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We just got back (Sunday night) from Lake Superior & The Apostle Islands. Kayaking on Saturday... Did the Mainland Sea Caves. It couldn't have been more of a perfect day... Light winds, sunny, and The Big Lake was like glass. Water temps still had to be in the frigid 50's? I did get lots of video, even some bald eagle nests with birds flying overhead. Here is some video of my daughter and I going through "The Washing Machine." My son and wife are in the other (yellow) boat. My son is @ the stern of the boat. He's the one wearing his hat (Sabres of course!) backwards and they are the first to go through after our guide. My wife is giving the peace sign to my daughter. I was a bit nervous too, I am pretty big boy to be getting stuck in a sticky kayak wicket! We did this in mid-March, that time we shimmied through on our stomachs when the caves were frozen solid. Our March ice hike was unguided. During this most recent visit, we became familiar with the features and the nicknames along the Mainland Sea Caves.

 

August 2, 2014:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flxeL8TKAuo

 

Oh... Had a very excellent guide! He said it was just a month ago (early July) that the last of the hunks of ice left the caves. The caves face north and get very little direct sunlight.

 

Ever in the area... Look up: www.LostCreekAdventures.org They are awesome!

 

Here is what it looked like on March 15, 2014... Only 4.5 months ago. Here I am yucking & hamming it up for the camera... Just like here, I can never keep my trap shut! :bag:

Edited by ExiledInIllinois
Posted (edited)

Very good memories for the EII Jrs. (not to mention M&D).

 

Thanks Beer! I can't believe how well the camera worked on this recent paddle... I had it harnessed to my chest.

 

Later that evening we went to a swimming hole/beach on The Lake... It was @ Houghton Falls in Washburn, WI... About a 1+ mile hike from the trailhead to get to the lookout point and big rock on the shore... Falls were mainly dry and slow in the summer. Not sure if it was a sanctioned swimming hole/rock, but a few people were there coming and going. It had a public (DNR) trailhead and trail cut through a state nature area. Swimming was @ your own risk, not sure how safe, but it was so cool... So we had to play it safe and make sure nobody got hurt. We found out about it during the paddle from our guide who is a local. There is a lot of info on the internet, but very quiet w/not a lot of people. I forgot the camera or I would have strapped it on too. Kinda of treacherous @ points around steep ravines, had to watch your footing around Echo Valley Dell... All I could think of was the girl in New York wearing the flip flops! I did the sensible thing and changed in the woods by the shore/rock after wearing my Merrell's for the hike, but kidlets were in sneakers and bathing suit right from the trailhead as most other people were! With being only 1 mile hike, it was tempting just to hit the trail with only bathing suit, flip flops, etc... But that New York incident had me thinking safety! LoL... The email about summer safety that our district colonel sent out also had me being prepared and on guard! LoL... Once jumping off the big rock, they had ropes that would assist you to scale back up the face of rock/cliff. The inlet where the river/creek dumps into was shallow and sandy...

 

Quite a memory! Swimming in The Big Lake, taking it easy! Well, maybe not "easy." Being a newb to that trail, I was pretty on guard! ;-)

 

From the internet:

 

http://alltrails.com/trail/us/wisconsin/houghton-falls-trai

 

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMJ9N0_Houghton_Falls_Trail_Bridge_Washburn_WIl

 

 

By the time I realized I left my camera/phone @ in our vehicle, we were all ready down on the trail and didn't want to slep back! Considering now, it would have been worth the extra 1/2 mile! :-(

 

 

"Houghton Falls trail ends at the dramatic sandstone cliffs on the clear waters of Lake Superior, with breathtaking views of the Apostle Islands. A beach at the base of the cliff ends a scenic wooded trail with waterfalls and a spectacular glen cut through pink sandstone with lush growth of hemlock."

 

EDIT: That first link, not sure why it isn't working... Maybe can't be hyperlinked to?

 

This one is cool and shows the rock outcropping. The Lake is the Boss, Nature=God:

 

http://gitcheegumeeguy.blogspot.com/2012/06/nature-god.html?m=1

 

I notice when swimming in the cove that somebody took and chiseled: Nature=God, T.Blake 1964 into the sandstone rock. Pretty cool that it is 50 years old this year. Notice the write-up about T.Blake in the blog linked above.

Edited by ExiledInIllinois
Posted

Worked on a brand new dodge dart. Car hauler took out the rear window and smashed the roof. Cleanup glass,. remove interior. Then started on a dented up Durango.Ate supper ,then started working on carport, tractor cover. Now on here.

Posted

Worked on a brand new dodge dart. Car hauler took out the rear window and smashed the roof. Cleanup glass,. remove interior. Then started on a dented up Durango.Ate supper ,then started working on carport, tractor cover. Now on here.

 

That's not cool that the car got damaged... My brother drives a car hauler. I remember him saying, certain cars have to be loaded the correct orientation. Some if you load them with rear window forward, they blow out while going down the road. I think it is with the boxy ones like the Flex or similar. Crazy that damage happened with a Dart... How did it happen? My brother said, crap would happen from time to time since the driver was required to load and unload.

 

Speaking of Darts... My friend's father had an original one in the 1970's. We were winter camping and one of my friends was making faces @ another through the back window... My other friend chucked a snowball and boom the whole rear window shattered... Said father was NOT too happy! LoL... I guess the new Darts kept weak rear windows in the family line! ;-)

Posted

Happened when the driver was unloading .I guess he lowered one side too far. crushed the right rear of the roof and blew out the window. Day wrecker. Time for clamps, come a long .Stud welder.

Posted

Went to the nursing home to celebrate my Aunts 90th birthday.

Rookie. See Big Cat's post.

 

 

(kidding; congrats to your aunt and Cat's Godgrandmother)

  • 1 month later...
Posted

Made a new phrase at work. Couldn't get an access door open so I smacked it, and it opened. Co-worker asked how I got it open....

 

"I gave it the Ray Rice."

Posted

Lost my flashlight. Holy jeebus, you wouldn't believe what a shitstorm. All aircraft grounded, all hands memos, DOOM. Everyone stop what they are doing to find it. Lost tools are the ultimate no-no.

 

I set it down on someone's tool box. Took 5 minutes to find it once word got out, but I am going to hear about this for a while. As if mechanics needed another reason to hate engineers.

Posted

Lost my flashlight. Holy jeebus, you wouldn't believe what a shitstorm. All aircraft grounded, all hands memos, DOOM. Everyone stop what they are doing to find it. Lost tools are the ultimate no-no.

 

I set it down on someone's tool box. Took 5 minutes to find it once word got out, but I am going to hear about this for a while. As if mechanics needed another reason to hate engineers.

 

That's intriguing and fascinating. If you are cool with it, explain more about what you do and why a misplaced flashlight is a major problem. Mechanic on planes right? What about spare flashlights? Is that a no-no... Is it a safety concern like leaving it on the plane somewhere (engine, etc...) Is it like the surgeon that has to count exactly everything they use during surgery? IE: So the don't leave stuff in a patient, etc... I guess I can see why things would totally have to be run as a tight ship!

Posted

Lost my flashlight. Holy jeebus, you wouldn't believe what a shitstorm. All aircraft grounded, all hands memos, DOOM. Everyone stop what they are doing to find it. Lost tools are the ultimate no-no.

 

I set it down on someone's tool box. Took 5 minutes to find it once word got out, but I am going to hear about this for a while. As if mechanics needed another reason to hate engineers.

 

Mechanic where?

 

That's intriguing and fascinating. If you are cool with it, explain more about what you do and why a misplaced flashlight is a major problem. Mechanic on planes right? What about spare flashlights? Is that a no-no... Is it a safety concern like leaving it on the plane somewhere (engine, etc...) Is it like the surgeon that has to count exactly everything they use during surgery? IE: So the don't leave stuff in a patient, etc... I guess I can see why things would totally have to be run as a tight ship!

 

FOD

Posted (edited)

 

 

That's intriguing and fascinating. If you are cool with it, explain more about what you do and why a misplaced flashlight is a major problem. Mechanic on planes right? What about spare flashlights? Is that a no-no... Is it a safety concern like leaving it on the plane somewhere (engine, etc...) Is it like the surgeon that has to count exactly everything they use during surgery? IE: So the don't leave stuff in a patient, etc... I guess I can see why things would totally have to be run as a tight ship!

 

A tight ship indeed. We modify, maintain and operate four DoD owned Gulfstreams. They are not luxury ships. Outfitted with sensors and comm equipment. Years ago when we begin the contract, we were required to conform to very strict FOD (foreign object debris) and tool control policies. Every last tool had to be inventoried or disposed of. The mechanics have to shadow their boxes so anyone can tell at a glance if anything is out of place, and all tools are accounted for at the end of every shift.

 

I am an engineer. I design the systems that the mechanics are supposed to implement. I do electrical and mechanical systems diagrams/blueprints, among other things. Most mechanics enjoy criticizing engineers every chance they get. Because, you know, engineers are idiots. I am the only engineer in the company who insisted on having my own small set of tools, because I got tired of borrowing things and dealing with contemptible attitudes every time I needed to survey an aircraft.

 

So, when I misplaced my flashlight, I was obligated to report it within two hours. I even suspect that I might have been sabatoged. The result so far has been personal ridicule, managers meetings, policy reviews, forms and paperwork. My god, you would think that I lost plutonium.

Edited by THE KIKO MONSTER
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