Have been remembering back to the "old days" and the Badger Bowl.  But this year was fun, too. It was good to see some of you guys on Friday evening, and congrats to Old Salt for an excellent, very interesting, and very well presented Alaska Paddling session on Saturday.  Great work!!

Congrats to QJ for 20 years of a great site.  I enjoyed the cake.  I have never met a cake I didn't like,  . But that was a special one.

I am beyond thrilled, after two surgeries on my hip, to have walked the entire weekend sans cane, and to be enjoying the last few sessions on Sunday pain-free!  Looking forward to actually being able to get into and out of a canoe in 2019.

Wishing all of you a safe trip home, if you aren't there already.

Spartan2

Not to mention that Bragg's Cider Vinegar is unbelievably delicious in salad dressings and other dishes.

Thanks to  all those that made for a great weekend. It was a lot of fun.

Thanks to MuleLars for making the arrangements. The BBQ was awesome! Also, thanks to Wally13 and mpeebles who assisted in many ways, just doing the little unseen things that made the weekend a great time.  Thanks guys! We have an awesome group!  The timing of the storm kept a few from venturing out, but didn’t deter the spirit of those who did. An excellent show.

When we have these annual gatherings, I think of the ancient fur traders and natives who gathered at Grand Portage and later at Fort William. They spent most of their lives in isolated pursuit of the fur trade and reveled in the opportunity to gather and meet fellow voyaguers. Another image that springs to mind is that of a canoe party of friends gathering around the campfire swapping fun stories. We have some gifted storytellers in our midst. It is impossible to convey that sense adequately on this site. Like paddling, camping, fishing, anything, it must be experienced to be understood.

HighnDry wrote on Mar 10^th, 2019 at 11:04pm:


I have to agree that it never seems like enough time. I thought about that on my drive home yesterday and it occurred to me, for the first time, that there may be a way to extend the time we have together. Of course, those of us staying at the motel, get together for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Also, Copia runs from 10-5 on Sunday. If there’s enough interest, we could add a dinner on Sunday evening. The motel rate is cheaper on Sunday night. Get together for breakfast on Monday before heading home. I don’t know how much interest there might be for this? As a retired guy, I could stay another day... thoughts?

We would enjoy having db come over, but he’s a busy guy. We appreciate all of his hard work keeping QJ such a great place to gather!