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We Got Hitched!

August 15, 2009

On August 15th Jen and I were married at the Gray's Harbor Bluegrass Festival in Hoquiam, Washington.  Our group, Pearly Blue, was performing at the festival and a friend, Bill Peterson, a Presbyterian minister there (now living in Couer d'Alene, Idaho), did the service.  I grew up with Bill's wife, Kathy, in Wayland, Michigan.  We kept the ceremony small and private as we did not want a big "fuss" over it.  As such, only a few folks were "in" on the event: Mike "Spumoni" Manetas; Al, Lynn, and Connor Hutteball; and Tim and "Dodo" Johnson.  Spu and Al also played in this edition of Pearly Blue. 

The service was held in the campground where Tim and Lynn were able to "dress" up the ceremony in their own inimitable fashion -- from a visit to the local Dollar Store.  This included such memorable gifts as a "Honey Do" whistle; "We Got Hitched" magnetic appliques and beer can streamer for our Vanagon; a bottle of Boone's Farm "Berry" and Jen wine; and a few other items.

Jen and I have been together since 1997.  She is a wonderful woman and I feel incredibly fortunate to have found her.  Here are a few images from the event (thanks to Al, Tim, Spu, and Connor for the photography):

The Happy Couple!

Waiting for the Bride: Connor Hutteball performs "Here Comes the Bride on Mandolin: L-R: Connor, Dodo Johnson, Lynn Hutteball, Bill Peterson, Barry, Mike

Pastor William Peterson

                  Vows Are Exchanged

Jen, Barry, Kathy, Bill

                      Al, Connor, Jen, Barry

Dodo, Jen, Lynn

       Tim, cutting up (or down) after the ceremony

Pearly Blue gets ready to perform. L-R: Al Hutteball, Spu, Ron Stanley, Jen, Barry

       Dodo and Tim Johnson

We Love You All!

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 Travel

Trout Lake, Ontario

August 2009

Slide Show

Per other posts below, we took still another trip to our cabin north of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.  Once again we boarded the Algoma Central Passenger Train for the 57-mile ride in as we always have done, but that may be changing.  There is a very rugged 4-wheel drive road to the lake, which is impassable for all but the most hardy vehicles.  However, the Ministry of Forests has announced intentions to do some logging in the immediate area and has upgraded 6 of the 8 miles of that road.  Still, the worst part of the road is that last two miles.  There are conflicting reports that they will finish this stretch next Spring or, alternatively, bring the road into the lake at a different spot.  This is somewhat distressing in one respect because we value the isolation and quiet and hope that this does mean some undesirable peripheral consequences (in addition to the logging), such as more boat traffic on the lake, jet skies, etc.  Most folks, however, seem to think this is unlikely since there are so many other lakes more easily accessible.

One day we walked the two-mile stretch of un-improved road, as well a section of the recently upgraded portion.  The former is more like a dried-up river bottom than road, with large rocks and boulders along much of it (see photo below), and narrow.  This has occurred from years of 4-wheel drive use and subsequent erosion.  There is one bridge constructed from a re-cycled trailer.  Recently someone broke through the older bridge with a pickup truck.  This is not a place to be stranded, since there is no phone communication of any sort.

The "road" into Trout Lake

In any event I am now considering replacing the 1996 Chevy 2-wheel drive pickup I purchased last year (almost did a "cash for clunkers" on it!) for use in transporting supplies to the train with my Washington-based 4-wheel drive Chevy Tracker, which is getting some age on it but could probably handle the off-road conditions.

Trout Lake residents in their ATV, about to depart for Sault Ste Marie 

At any rate we had another wonderful visit to the cabin -- completely stress free and quiet.  We did not see any unusual wildlife on this trip (unlike the bear in the top of a poplar I saw last year), but several reports indicate there are now wolves in the area.  One cabin owner says there was one right in their front yard.  When questioned as to whether it might be a coyote, he responded, "Absolutely not; too big!"  So, that might provide some interesting entertainment sometime... 

We spent a lot of time with our friend Kim Tezak, who owns a cabin there and resides in Traverse City.  Kim is a contractor in Traverse and therefore in demand for carpentry activities at the lake.  In recent years he built our outhouse, buttressed a shed, helped install our woodstove and chimney, in addition to some other contributions.  He was there by himself so we had him over for spaghetti and saw him frequently during the week.  Interestingly, as a young man Kim was a highly recruited quarterback out of Traverse City high school.

We also enjoyed seeing some new friends briefly, Bill and Beverly Oliver, also cabin owners and Traverse City residents.  Bill is a spry 81-year old with an interest in photography, and uses the exact same camera as I have for many of the photos in earlier blogs (Panasonic  TZ-3; I recently purchased a Panasonic ZS-1 which is the source of the photos for this trip) and my slide shows.  His wife is an outstanding artist.  Both look very young for their age.

Kim Tezak, fishing on Trout Lake 

As usual a lot of yard maintenance greeted us since the cabin has not been occupied since May.  We also extended our yard more into the woods, clearing some trees and brush.  Jen spent a lot of time cooking and baking some excellent goodies in our ancient propane stove, which we purchased a few years back from Kim.

For the first time in August we experienced a fair amount of mosquitos.  Normally these are gone by this time, but the upper midwest has had a cool, wet summer and the bugs have persisted.  Still, it was a small penalty to pay for another wonderful trip to Trout Lake!

                                                                 Another of Jen's great meals, on the deck of our cabin

Trout Lake Sunset

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 Travel:

Mackinac Island/Tahquamenon Falls

September, 2009

Slide Show 

I grew up in Michigan but have never traveled to two of Michigan's most popular tourist attractions, Tahquamenon Falls and Mackinac Island.  After leaving Trout Lake we decided to rectify that situation.  Tahquamenon Falls is located in the upper northeast section Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Located in a 45-thousand acre state park it is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River -- 50 feet of drop at the Upper Falls and nearly 200 feet across.  The day we went it was pouring rain, but nonetheless a striking site.

Upper Falls, Tahquamenon River 

We made a big loop around the area from Brimley to Newberry, but it was a miserable day in terms of doing anything outside for very long, in spite of the fact we wore rain parkas.

We headed south that day intent on visiting Mackinac Island.  This resort island is located in Lake Huron just east of the Mackinac Bridge which connects Michigan's lower and upper peninsulas.   There are no vehicles allowed on the island and access is by ferry from Mackinac City (lower peninusla) or St. Ignace (upper peninsula).

We stayed at a nice Quality Inn in St. Ignace that night before departing for the island.  For $65 we had a lakefront motel room.  Since it was still raining we shared a bottle of wine and a gourmet pizza while being entertained by gulls outside our room hoping for a handout.

                                                 Our Room in St. Ignace

This was quite an education in "pecking order" as one brazen gull separated from the group and came within feet of our chairs.  It continually chased away other gulls until it was finally attacked by a pretender to the throne.  The pretender won out, and we noticed the original alpha gull limping around from a wound to its leg.

The morning dawned sunny and warm and we grabbed a walk-on ferry for Mackinac Island.  This cost $21/person for a round trip ticket, and is about a 20 minute ride.

Mackinac Island was first seen by white men about 1634.  It was granted to the United States by treaty with England after the Revolutionary War but the British attacked the American fort there during the War of 1812 and regained the island.  It was returned again by treaty in 1815 and became the center of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company.

The Victorian era transformed the town, as wealthy Americans began building summer homes there.  Many of these homes still exist.  The most famous structure on the island, however, is the Grand Hotel.  Built in 1887 it is a truly "grand" hotel, and lays claim to the longest front porch in the world.  Overlooking Lake Huron it has been visited by many dignitaries, from Mark Twain to Jimmy Durante.

The Grand Hotel

We chose less expensive, but comfortable accomodations (the bed was a little stiff for our taste, however) at Hart's Haven (about $100) since most of the lodging is quite expensive ($150-$1000).  TIP: After all is said and done, if you are on a budget and only intend to spend a day or two on Mackinac Island, I would recommend taking a room in one of the many lakefront motels in St. Ignace (or Mackinac City) and save yourself some money.  During the tourist season the 3 ferries to the island run every half-hour, for only so it is easy to shuttle back and forth, and the motels are only a short distance from the ferry docks.  Both towns  have interesting shops and good restaurants, too.

Since there are no cars allowed on the island we decided to rent bikes.  This cost us about $28/person for an hour and a half rental.  In this time we biked around the island, about 8 miles on a level, paved path that almost entirely follows the shoreline.

Downtown Mackinac Island

Of course we did the tourist routine as well, poking our heads into a number of shops.  It is a beautiful, Victorian-edged downtown, but many of the shops hawk the same products, and much of it was somewhat tacky tourist trash.

Still, we had a marvelous lunch on the front lawn of the Iroqouis Hotel, next to the boat landing and harbor entrance.  After that we decided to take a look at the Grand Hotel.  In order to do this the hotel charges $10 a person. Tip: This is a fee we could have avoided if we had chosen to bypass the standard access (a "greeter" will stop you and ask if you are registered; if not you pay the fee) from the east side and instead swung down onto their grounds and walked up to the front.  As policy this is probably good for the hotel, as they would be overrun by sightseers otherwise. 

Nonetheless the hotel was worth the charge to get in.  It features the wonderful architecture and structural appointments of the Victorian era, although I was somewhat startled at some rather gaudy carpets and interior paint.  Perhaps this was done to "liven up" an antique hotel but I found it somewhat out of character and inappropriate -- ymmv.  Still, it made for some good photography.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Grand Hotel Dining Room

We found our way ultimately to the cupola at the top of the hotel, where we had a glass of wine and an expansive view.

That evening we had dinner at Goodfellows, which had been recommended to us but I found the food unremarkable and continue to wonder why I pay exhorbitant amounts for plates that are too large and not up to Jen's home cooking.  Maybe I'm just spoiled!

Finally, we stopped in Grand Rapids to see my longtime friend and college roommate and fraternity brother (Theta Chi) from Michigan State University, Tom Ellis and his sweetie Judy Carter.  Tom and Judy spend their summers there, in a house just blocks from where Tom grew up and went to high school.

This time was special because a mutual acquaintance of ours from college days, John Lepley, was also in town.  I have not seen John since about 1966 so it was an interesting reunion.

Tom, Barry, and John reunite after 43 years

John is a retired attorney from Colorado who has been traveling around a lot in his van and living simply.  "I'm low maintenance," he says. Tom, a 1950s freak who can name author/artist for just about any rock & roll tune you name from that era also is the possessor of a vintage 1940 LaSalle convertible, one of only three in the world he says.  Here is a photo of he and Judy with this mint vehicle, one of the nicest vintage automobiles I have ever seen (Note: Tom was never in the Navy).

At any rate we had a terrific time visiting though we were hampered by the necessity to fly out the next morning.

                                                                           Lilies, Iroqouis Hotel, Mackinac Island

Judy and Tom

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Travel: 

Bella Coola, British Columbia

July, 2009

Marina, Bella Coola, British Columbia

Slide Show 

History:

From 1980-84 I lived in this remote mountain community at the head of Burke Channel.  My wife (at the time) wanted to live there and I was somewhat at loose ends in Arcata, California, where we had been living.  So, I packed my VW bug and headed north to join her.  I got a job with the BC Forest Service supervising "handlogger" operations on the central coast inlets.  Handlogging is a form of small-scale logging known also as "gyppo" logging.  Typically these are operations conducted on shoreline areas adjacent to the inlets, in forests that are unsuitable for large-scale operations.  The handloggers selectively cut trees rather than clear cut, thus creating a significantly lower impact on the environment.  A tugboat, chain saw, and choker line are all that is needed to operate.  The tree is fallen and dragged to the water's edge where it is "boomed" with other logs.  Handloggers generally operated out of a floating camp, normally a trailer or small hut, adjacent to the log boom.  At some point a larger ship comes and picks up the trees.  Handloggers, by nature, are an interesting assortment of independently-minded "characters" and it was a privilege to work with them.

To accomplish all this, I lived for a week at a time on a forestry boat, the "Oliver Clark."  This beautiful 66-footer was skippered by Bob Underhill, who at 81 is still going strong, though retired.  The cook/deckhand on these expeditions was Brian Baldwin.  My job was to check all of the handlogging operations to make sure they were operating within forestry rules and proper environmental practices.  During the day I operated a smaller outboard-powered boat and scooted around hundreds of miles of central coast waterways.  It was hardly a job!

In 1984 the position was terminated by the B.C. Government and by that time, so was my marriage.  I moved back to the states, but continued to visit Bella Coola.  A few weeks ago we made the 700-mile trek north again, this time with our friends John and Deanne Lindstrom.  John had been there twice before, but neither Jen nor Deanne had. 

John Salo, at his float camp, 1981.

The "Oliver Clark", a 1934 boat from which I worked.  Deckhand Brian Baldwin and Skipper Bob Underhill are shown.

 The first day we drove from Anacortes all the way to Riske Creek, B.C., on the Bella Coola Highway west of Williams Lake, where we stayed at the Chilcotin Lodge www.chilcotinlodge.com

The Sheep Creek (Fraser River) Bridge west of Williams Lake 

                                                           Dinner at the Chilcotin Lodge

This 1940 lodge is operated by Ria and Hennie van der Klis, natives of the Netherlands.  I have stayed at this lodge many times and it is a delightful place.  Ria cooked us a terrific salmon dinner, and breakfast comes with the reservation.  Be prepared to open your wallet, however; the room and meals for two came to $300 Canadian. The next day we headed for Bella Coola.  

Chilcotin Lodge

Almost immediately we encountered a bear along the road, possibly a grizzly, the first of four we saw on this trip.  Then, a moose. 

The Chilcotin Plateau is much different than the Bella Coola Valley, where we were headed.  It is rolling, dry country, with mixed meadows, ranches, and predominantly Lodgepole pines.  As in the U.S. the pine forests have been hit hard by the Pine Bark Beetle and in some places as many as 80-percent of the lodgepoles are dead.

The death of the lodgepoles is an interesting story blending elements of fire protection and (probably) global-warming as villians.  In brief, Lodgepole pines are shade-intolerant trees -- they need full sunlight to grow, and therefore tend to grow in even-aged stands.  Normally fire acts as a means of breaking up the age-groups by allowing new trees to take root. 

Ranch near Kleena Kleene, B.C.

Meanwhile, the Pine Bark Beetle is a naturally occuring predator of the pines, but one that tends to attack only the older trees by burrowing into the bark, then girdling the nutritional cambium layer of the tree.  Without fire to break up the age stands, their is less tree mosaic and therefore a smorgasboard of old trees for the beetle -- it can move uninhibited from one tree to the next.  Couple with this the fact that the beetle would normally die in cold Winter months, but with warmer temperatures they are not dying in large numbers.  So, the end result is rather unhealthy looking forests on the plateau.

It is about 275 miles from Williams Lake to Bella Coola.  When I first moved to Bella Coola this was mostly unpaved, and it was an interesting trip with road conditions forever changing depending on the weather.  If it was dry then dust clouds were thrown up by passing cars, although there is so little population it was typical to only encounter a vehicle every 5 or 10 miles, in spite of the fact it is the only road access to these communities.  If it was rainy, then the trip became a mud bath...I've seen cars with unrecognizable paint jobs.  If it was Winter, the roads were compacted snow and frankly, the best driving you could expect.  There is still a section, between Anahim Lake and the Bella Coola Valley, that is gravel.

Rod Price

In Bella Coola we stayed with my longtime friends Rod and Clara Price.  Rod is a long, tall drink-of-water with a tongue-in-cheek approach to life -- a wonderful person, as is his wife Clara, a native Indian originally from Quadra Island, B.C.  We camped in their yard with our Vanagon Westphalia, while Lindstroms employed a tent.  The week was spent hiking and exploring, mixed-in with periodic visits to the Bella Coola "townsite."  We also took a trip to the Bella Coola Pteroglyphs, on Thorsen Creek.  A short walk from the 4-mile Bella Coola Indian Reserve, it is best to employ (by donation) an Indian guide, normally Lance or Chris Nelson who can be reached at: xawisus@hotmail.com

 Bella Coola is one of the most beautiful valleys you will ever see.  50 miles long, and not much more than a mile wide at any spot, it is bounded by 6-9 thousand foot mountains. 

Only 2000 people live here, predominantly Bella Coola Indians, Norwegians (who came here because of the fishing and hunting in a fjord-like environment), and American transplants attracted to the beauty and solitude.

On Saturday evening we had a big potluck party at the Price's.  These are always interesting events in Bella Coola as a mixture of people will show.  Jen and I provided musical entertainment (at least I hope it was), something that I used to do at similar events in the 1980s when Roy Schubert and I had a little group called the "Hills Brothers." 

Barry and Roy, ca. 1983

Sunday much of the valley went down to see the residence cruise ship "The World."  It anchored off the Bella Coola marina that day and caused quite a stir in the valley.  Want to purchase a 3-bedroom apartment?  7.5 mil (sic) should do it (at least, that's what I heard).  While we were there Lance and Chris Nelson did some singing and drumming in their honor. 

                                                                                                                                               The Nelson brothers and "The World" cruise ship

On Monday it was time to leave. This trip we had the option of taking the ferry  between Port Hardy and Bella Coola either coming or going.  This is a 13 hour ferry run in gorgeous, fjord-like waters. 

We chose to return by that route to best take advantage of the daylight hours.  Although the week in Bella Coola had been mostly overcast, Monday broke bright and sunny and the passage to Port Hardy is spectacular. 

We saw an amazing number of Dall Porpoise, as well as Humpback and Orca whales.  The scenery down Burke Channel, then into Fitzhugh and Smith Sounds (the latter, open ocean) is well worth the $900 Canadian it cost us for a vehicle and four passengers. 

Arriving at Port Hardy about 9pm we elected to drive an hour south, at Rod's recommendation, to the little town of Woss, where we took a room at the Rugged Mountain Motel.  This is no "starred" establishment by any means, but a comfortable, clean, quiet motel.

The following day we drove down Vancouver Island to Sidney, B.C., for yet another ferry ride to Anacortes, thus completing the loop.

Burke Channel

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 Travel:

Granite Mountain, Idaho

June, 2009

After our annual trip to the Oldtime Fiddlers Contest in Weiser, Idaho, we headed for Zim's Hotsprings http://www.visitidaho.org/thingstodo/hot-springs/zims-hot-springs.aspx near New Meadows Idaho.  We camp there and take advantage of hot springs pool.  This has become an annual ritual for us after the contest.  This year our friend Bob Orr, his son's Randall and Tim, and their wives Maria and Lori, along with Vietnamese friend Khue, all gathered at Zim's.

 Zim's Hot Springs Campground.  Our Westphalia is to the left, Bob Orr's to the right.

We took our turns in the hotsprings for a couple of days and decided to climb a visible peak on Granite Mountain.  Granite Mountain is accessed by a Forest Service road north of McCall.  The hike starts at 6700 feet and reaches a fire lookout on the summit about 8500 feet. 

We began our hike in a lovely mountain meadow and then ascended moderately steep terrain that soon hit snow patches, about 7500 feet.  It was bright and sunny, however, so a very enjoyable hike, and the views from the summit were spectacular in all directions.  In spite of some mysterious smokiness in the air, we were able to see as far south as Cambridge, Idaho, about 50 miles.

When we returned we were surprised to see a young Russian immigrant, Sergey Gavrilov, pulling into the campground on his bicycle, a stop on a cross country trip.  Last year another cross-country bicyclist, Jonathan Fretheim, pulled into our campsite at Weiser (See "June 2008: National Oldtime Fiddler's Contest" below).  Ultimately he went over 4000 miles on his trip.  Sergey was quite friendly and joined the group around the campfire that evening.  You can follow his bicycling exploits at the following address: www.rollingpixels.com

 Sergey Gavrilov, Zim's Campground (Granite Mtn. visible in background)

           Goose Lake

Bob Orr

                                         Lunch at the summit. L-R: Khue, Jen, Randall, Tim, Lori, Bob

                       The Summit View.  Zim's can be seen, center right group of buildings

Bob and Lori speak with the Fire Lookout