pronounced purple than captured by this photo.
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20030660
Canola field in Saskatchewan on the Ury’s way north. Don had reached Boulder on July 4 with Hidayat and Sakeenah. He reloaded with supplies and attended a 70th birthday party organized by Amy and Julie. On July 15 he drove north alone and met up with the Urys at Cabin #1 at Brabant on July 16. We left Brabant at 6:05AM on July 17 and convoyed north to the Wathaman River.
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20031010Portage to LakePortage trail bridge.
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20031020Rod and Bob on portage
Bob and Rod have their bug nets on for the portage. A very good idea for this day.
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20031040Scott Don Bob loading motor at portage
Scott, Don and Bob prepare the repaired 30 HP with portage poles for the trip across the portage to the landing.
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20031050Scott Bob portage 30 HP motor
Scott and Bob make quick work of the heaviest item to be portaged.
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20031060Scott Rod Bob start portage of Ury 16 boat
Scott, Rod and Bob prepare to move Rod’s big boat across the portage.
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20031070Scot Rod Bob start portage of Ury boat 2Ropes provide the harness for Scott and Bob while Rod stands by to place logs under the boat at critical points.
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20031080Scott loads Ury boat
Perhaps the largest load ever portaged in one trip challenged even the considerable boat capacity we had with the addition of Rod’s boat.
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20031090Don s motor still not working right
Don is trying to get his boat train underway but the repaired 30 HP just wasn’t working right so it was decided that Rod and his 30 HP Honda would be used to haul the entire train out to the island.
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20031100Rod likes his new 35 HP Honda
Rod maneuvers to get into the lead position of the train.
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20031110Bob Scott start their kayak trip
Bob and Scott were set up to kayak to the island. They were quite cramped for carrying capacity for camping supplies. They planned to tent only one night on the way to the island.
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20031120Bob looks ready
Bob is ready for the 25 mile trip.
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20031130Bob and Scott ready to rtace
Bob and Scott take off, not waiting for the boat train to get underway.
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20031140Rod prepares to tow Don
Don and Rod check the loading which is not the same when being towed versus being the head tow boat.
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20031150Rod prepares to tow Don 2
Now we are ready to go.
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20031160Kim is dressed for the trip
Kim is dressed for the worse (rain or spray). Fortunately the weather cooperated and the trip was uneventful and mimicked the good weather we were about to have for the next two weeks.
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20031180Dancing Loon Island ahead
Dancing Loon Island is in view. We arrived around 6 PM in good weather. Don was very impressed by the capability of Rod’s Honda. He used only 4 gallons of gas crossing the lake with three boats in tow. This is probably the moment that Don decided he needed to shift over to the Honda 4 cycle engine. Don’s 30 HP Johnson would surely have required 15 gallons of gas to do what the Honda did with 4 gallons. That is a large potential savings in gasoline cost and excess bulk for transporting and portaging.
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20031190Approaching the island
Dancing Loon Island.
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20031210Bear hasn t moved
The dead bear problem was still there.
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20031220Bear claws
The claws were in good shape. We think this was a juvenile male that had been chased away from the breeding female we suspect is living at the end of the lake.
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20031230Bear consumed by maggots
It was later discovered that the skull of this bear was totally shattered. Don thinks the bear died of natural causes and was later found by an Indian who was startled by the bear and probably insured the bear was dead by bashing in his head with an ax. We can only speculate.
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20031240Permafrost Cooler trap door opened
The bear certainly did not enhance the desirability of using the permafrost cooler.
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20031250Cabin steps
Cabin entrance.
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20031260Kim s cot in Master Bedroom
Don moved out of the master bed room and onto the mud room cot. This allowed Rod and Kim to stay in the Master bed room.
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20031270Kim relaxes before cleanup is finished
Kim surveys the disorganization of the cabin that always accompanies arrivals.
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20031280Kim Don straighten gear
Kim and Don rearrange fishing supplies.
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20031290Scott arrives the next noon
Scott arrives the following noon.
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20031310Bob arrives next
Bob arrives at the same time.
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20031320Scott Bob must relearn to walk
A strong following wind and minimal supplies convinced the boys to take advantage of the wind and not risk a tougher journey by stopping to fish.
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20031330Scott Don move bunk bed to loft
Scott and Don handle the new bunk-bed relocation into the loft.
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20031340Scott moves bunk bed to loft
Bob hoist the bed parts up to the loft.
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20031350Bob lifts bed railing to Don
Don lifts on a bed part as Bob lifts it to the loft.
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20031360Don prepares to installs wooden peg in bed rail
Don prepares to install a locking pin in the stringers of the bunk bed.
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20031370Don installs pin in bed rail
Don installs the locking pin.
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20031380Scott with finished bunk bed
Scott surveys the prospects of using this new bed.
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20031390Rod relaxes
Rod catches a rest in the middle of our mess. It was a long drive from North Platt and no small effort at the portage or the long boat ride. Winding down is not easy to control, regardless of the mess still on hand.
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20031400Gears moved into loft
Gear gets moved into the loft and mosquito nets installed on the bunk-bed.
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20031430Don Kim Rod Bob relax
Don, Kim, Rod and Bob relax after getting things a bit under control.
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20031440Cabin front with wet potatoe bag drying
Cabin front.
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20031470Cabin Front Stairs 2
Front steps.
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20031480Rod sleeps under mosquito bar
Rod rests under a mosquito net in the master bed room.
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20031490Don Scott Bob making rings from Candadian Loonie using a spoon
Don gets Scott and Bob started on a ring building projects; the ring is made from a Canadian $1 “Looney” coin. By hitting the edge of the coin with a spoon or small hammer, it eventually produces a wide band for a ring. Later photos will show how the center is removed by a jewelers saw.
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20031500Scott Bob work Loonies on front deck
Scott and Bob moved out to the deck for the pounding process. Don was introduced to this craft while aboard ship in the US Navy as a midshipman.
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20031510Scott sweeps by stove still on floor
Scott sweeps the floor.
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20031520Don Bob move flagpole
Bob and Don work on getting the flag poles installed.
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20031530Scott keeps at ring making
Scott is back to the loft with his ring work.
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20031540Bob hammers at ring
Bob uses the stool for an anvil with his ring project.
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20031545Kim Ury in kitchen
Kim looks pretty comfortable next to the stove.
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20031550Don Rod Bob Scott look at local map
Don goes over maps of the local area with Rod, Bob and Scott.
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20031570Don cooks breakfast
Don works on some pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast.
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20031580Eating area
The picnic table is ready for breakfast.
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20031590Kitchen counter clutter
Combining the Bunker and Ury supplies of Mountain Dew indicates we probably will not run short over the next 14 days.
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20031600Coin rings in progress on floor
Two loonies start to show progress toward becoming rings.
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20031610Ury men obsessed with ring making
Bob, Scott and even Rod work on the rings. Note that the game table log trim around the top (not the vertical corners) has been installed but not yet painted with polyurethane.
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20031630Scott on deck
Scott on the front deck with wooden stick he is considering for carving a chain.
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20031650Scott climbing to crows nest 2
Scott on the ladder up to the crow’s nest.
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20031670Scott in crows nest 2
Scott standing on crow’s nest deck.
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20031675Scott in crows nest 3
Scott in crow’s nest.
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20031680Rod at fish box
Rod at fish box.
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20031690Rod at fish box 2
Rod at fish box.
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20031700Rod with northern catch
Rod is preparing to clean some Northern Pike for supper. Rod is such a good cook that he can make Northern taste almost as good as walleye.
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20031710Bob slicing potatoes
Bob prepares potatoes for the skillet.
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20031720Rod fring fish
Rod fries fish. Fresh salad fill the bowls on the counter top. No guest comes to the island with a larger store of food than Rod. Every year he seems to introduce some new delicacy that becomes a cabin staple from then on. Walleyes wrapped in bacon strips or a very good shrimp sauce for fish (instead of plain catsup) come to mine as typical meaningful contributions to cabin lore made by Rod.
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20031730Bob Scott listen as Don reads aloud
Bob and Scott listen as Don reads aloud from “Trader, Tripper, Trapper”, a favorite book about a Hudson’s Bay Trader in the 1920s.
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20031740Don Rod cook as boys make rings
Don cooks breakfast as Bob and Scott work on their rings.
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20031750Don and Scott try out new used 18HP motor
Don and Scott are on their way to the “Honey-Hole”.
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20031770Bob in boat going to rapids
Bob is ready for some serious fishing.
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20031780Rod runs motor on way to rapids
Rod runs his 35HP Honda mounted on his large flat bottom boat.
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20031790Don and Scott fishing at rapids
Don and Scott parked over the “Honey-Hole”.
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20031800Fish on line under water
Bob has his first walleye on.
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20031810Bob unhooks walleye
Bob unhooks his walleye.
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20031820Don unhooks walleye
Don lands a walleye as Scott continues to cast.
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20031830Rapid from honey hole
Wilson Rapids.
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20031840Bob nets walleye
Bob nets another walleye.
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20031850Rod fishing rapids
Rod and Bob are working hard at fishing. To say there was friendly competition between the Ury men is an under statement. There is never a lack of good natured barbs flying amongst the men as they totally enjoy the moment. These are true fishermen.
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20031860Rod catches a walleye
Rod lands another walleye. One thing you can depend on is that Rod keeps a running score of all the fish caught, both during the day and trip to date.
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20031870Rod holds walleye
Rod is happy to say the least.
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20031880Kim battles a fish
Kim has a fish on.
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20031890Kim holds northern
Hey Kim, we are fishing for walleye. What is this Northern doing in the boat??
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20031900Rod and Bob attach a balloon to a walleye
Boys will be boys. Bob and Rod came prepared with a balloon to attach to a released walleye so they could later find its hiding spot. The hook will dissolve in a few days and if the walleye can keep from being eaten by a bigger fish, he will survive no worse for the wear.
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20031910Rod and Bob release walleye with balloon
Bob releases the fish and untangles the balloon attachment line.
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20031920Rod and Bob watch fish and balloon depart
After returning to the “Honey-Hole”, the walleye disappeared down stream and was later found in the back water we fish below the rapids.
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20031930Don and Scott fish
Don and Scott concentrate on the business at hand, not letting Rod’s boat catch more fish than them!! Always competition.
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20031940Eagle awaits dinner at bear beach
An eagle waits at the “bear beach” where we dispose of the fish guts. They are the true scavenger.
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20031960Rod and Bob place catch in fish box
Bob and Rod put walleyes in the fish box.
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20031970New flagpole
A long black spruce sapling that is destined to become a flag pole at the front of the cabin deck.
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20031980Flagpole before bleaching
This dark black/green discoloration is typical of the normal cycle of black spruce after it is debarked. This ugly color is easily removed by spraying the wood with a 1:1 solution of water and Clorox, especially when the sun is shinning. It will turn a pleasant blonde color as you watch it. Depending on the age of the Clorox, amount of sun light and initial wood condition, several sprayings may be required to obtain the desired color.
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20032000Sunset
Another sunset.
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20032010Sunset 2
Another sunset.
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20032020Bob works on mini lure holder
Bob works on carving a mini lure holder.
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20032030Kim Rod and Bob departing island
Kim, Rod and Bob leaving the island on another gorgeous day. The weather for their visit is still remembered as just about perfect and the best in 20 summers to date (2009).
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20032040Scott
Scott is along on this trip too.
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20032050Bob Scoott Kim
Bob, Scott and Kim.
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20032060North shore beyond calm lake
North shore entrance to Campbell River.
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20032070Rod runs his new Honda 30HP
Rod.
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20032080Scott with small northern
Scott and a small “snake” (Northern Pike).
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20032090Rod Bob Kim walk to intrim lake down dried up rapids
Rod, Bob and Kim walk down the nearly dry west channel of Wilson Rapids. Most years the water never gets this low. The pond to the left of Rod was hoped to have contained a giant Northern caught by the lowering water level but that was not to be. On fishing this pond on multiple occasions, no fish of significance has ever been caught there.
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20032100Scott Rod Bob at intrim lake
Scott, Rod and Bob.
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20032110Scott spooks minnows at intrim lake
Scott manages to scare many surface minnows to scurry for safety. Similar reactions have been observed when a large Northern swims near a school of minnows.
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20032120Walleye marked with balloon moved to intrim lake
The walleye “tagged” yesterday is found at the Interim Lake.
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20032130Scott and Don s old boat at intrim lake
Scott at the end of the portage into the Interim Lake. The Naden aluminum boat from Clear Lake is stowed here at the Interim Lake. Several years later it disappeared for a couple years, only to be re-discovered at the Caldwell River portage by Rod in 2008.
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20032140Ground berries
Ground hugging berry of unknown variety.
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20032150Scott snacks while running Honda
Scott enjoys a snack on the boat ride home.
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20032160Bob in boat off cabin island
Bob as the boat approached Dancing Loon Island.
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20032170Scott Bob and Don remove old stove pipeScott, Bob and Don are installing the new stand under the airtight stove. This required the removal and reinstallation of the stove pipe. It is not a one man job.
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20032180Scott Bob Don remove old stove pipe 2Scott and Bob hold the upper portion of the stovepipe while Don works on the lower portion.
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20032190Scott Don Bob work on removing old stove
Don, Bob and Scott.
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20032200Scott removes last of old stove pipe
Scott.
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20032210Bob Scott do heavy lifting with new stove
Don, Bob, Scott and Rod cooperate to get the stove onto the new stand and properly oriented so the stove pipe will be vertical when installed. Easier said than done. Obviously, Bob and Scott are doing all the heavy lifting.
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20032220Scott Don Bob start installing new stove pipe
Scott, Don and Bob prepare to get the stove pipe reinstalled.
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20032230Scott Don Bob installing new stove pipe
Scott and Don manage the top sections of pipe while Bob maneuvered the lower section. The two sections required meeting in the middle with a considerable bow in all the pipes. Once the middle pieces are fitted together, then the total pipe assembly could be straightened out and the joints compressed for a snug fit.
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20032240Don cuts new stove pipe to length
Don cuts a section of pipe to length after the pipe was temporarily fitted in place to adjust the length required.
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20032260Scott celebrates new stove in rafters
Scott celebrates the completion of the job. He is also doing a pretty good job of dusting the log beams.
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20032270Scott attackes flies while Rod plugs holes
Rod is putting insulation in any hole that might be letting mosquitoes into the cabin while Scott mans the flyswatter.
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20032280Scott attackes flies while Rod plugs misquito holes
Scott and Rod pause at their task at hand.
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20032300Cabin model hanging from rafters
Cabin model hanging amongst the rafters, another dust collector.
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20032320Rod towing Scott in kayakRod takes Scott for a fast ride in his kayak.
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20032330Scott in kayak
Scott in his kayak with more speed than usual.
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20032340Picking up roacks
Bob, Don, Rod and Scott moving rocks from the front beech. We spent many hours doing this and it has resulted in a very nice waterfront area.
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20032350Rod put rocks on levy
Rod was especially drawn to this project and put in more water time than anyone else. All of this rock work was submerged the entire year of 2009, one of the highest water level years to date.
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20032355Don tries out new stove
Don enjoys the newly elevated airtight stove.
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20032360Island from Esker hike
Dancing Loon Island from the photo op spot on the Esker Lake Nature Trail hike. This view is looking west south west from the northeast end of Spalding Lake.
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20032370Island from Esker hike closeup
Telephoto view from the same spot. Note the sand beaches on Indian Island.
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20032380Rod Kim on hike
Rod and Kim on the hike.
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20032390Kim Bob Scott Don on hike
Kim, Scott, Bob and Don on the hike and well covered with netting to protect from the abundant mosquitoes.
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20032400Passing aircraft
A float plane has no idea his picture is being taken or that he has people under his plane as he traverses this vast wilderness.
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20032410Kim on hike
Kim rest along the hike.
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20032420Don on hike
Don pauses along the trail.
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20032430Bob firing carbine
Bob shoots the carbine at the beach.
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20032440Rod firing carbine
Rod takes his turn firing the carbine.
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20032460Scott firing carbine
Scott takes aim.
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20032470Scott Bov Don install new flagpole
Scott, Bob and Don work on a permanent flagpole for the cabin.
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20032480Bob Don install flagpole
Bob watches as Don drills a hole for a lag bolt.
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20032500Don Bob going fishing
Don and Bob are going fishing, trying out the old 25 HP spare motor. It worked pretty well.
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20032510Bob with walleye
Bob with a nice walleye at the “Honey-Hole”.
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20032520Don Bob fishing
Don and Bob fishing our comfortable style of casting while at anchor. As I recall, Bob “cleaned Don’s clock” and caught most of the fish.
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20032530Bob Don boating back to island
Bob and Don returning to the island.
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20032540Bob Don boating back closeup
Bob and Don returning to the island. The old motor has a lot of zip.
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20032550Scott running motor
Scott at the tiller.
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20032560Kim in boat with Bob Don in background
Kim.
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20032580Marina
Beach at Dancing Loon Island.
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20032590Rod moves fish box
Rod gets fish from the fish box.
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20032600Scott Rod withe marina Canadian flag
Scott and Rod after fishing trip.
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20032610Bob cleans fish
Bob cleans a walleye. He is an accomplished fish cleaner.
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20032620Rod under saw pavillion
Rod checks for tools at the saw pavilion, a favorite spot to store gear that is not needed at the cabin.
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20032630Rod sharpens knife at szw pavillion
Rod and his tools, viewed from the opposite direction, looking toward the lake.
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20032640Marina A frame with bones
Beach welcome frame with its many bone accoutrements.
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20032650Scott Don Bob saw on ring
Scott and Bob watch as Don shows them how to saw out the center of a ring.
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20032660Scott saws on ring
Bob finishes cutting out the center of his ring. Note the starter hole drilled in the coin and the jewelers saw used to saw out the middle portion of the coin.
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20032670Scott hammers on ring
Don continues work on his coin ring.
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20032680Rod with walleye
Rod with a very nice walleye caught in Northern Bay.
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20032690Rod with Northern in Northern BayRod enjoys catching Northerns more than anything.
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20032710Clouds gathering
Is it going to rain? That is question that occurred almost every day.
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20032720Osprey nest
Osprey nest on rock in Northern Bay.
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20032730Osprey flies over Rod
He doesn’t appreciate the intruders near his nest.
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20032740Rod with Northern
Rod and Northern in Northern Bay.
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20032760Rod measures Northern bestRod is happy.
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20032780Don Rod weigh walleye
Don and Rod weigh the nice walleye from Northern Bay. Looks to be close to 4 pounds.
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20032790Bob models ring
Bob’s ring is a bit snug but looks really good. Getting the correct size is always a bit of a guess. Don needs a ring sizer. These rings also require some coating, like clear fingernail polish to keep the cheap metal from turning your finger green. This was not a problem in the past when coins were made from better metal.
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20032800Scott washes laundry
Scott does laundry from the “bathing rock”.
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20032810Scott hanges up laundry
Scott takes advantage of the nice weather to hang out his wash to dry on the deck clothes line.
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20032830Bob with big Northern very good
Bob with another Northern from Northern Bay.
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20032840Rod Bob with big Northern
Rod and Bob.
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20032860Osprey flies
The osprey fly reconnaissance over Rod’s boat.
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20032870Scott Bob Don and Rod weigh Northern
Scott watches Bob and Don weigh the northern back at the beach. Rod looks a bit proud of his sons.
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20032890Rod with Norther at Marina
Rod and Northern.
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20032900Northern open mouth
The eating machinery of a Northern. Those teeth are razor sharp.
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20032910Rod measures Northern at Marina
Rod likes to measure their length. This method is less stressful on fish that are going to be released however, this Northern was going to Nebraska.
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20032920Cub bear tracks
Cub bear tracks at the “bear beach” where we drop of fish guts. Today we were also making plaster cast of some foot prints for display in the cabin.
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20032930Eagle trackEagle foot print.
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20032940Bob Rod Don search beach for tracks
Bob, Rod and Don are locating tracks to make cast of. Don holds some casting materials.
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20032950Don mixes Plaster of Paris for moulding tracks
Don mixes some plaster of paris for a cast.
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20032960Rod holds moulding spray supplies
Rod has marked a track to cast. He hold spray cans of hair set to hold the sand in place and PAM to then spray on the sand to keep the sand from sticking to the plaster.
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20032970Track is cast
A cast has been poured and we are waiting for the plaster to harden.
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20032980Don pours casting
Don pours another cast.
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20032990Bob scrubs moose antler
Bob uses Clorox to clean a partial moose antler that was found.
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20033010Don Rod charge battery
Don and Rod charge a battery using the generator and battery charger.
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20033020Kims sleeping cot
Kim’s pad in the master bedroom is well protected from the occasional mosquito that we never quit eliminated.
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20033030Rod s bed
Rod’s pad in the master bed room. Note the electric lantern hanging next to the bed. Very handy for reading at night. It runs off a battery that is charged by the solar panels.
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20033040Bathroom
The bathroom sink area is still missing some finishing touches but is fully functional.
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20033060Rod s bed
Rod’s bed again. Note that Rod has his ever present “Shoe-Goo” close at hand in case he needs to repair something, actually, anything.
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20033070Rod Don joint board for new fish fillet station
Don runs a board through the jointer while Ron tweaks the generator carburetion setting.
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20033080Work stool
The stool is being used as a mini work bench, mainly for the ring projects.
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20033090Kitchen stool
Kitchen stool after assembly and painting with polyurethane.
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20033110Scott Bob spray front wall
Scott caulks some cracks in the siding as Bob steadies the ladder.
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20033120Ring closeup
A Canadian Looney has been beaten into the shape of a ring. Now the solid center must be removed.
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20033130Scott Rod watch Don saw on ring
Scott and Rod watch as Don saws out the solid center of the coin using a jewelers saw.
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20033140Scott files inside ring
Scott smoothes the inside of the ring using a rat tail file.
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20033150Scott files ring closeup
Scott continues filing on his ring.
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20033160Ring File Vice close up
Wooden blocks hold the ring in the vice without scratching it.
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20033170Eagle in tree next to cabin
An eagle decided to perch in a tree in front of the cabin. He may have been looking for duck eggs.
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20033190James McKinsey
Dons Indian friends from Stanley Mission stopped by while moose hunting. James McKenzie seems more serious than usual.
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20033200Gord Hardlotte
Gord Hardlotte is his usual happy self. Always has a funny story to tell. He tells us about passing two canoes filled with women on the way out to dancing Loon Island. This is indeed unusual news. We make plans to go fishing at the “Honey-Hole” tomorrow morning in the hopes of intercepting the canoes when they depart Spalding Lake via Wilson rapids, their presumed route. We had assumed they were camping somewhere on Spalding that night instead of pushing on through Wilson rapids today, given when and where they had been passed by the Indians.
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20033210Joe Roberts
Joe Roberts strikes a serious pose.
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20033220Joe Don
Joe and Don share stories. Joe planned to return to the island later in the summer to spend a week there with his grandson, Keefer.
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20033260Don Bob Scott Rod work fish pool
Don, Bob, Scott and Rod work at making a large pool to keep fish in that are destined to make the trip to Nebraska. The fish box did not have enough size to hold four limits of Walleye and Northerns, hence a supplemental storage pool was constructed.
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20033280Scott prepares to land Northern
Scott catches a small snake at the “Honey-Hole”.
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20033290Scott grabs Northern
Scott is using a blue towel to grab the slimy Northern.
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20033300Scott with small Northern
This fish is too small to keep.
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20033310Rod lands WalleyeRod lands a Walleye.
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20033320Rod adjust bait
Rod straightens out his bait after the last catch. This procedure is normal.
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20033330Walleye in water
Another Walleye is landed.
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20033340Scott with northern Don watching
Scott prepares to release his small Northern as Don keeps fishing. One of the advantages of fishing while at anchor is that others can keep fishing while another fisherman deals with his fish. If the boat were in motion as would be the case if you were trolling, then once a fish is “on”, everyone needs to reel in to keep from getting all the lines tangled up.
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20033350Bob jigging
Bob catches another walleye. As the morning wears on, we start to wonder if the canoes went through here last night or early this morning.
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20033355Rod with catch Bob watching dark
Rod catches another Walleye. We were about to return to Dancing Loon Island when two canoes were spotted entering Wilson Rapid Bay and heading toward us. Now we should be able to solve the mystery of who these adventuresome women are. Where are they from and where are they going??
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20033360Megan arrives
Number two girl and Megan Pieffer talk with Don and Scott. Number two was 15, Megan is a college junior. They are out of a Boy Scout Camp at Boulder City, Wisconsin. They started at Missinipe on Otter Lake. They traveled down the Churchill River, camped on an island next to Stanley Mission. Lost a canoe in the Stanley Falls Rapids where Gord had taken Don, Betty and Shirley through several years earlier. A day was wasted while the outfitter at Missinipe brought them a replacement canoe.
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20033380Megan s 2nd canoe arrivesThe second canoe arrived with the rest of the “women”, all 13 years old but looking even younger!! Megan was very much in charge of the expedition and had been spending her summers canoeing since she was 13. For the last two years, she has been in charge of a group. The girls all seemed to stand at attention and Megan did all the talking. They had left the Churchill River at the Drinking Water and had portaged up streams and eventually into the south east end of Brabant Lake. The Scouts leased a cabin there where they spent a day recovering from all their portaging. They had been following an old Indian route that preceded roads in the area, but since the introduction of roads, this route was mostly abandoned except for an occasional
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20033390Megan s 2 canoes plus Don s boat
The girls had proceeded across Brabant and crossed the road at the Waddy River inlet. This is adjacent to the CanAm store and cabins where we frequently stay. The girls didn’t even see the store. Up the Waddy River to Waddy Lake, Elephant Lake and eventually entering Deception Lake. On Deception they stopped at a cabin where a Nebraska rancher fed them buffalo stakes as he had for several years. They crossed Deception and entered Pink Lake then exited that lake via Pink River. Now they were finally running with the current. Wathaman Lake was crossed and they went under the Wathaman River Bridge. They capsized a canoe in the rapids that guard Spalding Lake and got their food chest quite soaked. .
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20033400Megan scouts rapids
They camped on “Campers Island” in Spalding Lake, after having been passed by some Indians in motorized canoes. Meagan and #2 can be seen on the right of the rapids as they check to see what surprises it might hold for them as they descend it. Megan was very professional an thorough, very much in charge.
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20033410Megan shooting rapids
The two canoes had picked a route through the rapids on the left side, then out to the middle. Don offered to call Meagan’s parents on the satellite phone since they had been out of touch for over 30 days. The girls had an emergency satellite phone that wAas to be activated only in the case they needed to be rescued, so Meagan was happy for a chance to get word of their progress to her parents.
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20033420Megan shoots rapis 2
Here Meagan and #2 bring up the rear as they approach the Interim Lake.
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20033430Megan shoots rapids 3
Meagan and #2 finish off the rapids without having to rescue anyone from the water. Don later heard from Megan that they had no trouble with either the second rapids into Greenbush Lake or the much longer Scott Rapids leaving Greenbush into Reilly Lake, an arm of Reindeer Lake. Crossing the 60 miles of Reindeer Lake, they encountered Indians who offered to tow them down to the village of Southend. Since they were a bit short on time, the girls accepted the tow to insure not being late for their float plane pickup to return them to Missinipe. Don called Megan’s parents from the cabin and was able to assure Megan’s mother that all was well with her daughter whom she was obviously quite concerned about. A couple years later, Meagan and her parents visited Don in Boulder.o
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20033440Bob Rod Don Scott at fish cleaning station
Bob, Rod, Don and Scott at the fish cleaning station after returning to the island.
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20033450Bob Rod Kim Scott at fish cleaning station
Bob, Rod, Kim and Scott at the fish cleaning station.
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20033460Campbell River entrance
Entrance to the Campbell River.
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20033470Rod fishes the Campbell
Rod fishing in the Campbell River.
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20033480Hill from the campbell
No Name Hill along the Campbell River.
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20033500Bob Rod on rock at start of Campbell River
Bob and Rod stand on the rocks where the Campbell River enters the still, serpentine last mile before entering Spalding Lake.
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20033510Scott stats carving a chain Don watches
Scott works on a wooden chain as Don looks on.
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20033520Scott kayaks Wilson Rapids
Scott kayaks down the rapids from the “Honey-Hole”.
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20033530Scott kayaks Wilson Rapids 2
So far, so good.
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20033540Scott kayaks Wilsom Rapids 3
Scott crosses over to the near side, pretty much following the track that the two canoes had taken.
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20033560Scott in water at Wilson Rapids 2
I can’t remember if Scott got to the Interim Lake without tipping over but I think he did.
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20033580Storm cell gathers
A rain storm is headed toward the cabin.
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20033590Flags blow as storm advances
The flags are whipping in the wind.
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20033610Trees bend in the wind
Trees are bending over in the wind.
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20033620Storm clouds pass
Even as these rain cells pass over head, a spot of blue sky hints of the temporary nature of the storm cell.
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20033630Scott saws checker pieces
Scott saws wood for a project.
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20033640Bob trims checker pieces
Bob carves on a proto type checker piece. This turned out to be a very useful project, better illustrated in later photos.
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20033650Rod in kitchen
Rod shows off his beard growth.
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20033660Rods close up in kitchen
Or perhaps Rod is practicing for a “mug shot” for the post office??
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20033670Scott close up
Scott also poses for a “mug shot”.
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20033690Kim fishing 2
Kim fishes in Northern Bay.
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20033710Bob Scott play checkers
Bob and Scott try out the newly made checker pieces. The natural colored pieces eventually become red as soon as the red marker pen was found. The new game table trim has not yet been painted with polyurethane.
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20033715Game board with new checker pieces
Game table with new checker pieces. The red marking in the center of the natural colored pieces is the natural center color of the cedar scraps (from the kitchen stool) used to make the checker pieces. This cedar wood has a pleasant aroma just like the cedar used to line closets or chest.
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20033720Rod Bob with Walleyes at fish cleaning station
Rod and Bob get ready to clean fish. Both are expert fish cleaners.
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20033750Scott Rod Bob with Walleyes at fish cleaning station
Scott, Rod and Bob at the fish cleaning station.
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20033770Bear trap side view
Bear trap. The entrance vertical sliding door is on the left. The white bucket was used to hold bate like dead fish or bacon.
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20033780Bear trap front view
The vertical; sliding door in the front of the trap.
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20033790Cook tent frame
Abandoned cook shack frame. Harry Menton uses this area for his exercise workout room.
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20033800Don Scott prepare to process bear
Don and Scott finally get “suited up” to tackle the dead bear remains which were still smelling very badly. The plan is to put the recovered bones into the mortar box.
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20033810Bear bones in mortar box
Progress is being made as the bones start to pile up in the mortar box.
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20033820Don Scott remove back bone
Scott holds the vertebra assembly.
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20033830Don Scott display bones
Don and Scott definitely needed the mask. Disrupting the bear carcass significantly increased the odor. It was strong enough to brinf tears to your eyes.
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20033850Don removes fur while Scott holds trash bag
Don struggles with the remaining fur as Scott holds a plastic bag for its disposal. The plastic bag of non-bones did not get buried until after the Urys left the island. Don and a guest from the next visitors buried the bag contents on a beach several miles up the lake. The retrieved bones filled two five gallon plastic buckets that were then filled with water, lids attached and left to stand next to the beach, still casting off some bad odor if you got too close.
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20033860Bob Rod play checkers
Bob and Rod have a game of checkers.
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20033870Gametable with newly colored checker pieces
The red marker pen was located and the red checkers “painted”. An excellent project. Over the next winter, Don made a nice wooden holder for these checker pieces and they have become a permanent reminder of the Ury family visit to Dancing Loon Island in 2003.
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20033880Kim Don read while Scott Bob play checkers
Kim and Don relax reading while Scott and Bob play checkers.
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20033900Bob Kim with her Northern 2
Bob and Kim are back into Northern Bay casting for Northerns.
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20033910Rod Bob measur Northern
Rod and Bob measure the pikes length. Gotta keep all the records straight!!
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20033930Cabin and island from lake southwest
Dancing Loon Island viewed fron the South side.
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20033940Cabin from lake southwesr 3
Telephoto shot from the channel south of Dancing Loon Island.
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20033950Marina from lake
Beach front on the north side of Dancing Loon Island.
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20033960Marina from lake 2
Beach front.
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20033990Rod with big Northern 3
Rod with a much larger Northern.
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20034020Rod Scott with fish at cleaning station
Rod and Scott at the fish cleaning station along with fist to be cleaned.
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20034030Rod with wiggling big Northern
This northern still has some life left in it.
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20034080Rod with big Northern
Rod does love Northerns a lot. He certainly excels in catching them!!
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20034090Big Northern mouth
The mouth of an eating machine.
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20034110Rod with 3 big Northern at fish cleaning station
Rod with Northerns headed to Nebraska.
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20034120Scott models his ring on finger
Scott’s ring looks pretty good.
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20034130Scott Don with Walleyes in boat
Scott holds up more walleyes he and Don have been catching at the “Honey-Hole”.
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20034140Northern head
This Northern head was set out to dry. Don took it home with him and eventually to Nebraska where Rod dipped it in Polyurethane and the head now resides in his machinery building.
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20034160Don Scott with Walleyes at fish cleaning station
Don and Scott at the fish cleaning station with a new batch of walleyes to clean. Note the one fish that is missing some belly meat that was used foe “cut bait” while fishing.
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20034170Bob Rod with Northerns at fish cleaning station
Bob and Rod ready to fillet the fish going home for this trip.
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20034200Bob Don Rod prepare kayaks for trip out
Bob, Don and Rod tie down the kayaks in the 14’ Lund in preparation to the trip to the landing tomorrow. Any “leaving the island” chores that can be completed before the departure day make it much easier on the normally very hectic day of departure.
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20034210Kitchen closet in use
The storage closet looks a little empty as the Ury’s prepare to leave.
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20034230Bob with large Northern 2
Another big Northern with Bob at the beach.
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20034250Bob with large Northern 4
Bob and his Northern.
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20034280Bob with big Northern at fish cleaning station 2
Bob at the fish cleaning station.
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20034300Bob Scott Don Rod Kim on deck
Bob, Scott, Don, Rod and Kim on the front steps for a group photo.
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20034320Sunset from beachAnother pretty sunset.
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20034350Sunset from beach
Without the clouds, the sun would surely set “in the notch” on the far horizon.
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20034370Sunset from beach 3Bathing rock at sunset.
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20034375Calm lake from beach 2
We hoped this stretch of water toward the landing will be equally calm the next morning when we boat to the landing.
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20034380Don with pancake the day of departure
August 1 was the day to leave the island. Don with an early morning pancake on the morning we leave the island.
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20034400Scott on pier ready to leave 2
Scott shows off how ready we are for the trip across the thankfully very calm lake.
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20034410Grouse chick on ground
A baby grouse on the cabin trail watches our departure.
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20034420Scott Don leavin in Lund
Scott and Don are ready to leave.
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20034430Bob Rod ready to get in their boat
Bob and Rod prepare to “shove off”.
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20034440Scott Don underway in Lund
Scott and Don are underway.
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20034460Kim at landing 2
Kim stands on the landing pier as we empty gear for portaging up to the truck.
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20034480Bob and Scott staet to portage boat
Scott pushes as Bob pulls their flat bottom boat out of the water and up onto the portage trail as Don gives advice.
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20034490Bob Scott hauling boat across portage
Bob clearly provided most of the muscle to move the boat. Scott helps from the back of the boat.
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20034500Bob Scott dragging boat across portage 3
Bob, Rod and Scott move the boat up the trail. Actually, Rod is mostly an ornamental helper at this point.
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20034510Bob Scott drag boat across portage 4
Bob and Scott have almost reached the end of the portage trail. Bob is so strong, he made the whole portage look way too easy. Looks can be very misleading. After loading up the Ury truck, both the Ury’s and Don caravanned to Brabant. Don went to pickup some fresh milk he had ordered a couple weeks earlier. He was very unhappy to find that his fresh supplies were not available and that the 160 mile round trip was for nothing. Goodbyes were exchanged and Don decided to drive 25 miles north of the Wathaman River Bridge and check out Johnson River Lodge. Perhaps he could get some fresh food there. That turned out to be wishful thinking and Johnson River appeared about as poorly run and stocked as Brabant. Don returned to the 4 wheel road and motored back to the island. It was 10PM by the time he got his gear up to the cabin. Don was alone on the island until August 4 when Joe Robert and his grandson Kiefer arrived for a seven day visit. Joe is a Cree Indian friend from Stanley Mission.
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20035000Moose
Joe shot a young bull moose near the end of the serpentine calm water of the Campbell River. As a native person he is allowed to hunt game year around. It is not legal for a white person to accompany an Indian when they are hunting. This avoids having wealthy white hunters hunt out of season but with an Indian along and claim he was only watching and not doing the hunting. Joe did motor back to the island and picked up Don and Kiefer to assist him in the butchering of the moose. We arrived at the spot where the moose lay dead. Joe had hung his jacket high on an adjacent tree. This was done to act as a scare crow and ward off any crows, ravens or eagles that might then alert a nearby bear. Joe was lucky in that while the moose was shot in the water, he had swam to shore and fell dead less that 6 feet from the water. The land adjacent to the river is very low and swampy and the moose picked the driest spot possible to die.
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20035010Joe removes Goodies
Joe is an expert at butchering a moose. It looked like 10 gallons of blood came out of this animal. Joe gave a running commentary on what he was doing and what the various parts were named. The mosquitos were almost a solid cloud, trying to get their share of the moose.
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20035020Kiefer with buthered moose
There was a lot of blood still left in the carcass at this time. About the only help that Kiefer and I actually supplied was to help roll the moose over.
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20035030Kiefer Joe with LoinKiefer looks on as Joe holds up a chunk of moose meat.
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20035040Moose goodies on deck
The large hanging piece of moose is its stomach. Joe uses it as his “goodie bag” that he uses to carry various organs. The stomach will eventually be ground up and added to a jerky they make.
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20035050Loin on railing
This chunk of moose is a large piece of loin that Joe left on the island for my consumption. It was very good!!
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20035060Joe fills shopping bag
Joe is filling his goodie bag in preparation for the trip home.
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20035070Don Kiefer play checkers
Don and Kiefer played a lot of checkers.
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20035080Kiefer Don
Kiefer and Don got to be good friends. After Joe and Kiefer left, Don spent a week alone on the island and got a lot of small jobs done.
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20035090Don picking up Jay rain at landing
Don is at the landing to pickup Jay Niebur as the last guest of the year. The bugs were waiting too.
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20035100Don Break at mile 10
Naturally Jay brought the rain. It turned quite cold and eventually we stopped at “Camper’s Island” to change into more dry and warm clothing.
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20035110Don puts on warmer clothes
Being properly dresses when you leave the landing would eliminate this kind of mid-trip messing around.
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20035120Wet Eagle standing
It’s very hard to see, but there was a young eagle standing on the shore, just soaking in the rain.
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20035130Don leaving wet eagle isle
Don is glad to have the heavy duty rain gear to shed all the rain.
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20035140After 1 day of paneling
Don is being helped by Jay to put on the T1-11 paneling on the rear of the cabin. Jay always brings a lot of muscle and energy to cabin projects.
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20035150After 1 day of paneling 2
Cabin rear with paneling job in progress.
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20035160Don stains end of day 2
Don paints the paneling with Penofin Oil as it is installed at the end of day 2.
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20035170Don stains end of day 3
Don is painting the final bit of paneling on this project on day 3.
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20035180Don after day 4
Don poses on the rear steps with the rear paneling looking pretty good in the morning light.
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20035190Don cleanes bear bones last day
Don is at the beach working with the bear bones. The water they were soaking in had turned a very bright purple. The smell would gag a maggot. Fortunately a brisk wind was keeping the work area somewhat tolerable.
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20035200Don leaving island in rain at noon
Don maneuvers the boat in preparation for the end of the season trip to the landing. Jay ran the 10HP motor in the 14’ boat being towed by Don.
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20035210Don approaching landing in rain
Jay took this photo of Don in the lead boat as we approached the landing. Naturally, it was raining. We were a bit late leaving the island and combined with an earlier night fall, much of our portaging was done in the dark.
We had to take the big boats to 2 Mile Island for the winter. It was almost dark when we returned. A bear had found our garbage bags and had strewn the contents around the woods where our truck was parked. The rain increased and made loading the Suburban a real mess. Many empty gas cans were transferred to Jay’s truck because of the mess in the Suburban.
Jay picked up the garbage and kept an eye out for the bear as Don loaded the truck. The 4 wheel track was soaked and slippery. Don had great difficulty with seeing through the rain with only one eye. By the time we got to Brabant for the night, they were closed.
A bad decision was made to drive on to LaRonge. Don was soaked to the skin and the truck was such a mess he was not able to change into dry clothing. About 25 miles from LaRonge, Don went to sleep at the wheel. He obviously had slowed down a lot because when he hit the ditch on the other side of the road, he was awakened by the noise of running over all the small trees and weeds. He was able to gradually steer the truck back onto the road.
He was very much awake by the time he got back onto the road. Jay was many miles down the road waiting for him to come by. We got together a few miles north of LaRonge and got a room about 2:30 AM. Next morning Don extracted all the greenery from the front of the truck. He still carries a piece of bush on his truck visor as a reminder of that incident.