Gone fishin'....

Les re-starting the fire.... (our chief pilot)

Matt drinking beer.... (our new pilot)

Gayle locked her keys in her room right off the bat....

Resting between hands....

Cards....

The morning after....

Me and Bryan in the boat....

Todd, Bryan, Matt, and Dave....

Life is good!!!!

Waiting at the fish house....

Who wants walleye?

Paul Bunyan....

We flew out of Waterloo on the first plane at 12:30 on Thursday. By the time we got close to Brainerd it was being nailed with a thunderstorm so we diverted to Park Rapids and drove to Breezy Point from there. Les and Matt headed back to Waterloo to pick up the second group and we went shopping on our way to Brainerd. We spent more time in the liquor store than the grocery store but we got it done and made it to the cabin and checked in well before the second group got there. I did learn that 5 men can get all the grocery shopping for 13 people done in about in about 5 minutes and not miss anything. It was good!

We got to the cabin and put the groceries away then built a nice fire before the second group got there. After they arrived we spent an hour or so just getting settled and chatting before we left for dinner. I had been to the Norway Ridge Restaurant before and knew that it was nice so that's where we went. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. After dinner it was back to the cabin for cards and socializing. We were all in bed by 1 am to get plenty of sleep for the morning's fishing trip. We were up by 6:30 for coffee and donuts (and bloody mary's) then down to the marina for our 7:30 departure with our guides. A bit chilly, it was, but no rain. I think everyone caught some fish and had a good time on the water. We came back in about noon and the guides cleaned all the fish and bagged them for us. We went to lunch and then the first group headed to the airport for the trip back to Waterloo. There were storms in Waterloo and Les was delayed coming back but we had to drive to Park Rapids to drop off our rental anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. We were home by 6 pm with fresh fish in hand. It was a good trip!

Judy and Moo drove down to Williamsburg yesterday to go to the outlet Mall to do some shopping for Baby Rhea. Jackal stopped by at the end of his ride with his portable cx barriers in his Ergon backpack. He'd been out training for next weekend's cx race at Newton. He went home and took a shower then we met the girls at Z's for lunch.

Got in a 25 miler on the Surly this morning and I hear Brother of Jackal clomping around upstairs which means he just got back from his ride on The Black Surly. This is a beautiful "first day of fall"! I wore arm warmers and knickers this morning but the arm warmers came off within a half hour. Perfect weather. The trees up north are changing colors right now and I suspect that they will be changing here soon. This is my favorite time of year! I met John Fisher out on the trail this morning riding his 29er. He's always smiling!

I hope G-Ted is having fun out in Vegas at Interbike. I have a picture for ya, buddy! I'll leave it on your tool box at the shop.

That's it for now.

Ride safe!

Peace out, yo!