Bulldozing

As if to add the point to the exclamation, when we stopped into the Clear Springs Hardware Store (just because it looked cool), the two older gentlemen that worked there were more puzzled than amazed when Emil told them what Kali had just accomplished.  They also tried hard to sell us the store.  And it's mighty tempting given its small-town locale, creaky floors, paper invoicing and filing, and got-all-you-need-and-nothing-you-don't stock.  They had to step out on the sidewalk after we left to see if'n we weren't just fibbing about dogs and Christmas trees...

Caught you looking...

Stopped for lunch at the Jubilee Diner in Friendsville, MD and after a nice warm sandwich had my first-ever (and potentially last) donut sundae...



We stopped outside Lexington, KY for the night and secured a T-bone for Kali. Also, quite by coincidence, discovered West Sixth Street Brewery of Lexington's might tasty amber ale.  Several times...

Birds?  Bacon?  Beef?  It's a toss-up.  Suppose there's a time and place
for everything to be a favorite.

 

Emil, Burf! and other wingmen can attest to the determination and stamina I can exhibit when the rig is pointed for home.  Needed to get back to the Center of the Universe to see my girls and resume life.  Guess I'm not one to dwell much on past achievements, especially when I'm still planning on so much future.

 

Spent a few miles in self-reflection on whether I'm presumptuous about establishing goals.  I think I've just developed so much confidence in pre-trip research and preparation, coupled with the willingness to follow the mojo, to adjust and overcome, that while the end result is not certain, I've spent so much time and effort visualizing and anticipating the outcome, I approach the challenge with a high level of confidence.  There are always unexpected events (tire replacement in MI, failed brake cylinder in NJ, etc etc), but they usually just lead to new and fun adventures.

 

There were actually many miles to ponder such things as we kept the hammer down and made 1,209 miles on Tuesday and everyone got home safely!

Traveling is great fun, but there's no place like home...

And there's little to complain about at the CotU.  Was home in time to attend the Veteran's Day ceremony at KCHS with the girls...

As testimony to how fortunate I am, indulge me one more story from yesterday.

While standing at attention in prep for the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance at the ceremony, I was approached by a young woman carrying a bouquet of red roses.  She asked if I could place them at the flagpole for her just as the Mighty Badger Band struck up the first notes of the Star Spangled Banner.  I asked her to wait just a second while I saluted and when the Pledge ended she told me her grandfather was KIA in WWII and her husband in AFG, so the flowers were in their memory.
I came to attention, saluted her and told her it would be my honor.  As the band played Taps and the Karnes County Honor Guard fired their 21-gun salute, I posted to the flagpole, laid the flowers at the base, stepped back and saluted with tears in my eyes.  I returned to my position of attention behind the Honor Guard until the ceremony ended, but when I found her afterwards, she smiled, thanked me and was gone before I could get her name or those of her fallen family members.
I'm just an old guy wearing the uniform in service to his state, but I can't imagine doing so for a more honorable purpose.  God Bless America and that woman and the sacrifices her family has endured.

Thanks for following along on our adventure.  Already getting asked what's next.  It's a banner quail year in SouTex, so Kali should get plenty of feathers in her mouth this season.  Then, there's two girls to get through high school and on to college...

I'm sure we'll think of something. 

A long way from lost...

"Don't you have birds in Texas?"
"How long have you been doing this?"
"Are you lost?"

Just a few of the most common questions we've encountered on Kali's epic odyssey.  A very very small percentage of the folks who ask actually grasp the notion of such an undertaking.  After a brief pause you can almost see them traveling off somewhere on their own journey in their minds, envisioning the adventure and excitement of the pursuit whether it's fish, birds, pie, beer, antiques, filming locations, or state shot glasses for a collection.
The majority however, say something nondescript like "huh" or shake their head in something between contempt and curiosity.  I'm way past trying to explain it to folks that may have never left their home state.  There are certainly a lot more compelling, even rational reasons to never undertake such a quest - fortunately I was quick to overlook them.
On Monday, November 9, 2015 around 8:45 a.m. we turned Kali loose on the Indian Springs WMA just northwest of Clear Springs, MD.  It's a pretty property with nice quail cover in the hollers and grouse habitat up on the ridges.  Morning was crisp and clear.

We worked the cover a while and when Kali declared "all clear" I sat on a rock with her in my lap and took just a moment to reflect on a little dog that has hunted in all 49 continental United States, plus 8 Canadian provinces, been north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Border Fence.
If there's another dog that's ever accomplished that, I sure can't find any reference to it.
She's made fans across the country as much for her loveable personality and character as her hunting drive, persistence and prowess.  Always ready to lick someone's hand, ride in their truck seat or sleep on their motel bed.  Willing to try anything that resembles bacon or beef, plus a few other options.
And able, far more by the grace of God than anything I taught, to jump out of a high-mileage truck, take a quick look around at the environment, and go figure out how to find birds, whether it's in snow on the Continental Divide, high desert, thick forests, open prairies and fields, or swamp land.

As Call carved about Deets, "Cheerful in all weathers, Never shirked a task."

Lost???
Never been there...

I was born under a wandrin' star...

DE - MD

Unless you run a large financial institution with credit cards, not sure there's much appeal to Delaware.  I am impressed with their WMAs however.  We hunted the Blackiston WMA near Smyrna and it was the best-managed property of the entire trip.  Food plots, edges, berry tangles, trashy fields with good cover ... the state may not be very large, but they do huge things with the state lands for wildlife.  We found plenty of deer sign, but unfortunately no birds for Kali.

If I were a Delaware quail, I'd live here!  State #48

I let Emil drive over the Bay Bridge spanning the Chesapeake Bay so he could experience a true white-knuckle driving experience.  The bridge is long and high with narrow lanes and when the wind funnels up the bay from the Atlantic, it can be really hairy.  Fortunately we traveled on a calm and pretty Fall afternoon, although I don't think he enjoyed it as much as me.

Stopped in Frederick, MD for the night and hunted up some crab cakes as our desired regional cuisine.  Just down the road from the motel encountered a real gem - May's Restaurant.  The family has run the business since the 50s, first as a service station and fish market, then as a restaurant beginning in the 90s.  The crab cakes were loaded with crab rather than fillers and the soft-shells and flounder weren't too shabby either.  Glad we didn't opt for the all-you-can-eat or we might still be there!

Add May's to the list of places where folks were intrigued by a truck form Texas with a Christmas tree on top... 

That's a big ol' lump of crab!  And the Flying Dog IPA brewed right there in Frederick was tasty too!

The Garden State

Most of my travels through NJ have involved Newark and the SE side of the state near NYC.  Since we crossed the Tappan Zee in the dark and drove into NW NJ late, the state's beauty and character were concealed from us until the following morning.
Did get to shut down at a motel next to Bella Italia Restaurant in Andover where we got to meet the kind of "Joysey" waitress you expect, as well as enjoy cardunes which are fried artichoke stems (very tasty alternative to french fries) - plus I got to sample the Flying Fish IPA.  Several times...
Next morning was crisp and the coolest we'd had in several days.  We made the short trip to the Flatbrook Roy WMA and I was frankly stunned by the beauty of the countryside and the habitat.

There were pheasant feathers at the parking area (put 'n take perhaps?), but Kali certainly acted like there might be something on the larger predator scale in the woods up the slope.

Plenty of rock walls on this WMA as well.  Makes one ponder the farms and homesteads that might once have occupied the river bottom a couple of centuries ago.

We'd been fishing along the way this trip, but hadn't secured our NJ fishing licenses, so we just walked along the river to look for trout.  Sure enough, came across a rather large pool and could see numerous 14"-18" trout swimming lazily through the shafts of sunlight that hit the water.  A couple of fly fishermen came along and we visited with them a while as they fished.  We kept trying to get them to move to where we were seeing fish because it's almost as much fun seeing fish caught as catching them, but guess they weren't interested in fly fishing advice from Texans.  We moved on...



If how much butter comes on your toast is a measure of a good restaurant, then we found a great one in Branchville, NJ.  Jumboland serves a HUGE breakfast with loads of butter - and a really tasty cherry-vanilla shake for dessert!
 

 Having hunted Kali's 47th state we moved on towards Delaware and even driving IHs and turnpikes were surprised by the beauty of NJ.  It's possible I might even return.

MA - CT - RI

The whole trip through VT was in balmy temperatures so it was nice to have some cooler weather as we returned to hunting with Kali and slapped some more flags on the rig.

Great WMA in MA, with plenty of food and cover, but also a lot of other hunters. 

Moved on to CT but after 15 minutes in the woods we were all covered with ticks! Spent more time picking ticks than hunting!
Passed right by the Avon Old Farms prep school where the Witkowski family was visiting Packy who's a basketball and guitar stud. Beautiful campus that turned down the opportunity to be a set for Harry Potter.

Moved on to the George Washington WMA in RI touted as the best grouse grounds in RI, but had to share it with horses and motorcyclists so not a high target area.

State number 46.

Vermont

Most people probably love Vermont in September and October when the leaves are colorful, but we actually prefer November when there are fewer leaves to block the views and definitely fewer leaf peepers to get in our way. Dang tourists.
Over the years I have hauled Christmas trees to SouTex from MT, ID, AZ, and NM, so since we were in a coniferous area decided to pop in on the Green Mountain National Forest to see if they were selling Christmas tree permits yet. Really friendly manager named Jeff said they didn't start until after Thanksgiving and was also worried any tree would be denuded by the time it got home. Convinced him it would be just fine so he dug the permits out of a file drawer and wrote me a special letter receipt in case we got pulled over. Add Jeff to the list of people who think we must be crazy traveling as far as we do for birds and tree.
Moved a grouse while hunting for a tree (of course) and then went by to see Texas Falls again, one of the few scenic places I've returned to in my travels.

Don't Mess With Texas. Took the opportunity to clean some trash out of the beautiful scenery. Water was fast and cold but it made for much better pictures. 

Found our tree further up Texas Falls Road, which just seemed appropriate.

Another benefit of November are apples along the road. Emil loves shaking the tree!

Also made a stop at the New England Maple Syrup museum so Emil could learn about the process and I could restock on syrup and spices ... another return  visit.
Craving lobster rolls we stopped in Lee, MA and ate at the Salmon Run Fish House where we had awesome hot rolls which I paired with a Whale Tale ale.  Scrumptious!

Rouge Matawin

Printed our access passes out at the Motel the next morning and we ventured into the Rouge Matawin Reservé Faunique. Birds weren't cooperative but we did get to wet a line.

You can see Emil's orange hat off in the brush.

My first Northern pike, about 25"!

Border crossing was easy for once.  CBP officer found our story entertaining and didn't even make us wash the mud off the truck!
Shut down in St. Albans VT where we found awesome pizza and calzones cooked by Tim from Greece. Also enjoyed the local 14th Star Brewing Valor Ale, great beer and good story. Check out their Web site.

Go Canadiens!

Quebec's Reserve Fauniques are like our national forests as far as access and activities, almost as beautiful as national parks, but you can hunt in them! Of course, there's a permitting process which involves a daily fee, but I don't mind that so much as it provides an opportunity to meet folks at the office, get some maps and intel, maybe tell Kali's story to another amazed person.
Except that the main office and park office were closed for the season! Which season I'm not sure because it was hunting season. It's remote location made finding even a computer where we could print passes online perhaps a two hours effort.
Stopped at the only store in Louvicourt and went in hoping someone at least spoke English. The young guy behind the counter did "leetle bit" and I was able to convey our dilemma with my petit Francais.
This amazingly nice guy took me upstairs to his home (I took my boots off because he took his shoes off )and let me use his laptop and printer at his kitchen table to purchase and print our passes. I loved on his dog and cat while we waited on the printer, noticed he had new baby stuff so we compared notes on fatherhood. Also talked some hockey - he's a big Montreal Canadiens fan.
Went back down to his store and against his protests bought some of his Canadiens gear as a form of thank you and in short order we were back at the forest hunting.
Kali scored a spruce grouse and then we stopped at a scenic spot, broke out the road kitchen and had a fabulous grouse and orzo lunch.

Thanks for the grouse rub Burf! And yes, the wood was too wet from a week of rain for a Real fire. 

Kali points grouse live and dead.

Yes, dogs have dreams

Just had to share this video from the other night.

Pretty sure that it's not a nightmare, but there was that time when we had the run-in with the cougar in Nevada.
I'd like to think it's about birds, but odds are it involves squirrels.

Un journée de la variété

Might as well get started with la Francais since I'm sitting in Quebec right now... But to get here we enjoyed an exciting last day in Ontario.
Started with a grinding 4WD route that played out despite what the map indicated. Didn't exactly have muddy water inside the truck but it was over the running boards and we had several load shifting experiences.
Finally located a promising area and discovered that Kali may be a little petite for the GoPro puppy cam, especially when crashing through forest for grouse.  Must be designed for Frisbee dogs.

No. Go. Pro.

Pretty. And tough on dogs lugging cameras and old men with broken feet. 

But worth it for a mouthful of feathers! 

Clear cuts for the timber industry eventually create prime grouse habitat. We found one area that was too recently harvested to attract birds yet but we sure saw some Christmas trees we'd be happy to haul home.

Brief stop for lunch in Timmins at an out of the way café overlooking the gold mine and where French and English are interchangeable.  But the strawberry rhubarb pie spoke loud and clear.

Decided to rest the puppy and wet a line in the creek that drains Pothole Lake. The brook trout were literally leaping out of the water and all over our tenkara flies.

Beautiful and feisty little fish. 

They are right over there Dad!

Kali loves sitting by streams and watching us fish. She doesn't care so much about smelling or even catching the fish but is fascinated about how they disappear into the water.
The big fish came out at sunset and I'm sad to admit that it got too dark for me to tie a knot on those tiny flies. But we did see some quality fish.
On to Quebec.
Let voyage se poursuit.

Cafe Mojo

Okay, so breakfast was so good at the West End we decided to return there and as luck would have it sat in the booth next to a local who also had a 14 year old Brittany,  totally understood why we would travel so far for the dog, and had hunting recommendations.  And he was spot on!
Not that there's a lot of people in Ontario, but the further you venture away from them the more wildlife you see. Duh...
He sent us on a route that actually had me worried about UPLNDR's fuel capacity between the distance and 4WD fuel burn but we moved a lot of birds, saw some pretty country, and very few humans.

Amazing how the years drop off when there's feathers involved.
"Give me back my spruce grouse Emil! "

Province #7 - Ontario

We were all ready to get after the grouse,  but especially Kali. Beef and bacon are fine,  but bird feathers are better...

Nobody leaves this room without me. 

We did score a great breakfast at the West End Donut Stop before we headed into the forest (bacon still a priority) and had to convince the locals we weren't moose hunters...who comes this far for partridge?
Moved a ruffed and spruce grouse on our first effort but the trees collected all of our pellets and the rain had Kali shivering so we moved on.
Stopped to play with Emil's new tenkara fly gear at Dam Creek  (fish are wet) with  no success but was a good shake out for him

You know why they're called "nots" right?

Rain subsided late afternoon, so we tried up Laughing Lake Rd and managed to move one more huge ruff but cover was so thick, not even a shot.

Dad, we're doing everything right and I'm all wet. Why won't these birds cooperate? 

Wet, tired, we retreated to the steak house for her reward.

Good day.

Mackinac Bridge and Ontario

The Mackinac Bridge at 26,273' long, 155' above the water and 552' tall connects lower Michigan with the UP. Fifth longest suspension

bridge in the world.
Crossed into Sault Ste. Marie, ONT and the RCMP were their typical friendly and efficient selves.
Found licenses, local smoked meats, and intel at the Trading Post, as well as weather forecast. Fortunately for grouse (or partridge up here) hunters,  the birds don't like rain any more than the hunters so we'll have a little down time for scouting and prep before the weather improves Sunday.  But every person we chatted with recommended a place for Kali to hunt.
Friendly...