A big thanks to to all for your efforts to make this happen. It made for a great time with some great people. The hotel was a very pleasant place for all we did there. The food ordered in to our private and quiet meeting rooms was delicious.

Agreed with Marten! It was really nice to have a quiet, relaxing environment. I didn't need a hearing aid in one ear and an earplug in the other. It was so much fun, I hated for it to end. :'(

We will try for the same deal next year. If it ain't broke don't fix it. 8-)

This was a first rate gathering.  The hotel was comfortable, the meeting room was a nice feature for Friday's gathering, and the "dining hall" arrangement for the Saturday dinner was perfect.  We were able to have a conversation without the typical background noise of a restaurant or hovering wait staff.  Also the lobby featured a continuous source of fresh, hot coffee and cookies ... a nice spot to sit with a couple of others and chat.

The accompanying food (and beverage) service was outstanding.  Friday night's pizza and excellent and the Saturday BBQ was first rate.

Overall:  WINNER!!!

A special thanks to those making all the arrangements, especially OldSalt and MuleLars.

dd

Ditto.

This is the way these things should be done.  Hats off to Mulelars & Old Salt. 

Also, nice job with the presentations, OS!

Visiting with QJ friends is always the Copia highlight for me.

Jimbo   8-)

Full disclosure: MuleLars, Wally 13, and I have formed an ad hoc 'arrangements' team for doing Copia planning. MuleLars is the 'boots on the ground', having lived in Madison for many years. He is well acquainted with the area and has 'taken one for the team' many times checking out local restaurants and dives.

Wally 13 simply has made himself available to help any way needed. He and MuleLars provided a generous supply of many popular beers. I provided pop and water.

My point is, when we divide the load, it doesn't take much to put these things together. The process got started with your responses to our polls last year. For that, we thank you! BTW, if you want to help, we have no minimum standards, just pm one of us. 8-)

You might wonder what we discuss for 4-5 hours per evening? I wish I could tell you ;D ;) Needless to say, much of it has to do with canoeing and fishing, and is valuable information you won't find on any websites. ;) A few trips were planned. You'll just have to come and find out. 8-)

Kudos and credit to Mr and Mrs Kingfisher who planned these gatherings for many years. They did a great job! When I went to the first one for me, I was pretty skeptical that I would have a good time. They welcomed me and others and the food facilitated new friendships.8-) We miss you guys.

A deal is in the works...I have reserved the meeting room for March 10-11, 2017. We will have the same dinners, pizza & BBQ.8-)

If you think there is any chance you will come to Copia 2017 and stay at Country Inn & Suites, please post here. If we get good numbers I can leverage that to get good rates. I'm not asking for commitment this far ahead. I just need an estimate. 8-) Thanks!

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to do my small part to have a good weekend in my fair city! It is always good to see everyone, and I'm already looking forward to next year. I agree that the hotel arrangements really worked well. Much easier to connect and converse.

In the mean time, if anyone finds themselves in Madison, please let me know!

ml

Sorry I missed out this year.  I hope to have a less hectic March schedule next year so I can make it back to see all of you. Sounds like it was a lot of fun as always.

Thanks Mulelars. It all worked out great -- both the QJ parlor and the downstairs meeting room. It was good to connect with new & old QJ acquaintances!

I'll add my thanks to all who helped make the weekend with fellow QJers a great one.  Good discussions, good food, good fellowship.  The forum is great, but catching up in person makes it more fun and personal.  I hope to see you guys next year....or better yet somewhere on the water.

pd

Just want to add my two cents about the meetings on Friday and Saturday.  It was a lot of fun and gave me a chance to really get to know some of the members.  Even though I am primarily a base camper, I felt welcomed.  The more informal dining arrangements made it very easy to mingle and move around the room.  Plus, my wife could leave and go to her room when she didn't want to participate any longer.  Because the members were staying in the same motel, we could gather for a free delicious breakfast to continue our discussions.

Two facts I learned at Canoecopia which may be of interest to other members.  Robin Gibbs, park superintendent, said that 70% of the visitors to Quetico enter from the south and 30% from the north.  Stu Osthoff during his presentation noted the change in why people come to the BWCA/Quetico.  Several years ago, 80% of his guests said that fishing was very important to them.  In recent years only 30 to 40% said that fishing was very important to them.  This is especially interesting since Stu Osthoff is noted for being a fishing guide.  By the way, Stu is a base camper who doubles or even triple portages.

Just to clarify, the superintendent is Trevor Gibb. Seemed to be a good guy and up to the job. (Despite seeming he was young enough to be my grandchild. Oh my.)

Bill
You are correct.  Wasn't Robin Gibbs a member of the Bee Gees from years ago.

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I was thinking as to why Robin seemed half right. Previous superintendent was Robin Reilly.

So was I half right or half wrong, excluding spelling?

[quote author=solotripper link=1457962565/13#13 date=1458749803]   (You need to Login or Register
new portage pants !

You weren't wrong. Perhaps mis-rememderred as I seem to increasingly, but not wrong.