Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

Carrie, Bob, Cam, and I arrived at the cottage on Friday November 27th. We had come from Neillsville and hunting the previous few days. We did not have a specific plan except to hang out.

I headed for my dad's house to pick up his propane burner so that I could start the process of a european mount for the buck that I found the week before when I was bowhunting. On my way home, I had glanced down and noticed that I was going a bit to fast.... as I did so, the car that is going past my turns on his lights, whips a shitty, and pulls me over. I was going 72 in a 55. He was nice enough to let me off with a warning. At least I was thankful for something that day.

Once home, I started the boiling process on the head. I let it go for about 2 hours and then pulled it out so that I could start to cut some of the meat off. I continued to do this over an over for about 6 hours. The hardest part was to get the brain out of the skull. I continued to boil and pick until it all came out. I left all the stuff in the driveway for the night as I was done for the day. Carrie, Cam, and Bob had gone to 10 point for dinner and had brought me left overs back.









Saturday morning I got up and cleaned up my mess from the night before. I also picked and cleaned a bit more on the mount and then washed it all up in the sink, let it dry, and then hung it on the wall. I still have one more step to do which is to soak it in peroxide to whiten the skull. Overall this was not as smelly as I thought it was going to be and also was not that hard, but was time consuming as in all it took me about 8 hours to complete.



We all took a short walk to check out some land nearby that was for sale. It looked nice but was overpriced a bit. Cam and I did some exploring in Old Blue just checking out some of the back roads near our house. Cam did ride his four wheeler a bit also. My dad came for a walleye dinner in the evening and then Carrie and I headed to Schwedler's for a campfire. We laughed a lot, drank a little and then headed home for bed.



Sunday we woke to about 2" of snow on the ground. Cam really liked his ATV today as he was able to spin all over the place.





Not much was happening so we packed up and headed home to Pewaukee. It was nice to be at the cottage for a bit after spending so much time in the last few weeks hunting in Neillsville. There is no place like being in your own home for vacation rather than a guest.

Fall Cleanup and Winter Prep

Cam and I headed up to the cottage on friday morning November 6th. Cam was sick from school so we left earlier than we had planned. We were there and unpacked by 3:00 or so. We started out by getting the boat in the garage and turned sideways which proved to be a bigger chore than I had originally thought. We hung out for the afternoon. Cam rode his bike and ATV and we headed in at dark.

Saturday we woke and started raking and blowing leaves. This took about 2 hours or so and looked OK. From there, we loaded the trailer with Cam's and Carrie's ATV and headed to my Dad's to ride around there for a bit. Cam really likes riding grandpa's trails. We then talked him into going for a short ride on the trails. For some reason the last few times up there he did not want to ride the trails. I am thinking that it is to boring for a 5 year old to be a rider on an ATV rather than a driver. In any case, we went a few miles, and then headed back and went out to lunch.




Cam in Grandpa's tree stand.


Uncle Danny's new tree stand.

From there, we waited for Cayden to get to Grandpa's as he really wanted to play with Cayden. They really wanted to cut some trees down... They played for a bit and off we went to the cottage again. We were in need of a jack, so we headed to Minocqua and Walmart. We were going to go out for dinner, but Cam did not have a nap and appeared to have the patience of a 5 year old so we headed home to eat. Not much happened after that.



Sunday we packed up and headed home. It was a good weekend to get the cottage ready for the winter and spend some time with just Cam.

Pumpkin Run 2009

Carrie and I headed to the BCR on Friday evening after dropping Cam at Grandma and Grandpa's for the weekend. Our plan was to head to Hurley four wheeling for the day Saturday and then to Land O Lakes to take the piers out.

We arrived Friday and quickly realized that I was missing a part for Carrie's windshield on her ATV. I called my Dad and he was able to fabricate a part in his shop late Friday. I still think he can fix anything. We headed for a drink at Birch Lake as we had not been there yet since the great fire of 08'. It was nice - really nice. They did a great job inside and out. A few quick beers and we were on our way home.

Saturday we woke early and got everything loaded up. It was cold and just a few flurries. By the time we hit Minocqua, it was snowing pretty steady. By the time we hit Mercer, it was really snowing and the roads were glare ice. 4x4 on, we continued and parked at Skylawn which is right near the end of trail 8.



Unloaded, suited up, we were ready. Trail 8 is always full of mud and today was no different. Water up the headlights in more than a handfull of spots.







We then headed north on 13 to 2 and into Pence. We stopped for some hot chocolate at the Do Drop. We continued on to Saxon at the Beartrap and had a pulled pork sandwich and some more hot chocolate. From there to Lake Superior for the views. The waves were great today due to the high winds. Retturn trip the same way.







Overall the trails were in great shape. They were wet which kept the dust down and there was plenty of puddles and mud for fun. The wheelers came back covered in mud.

After we loaded up, we had a few drinks at Skylawn and then went north through Hurley to catch HWY 2 to get over the Land O Lakes. We showered and went to Bent's for dinner. They were busy as usual but we were seated in about 20 minutes. From there to home and sleep.

Sunday we met up with Chad and Jeneen for breakfast at Leif's and then back to take out the piers. I was glad that I invested $40 in some waders as the air temp was about 28 and I cant imagine the water was over 40. In the past, I would just jump in and get it done really fast. This way, we were able to take our time.





Packed up and headed home. A great weekend for Carrie and I.

Lesson of the weekend: Wear a helmet to stay warm - not for crashing.

Start of Fall 2009

On Friday September 25th, Cameran and I headed up north for a guys weekend. Carrie had originally planned on going but ended up needing to work most of the weekend. We arrived quite early - around 7pm and unpacked. Just as we were finished unpacking, it started to rain a bit so in we went. We played a bit and then I put Cam to bed. The satellite was not working so I ended up watching The Dukes of Hazard on dvd.

Saturday we got up and went to my dad's for a bit of ATVing. Cam and I rode around most of the morning on the four wheelers on grandpa's trails. We did go to Tripoli to see a bear that was registered there around 700lbs or so. It was not there but there were two other smaller bears that were being registered that Cam was able to see close up. He was even able to touch their teeth and head. From there, we went back to the cottage for Cam's nap and then back over to Bob and Donna's land on HWY L to browse around. While there, we met one of the nosey neighbors and talked with him for a bit. Then onto Grandpa's again for dinner. Cam ate very well. I had promised that if he ate well, we could have a campfire. Once we got home, we immediately heard coyotes howling in the distance. That wrapped up the fire as Cam did not want to be outside anymore. Off to bed for Cam and I watched the 40 year old virgin.

Sunday we got up and started polishing tunnels on snowmobiles. It was about 3 hours before I was done. Cam rode his atv around our house and played outside. We took off around 11:30 or so as it had started to rain.

Home around 3:30 or so. It was a great weekend with just Cam and I.

I leave you with 2 shots of the cottage. Fall is here.

Labor Day Weekend 2009

The three of us headed up on Friday afternoon. It was just after Cam's first day of 4K in Pewaukee. We got up around 7pm or so and unpacked. Cam rode his bike a bit and then off to bed. Carrie and I hung out and watched a bit of TV and then to bed.

Saturday we had planned to go four wheeling by my Dad's house and also since we got hooked on geocaching, we were going to place a few around the ATV trails. The day started out bad and continued to get worse as Cam had a head cold which made his attitude horrible. We changed plans and stayed at the cottage in the morning to work with Cam to clean up his act. We were able to get the garage all wired up, the lawn mowed, and a few other odds and ends. After his nap, we headed for the trails. We unloaded the ATV's and started up the trail. Cam did not want to have anything to do with it and we were forced to turn around about 5 miles in. We loaded up and headed back for the cottage. For most of the afternoon, Cam was sitting in his bedroom having some alone time as that is what he needed at the time.

We made the decision on Saturday night to not plan no doing anything on Sunday due to our issues today. We got up and made an unplanned trip to Menards to pick up some deck wash, stain, and all the stuff to get the deck stained. We started early cleaning the deck, once dry, we started staining the large deck. Things went well and it turned out great. I was able to get 2 coats of stain down on Sunday. We then cleaned up the little deck with plans to stain on Monday morning.

Overall Sunday was just as bad for Cam as Saturday. We both were pretty stressed out by days end and glad to sit and relax with him in bed.

Monday, we woke and stained the little deck. We were anxious to get going home as the weekend had been a bust for the most part. We left about 10:30am and were home around 2:30. Cam took a great nap on the way.

Cam is a great child, but when he gets sick, watch out.

2nd Annual Tom Ryan Pig Roast

Cam and I took off the for BCR on Thursday August 6. We arrived around dark, unpacked and he rode his atv for a bit in the dark. Friday morning we woke and I quickly mowed the lawn and loaded up the truck with the trailer and headed for my Dad's to help him setup for his pig roast on saturday. We did a few minor things and were back home for dinner at the cottage. Carrie and Danny arrived around 9:30 or so.

Saturday I had to do a speed run to Menards while Carrie cleaned. We then packed up and headed over to my dad's for the day. Not much happening except watching a pig get cooked. We four wheeled a bit, caught some frogs, and generally did nothing. People started arriving around 3 or so and at the peak, he had about 200 or so there for dinner. We stayed until about 9:30pm and then headed back to the bcr for bed.



Sunday we got going and I rough wired in the garage quick. 8 outlets, 9 lights and a few switches. Now I just need to do the finish wiring which I can tackle next time we are up. Cam and Carrie picked a few rasberries and then Cam washed the four wheelers for us. He for some reason loves playing with the hose.





Other than that, it was a pretty low key weekend with not a lot going on.

Lesson of the weekend, make sure when your slingin' wire, measure before you cut.

4th of July weekend, 2009

After yet another short week of work, we packed and headed up north on Thursday night. Cam was already up north since Tuesday with Grandma and Grandpa so it was just Carrie and I for the ride. Traffic was not nearly as bad as I had anticipated and all went smooth.





Friday morning I headed to Menards in Ole Blue for some wood to build a shelf in the garage. By the time I had gotten home, Bob was at the boat launch trying to fix the boat again. Same issue as last week. I ran down there to help and together we got it all working again. Back home to build a shelf while everyone else went fishing. They caught a few but nothing worth writing home about. By the time they were back around 1:30, I had the shelf done and the garage all cleaned up. In the afternoon, we went to the sand lake beach for some swimming.



Friday after dinner we had a nice camp fire and made a few smores.





Saturday, Bob, Cam and I headed off to fish in the morning while Carrie and Donna went for a bike ride. We fished for a few hours and caught quite a few but they were so small we left em there for another year or so. Back to the house, Cam naps and we all relax. I did end up cleaning the boat out and then we were off to Minocqua for the night.

The plan was to launch the boat on the east side of Lake Minocqua near hwy 47 and then meet the others in town after the parade to watch the Minocqua-Bats and then to the fireworks. Somewhere between the parade and the ski show, Cam went swimming, we ate at the Minocqua Brewery, and then loaded in the boat for the ski show. We had a front row seat for the show which lasted about 2 hours. It was pretty good especially because it was free. It was almost dark at that point, so we headed for our next destination which was the fireworks over Minocqua. It was a great show and Cam was great. We all watched as they came and went. Cam really liked the really loud ones.







From there, we had to get Carrie, Cam and Donna to Bosaki's to pick up the car and head home. Bob and I continued our putt putt across the lake in the dark to the launch. To my surprise, we only had about a 10 minute wait to get off the lake.

Sunday consisted of packing up and cleaning mostly and then back to Pewaukee by 4:30.

It was a great weekend up north and will definitely do the Lake Minocqua tour again next year.

June Time in the North

Thursday the 25th after work, we made the decision to go up then as we were originally scheduled to depart Friday sometime. We were on the road about 7:15pm or so and arrived up north around 11pm. Cam for some reason stayed awake the entire time. We put him to bed when we arrived and continued to unpack. The nice thing about summer is everything is on when we arrive and we really travel pretty light so we are done in no time.

Friday morning we woke and Carrie had to run to Minocqua to pick up a few odds and ends along with a swimsuit as she had forgotten hers at home. I told her it would be OK with me if she did not wear one but for some reason she was not comfortable with that. Whatever.... So off she went. Meanwhile, Cam and I dismanteled the small deck as we had a bit of an issue this past spring with the deck pushing up as one of the posts was on a rock that was not below the frost line. We got the rock out after about an hour of digging. I thought for sure it would take 3 hours so that was pretty good for us. From there, we loaded the boat on Ole Blue and headed for the lake for some fishing. Carrie was still in Minocqua and was going to meet us on the lake. At the boat launch I noticed an issue with the motor on the boat which was going to need immediate attention so I did not blow it up. The water pump impeller had stopped pumping water into the motor which would eventually overheat it. We putted around with the trolling motor for a bit and then back on the trailer after about an hour.

At home, we met up with Carrie. Cam played in the sprinkler for a bit and we had lunch. He then layed down for a nap as I took the dish down and anchored that in the ground with a 4x4 and some concrete. This is a much better setup than I had previously. Cam woke from his nap and we cleaned up the deck after the concrete was dry and also put the dish back on the 4x4 and re-aimed it into the universe. Somewhere in there I found time to get the boat to Tomahawk to the Mercury dealer and then back again to pick it up after it was fixed. $98 was the bill. Could have been much worse. We spent the afternoon at Sand Lake on the beach. From there to dinner at Schaffers Wharf on Lake Nokomis. We had fish on the lakeside deck there and headed over to the windmill for ice cream. Home to put Cam to bed. We were expecting our neighbors late Friday night and they did arrive about 9:30 or so. Once they were all settled, we had a few beers on the deck and did some star gazing.

Saturday we woke to cloudy skies. We had planned on going out in the boat if it was nice. We knew it was going to rain, so we loaded up the atv's and headed to my dad's for some fun. Brian and I left around 8:00am or so. We went all around the trails and it rained buckets on us. Once the rain started, it was way more fun as all the trails were covered with mud and water. We got wet. Home around 1:30 or so and then Carrie and Sam left to do the same. Biian and I hung out with Cam and Ryder at the cottage. Not much work was done then. Ladies were back around 6 as I would cooking dinner. The rain had let up so we ate dinner and built a fire for the night. Good stories and good company by the fire is always a good time.



Sunday we got up to windy and partly cloudy. We again were going to try the boat but the wind was pretty nasty. We went out to Deakin Shores for breakfast and then headed up to the Wildlife Zoo just west of Minocqua. That was better than I thought it was going to be. A bit expensive but Cam had a good time. Back home then, I started and finished installing a screen door on the cottage. Carrie had wanted one for years and I finally got off my butt and got it done.



Packed up and headed home. Back to Pewaukee by 6:30 or so. Cam to the bath, and me to wash the prius as it looked like it had been through a vietnam jungle with all the bugs on it or so my dad says.

Lesson of the week - Make sure there is water coming out of your blow-hole so you don't overheat her.

Father's Day Weekend

Friday June 19th, Carrie, Cam and I headed for the cottage. Our plan was to drop off Cam and Senta at the cottage with Carrie's parents as they had been there all week. We would then travel to Land O Lakes, WI and stay at our old house for the weekend.

Arrived at the cottage around 7:30 or so and then we were on the road again heading for LOL. Got there and unpacked and went to bed. Saturday we woke early as we were scheduled to fish with a guide on the Cisco Chain west of LOL. We fished with an old friend of ours, Patrick Sheehan who was also a musky guide. Check out his site HERE . We met at Bent's Camp around 8am and were on the water about 10 minutes later. A little instruction and we were off for the day. We fished about 10 minutes and I hooked into a 18" Northern. Back in the lake with that one. Headed to a new spot. 10 minutes later, Carrie using a top water bait caught a 42" Musky.







From there we kept heading north on the chain. We continued to fish for the day until around lunch. Patrick raised a 48" - 50" around 1:00pm. This was the one we were after. It hung around for about 5 minutes as he continued to do figure 8's but would not come back up for the hit. We continued on again and finished out the day at that same spot that we raised the big one and then over to where Carrie caught hers. It was a great day of fishing. The weather was fantastic at 82 and sunny all day. From there we went back to LOL for dinner. Cam along with Grandma and Grandpa were already there from our cottage to spend the night with us. Cam swam while we had a few beers and ordered pizza for dinner from Grizzlies.

Sunday morning, Carrie and Bob took the lines with Patrick again. They were fishing for Walleyes on the Cisco again. They managed to boat about 15 walleyes and kept 2 eyes and 1 northern. Patrick filetted them up for them and they were on their way. Meanwhile, Cam, Grandma, and myself went up to Bond Falls in Michigan for pictures as it was fathers day. We got quite a few good pictures and had a good time to that. We all gathered back in LOL and went for a pontoon boat ride on Moon Lake to checkout the sites and then packed up and headed back to the Bearskin Creek Retreat for the night.







Cam rode his atv a bit once we got there while we made some leftovers for dinner. We retired and watched a bit of TV until bed time. I did manage to pick up another Razor moto-x bike over the weekend for myself to ride with Cam. Checkout it out....



Monday, We woke up to Cameran yelling "get down here, I have to show you something!" There in the middle of our driveway was a snapping turtle laying eggs. Looks like she tried to dig 5 holes total before picking this spot. She was there for about 3 hours or so until she was done. Grandma and Grandpa got up and took off by about 8am. Carrie and Cam and I headed over to my dad's house to give him his fathers day present and hang out for an hour. Once home, Cam washed up his atv cuz "it was dusty". We did a few chores around the cottage and packed up for home.





We were home in Pewaukee around 5pm.

A great weekend for fathers day. The best one I have ever had.

Lesson of the weekend - Don't take your wife fishing as she may out fish you!

Finally June and 48 degrees?

Seems like I write the same story over and over here.

Friday June 5, we packed and headed for the north. We arrived around 8:30 and unpacked. It was a nice drive and did not have hardly any traffic. Bob and Donna were already there and had beaten us by about 15 minutes or so. Off to bed.

Saturday it was partly sunny. Bob loaded the boat and left with Cam and Donna for fishing out on Lake Katherine. They did pretty good for the day and came home with 20 keepers. Cam had a good time out there with both Grandma and Grandpa. Meanwhile back on the ranch, I mowed the lawn while Carrie took a 50 minute run. Once she was back I put her to work digging a trench for both the satelite and the power for the garage. Together we got that done. Now we just need an electrician to get the wire into the house.



Right after that, I made a new trail for Cameran for his ATV on the backside of the garage. We only have 1.67 acres up there but he still manages to have fun on the little trails we cut for him.



The fishing crew arrived back at home around 1:30 so we made up some lunch quick and laid Cam down for a nap as he fell apart around 2:00 or so. From there, not much was done, we drank a few beers in the garage and it started raining enough that we did not want to be outside. Cooked dinner at home and packed it in for for night.

Sunday was more of the same. It was 45 when we woke and about 48 when we left. A nice "summer" day. Thank you Al Gore. Cam did get his riding in. I ran to my Dad's house to get Cameran's training wheels welded for his new MotoX bike in Pewaukee. We made lunch and left around 1:30 and back to the house around 5 or so.



Lesson of the weekend - Digging ditches sucks.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

The start of summer....

We made the trek from The Ryan Compound in Pewaukee north to the cottage again on Friday May 22. The drive was long as there were backups in a few locations along the way. We made it there and unpacked and called it a night.

Saturday Cam woke really early. We got going and ate and got out to do some last minute packing for the ATV ride that we had planned. About 7:10 my Dad, Jeannie, Danny, Michelle and the boys pull in to pick up the trailer to head north to Mercer, Wisconsin and the Iron County ATV trails.

On the road 10 minutes later and arrived at our destination about 8:30 or so. Unloaded and headed made our way north on the trails. Most of the "trails" were logging roads or simply gravel roads. We wound our way around the trails to Bear Chasers in the middle of nowhere. There we stopped for lunch in their parking lot as we had packed a lunch for the trip. On our way again and heading north to trail 8 that I had heard was pretty muddy. Once there, the first mud hole, I got stuck with Carrie's 4 wheeler. Lucky I could jump to the edge and get a winch cable and it only took 2 yamaha's to pull out the might Polaris.



From there, the trail continued to be filled with mud holes. All in all, it was the best part of the entire trip. From there we headed back south on the grade to Mercer to load up for the day. It was about 82 miles for us. A whole lot of dust, mud, black flies, and nats. Overall the day was a success and all had a good time. By the time we got cleaned up on Saturday night, it was time for bed.



You can check out the entire day HERE

Sunday we headed for Rhinelander first thing in the morning to get a few things at Menards. What is going to the cottage if I can't waste an entire day working on it? Back home around 9:30 and we headed for my Dad's with Cam's 4 wheeler so he could ride a bit with Brady and Brandon. All was good until Cam got lost on Grandpa's maze of trails. Carrie actually heard his calls and started running through the woods as I took off on the 4 wheeler to find out what was wrong. We both met him at the same time - just scared about not knowing the trail. All was good in about 5 minutes.

In the afternoon, we went to the Mirek Manor for a visit. As always, they are great hosts. We played in the lake, fished a bit off the pier, ate way to much, and even had a few cold ones. Back to the cottage for some sleep.

Monday Cam rode his 4 wheeler for most of the morning until we left for Land O Lakes to put in the pier for Sally and Doug. They were our old landlords and friends from way back when we first moved to Land O Lakes. We arrived around 11 or so and chatted and then put the pier in. After, we had a few cold ones with lunch and cooked out on the patio. It was a great day to just relax. We left there and was home around 5 or so. I then got a bug in my arse and built a small rock edge for some of the lawn. We have so many rocks there and they are just sitting so I thought I could put them to good use. Meanwhile, Cam rode his 4 wheeler more and Carrie painted the door frame with 2 coats of paint.





Tuesday we woke up to rain. It did break enough for Cam to get his daily hour of riding in and then we were off to the Pewaukee Compound again. Home around 3.

A great weekend for weather. 70 and sunny all 3 days. We had a great time up there as usual. Must find more mud for the ATV.

Lesson of the weekend - I should not lead going through puddles.....