Our good friends and almost family, Jim and Denise and their son Robbie also were in camp and so we all had meals together and shared cooking and cleaning assignments.  Since Jim & Denise have embraced Max and my family as part of their own extended family, I was elated that we could all be together.  We usually fished together and kept an eye out for each other out on the water and the fact that everyone got along well added to the pleasure and relaxation of the week.

Fishing was really good and everyone did very well and so dinner was often the fish we had caught that day.  But probably the most memorable part of the trip was  our trip over to Obabikon Lake. There were three boats of us. Jim and Denise were in the lead, Lynn and I were second, and Eric and Robbie were bringing up the rear.  Suddenly, Jim & Denise slowed to a halt and were looking back, I stopped also and Lynn said look at Eric & Robbie.  Eric had their boat in a sharp turn and they were circling slowly.  Robbie was standing with a big net poised to net something in the water, and net it he did.  It was a good sized snapping turtle swimming across the lake.  Lynn and I got our boat about 15 feet from theirs and then I smelled it!  Yowee, did it stink!  We got some photos of it and they let it go.  We have always referred to that week as Robbie’s great turtle round up. 

Robbie and the turtle.

Lynn, relaxing on the dock.

Lynn, doing her Jimmy Houston impression and kissing the smallmouth.

Lynn, Eric and I relaxing in Jim & Denise’s cabin.

Friday night, close to ten PM, I was on the computer when all of a sudden Billy began barking in a very aggressive manner. I shouted for him to shut up, but it didn’t work so I got up and checked the back porch, the front porch and the yard. I saw nothing and told him to relax.

I went back to the computer and in a few minutes he started again. Back I went and still there was nothing. By this time Cassie was up and walking around so I figured that it would be a good time for their late night walk. Outside they quickly relieved their bladder and we were walking down the drive when over the shed to the west of the house a huge bolt of lightening and an almost immediate thunder clap. It was close, and loud! Billy surprised me by turning quickly and charging back 20 steps or so towards the shed looking up in the air and barking and challenging whatever it was that made that nasty sound. His feet were planted wide apart and his back was arched ready for action. He was not the least bit afraid of it and dared it to do it again. Which it did and that just infuriated him even more. By this time I was along side of him and was petting him and telling him in a calm voice that there was nothing to worry about. There was another huge lightening bolt and thunder clap while I was trying to calm him and his reaction was calmer. So I decided we should go back in the house. I helped Cassie get up the steps and the instant we were in the house the skies opened up and it poured for about 10 minutes. We got lots of water in a very short time which made me happy. This was another fun adventure with Billy.

So they got together and hatched a plot; ”lets give dad another dog, a young one with lots of energy, that will help a lot.”  I am positive they had a conversation something like that, but they deny it, and then look at each other and go “wink, wink, wink”.  

So an opportunity presents itself.  Sadly, Rocky’s dog, Malachi, dies.  Then, with deep love and tenderness toward her little sister, Lynn, wink, wink, gives Rocky her 3 year old English Bulldog, Billy.  A strong, energetic, beautiful, loving, pain in the ass.  John, who has carefully stayed in the background says to dad, “That is a lot of dog, I don’t think it will last with Rocky”.  

Of, course, after a couple of weeks of “problems”, Billy finally is too much dog for Rocky to keep.  So sweet old dad says; “I’ll take care of him until we figure out how to get him back to Lynn”.   Ha!, the trap has been sprung!  The kids are so pleased with themselves.  They love it when a plan comes together!

Well, dad has a surprise for the kids.  Billy is lazier than dad by far.  All he wants is to sleep, eat, pee, poop and chase Attila the grouse.  (Attila the grouse has been hanging around for over a year now and thinks that dad’s property belongs to grouse and not humans.)

Today, Billy finally caught Attila!  And what did this ferocious dog do?   He  head butted Attila a half dozen times, let him up and then chased him from on end of the property to the other.  After that Billy came home and slept for 3 hours. 

Yep. The conspiracy the kids hatched is really working.  Now dad has a bull dog that is more bull than dog.  Who the hell ever heard of a head butting bull dog? 

Because she was such a good friend and I don’t want to challenge her, I never commented.  But because I admire much about her I would really like to understand this spiritual crap.  So I looked on the web.

What do people mean when they say they are spiritual?   Did you read that?  There in the second sentence it says “perceived eternal verities“.  Allow me to paraphrase that, “imagined eternal truths”.

How in a small town in Michigan does that relate to me?  I am trying to understand, but it still sounds like crap to me.  It sounds as if they are saying that spirituality is “what each of us imagines to be the eternal truth”.   Well that is only more gibberish that I can’t put my arms around.

Here are three more definitions for spiritual and for me they also reek of crap.   There are lots more, but they are all very similar.

religious: concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church; “religious texts”; “a member of a religious order”; “lords temporal and spiritual”; “spiritual leaders”; “spiritual songs”

concerned with or affecting the spirit or soul; “a spiritual approach to life”; “spiritual fulfillment”; “spiritual values”; “unearthly love”

lacking material body or form or substance; “spiritual beings”; “the vital transcendental soul belonging to the spiritual realm”

Religious? Well to me that does not connote anything good or of value.  Religion is the most horrible, despicable and evil plague that has ever affected humans.  If spirituality has anything to do with religion, then I don’t care much for it.

The soul?  The spirit?  More religious concepts that has no basis in reality.  Mysticism, smoke, and mirrors used to deceive and mislead people and give power to those that have no other way to obtain it.

So the web has not been much of a help to me, except to turn me off of the concept.  So maybe I have to put my own definition on the term and what I  hope Susie meant.

I hope that she meant that she was emotionally moved in a positive way when she saw the wonders of nature or that she felt a intense closeness and bond with someone she liked and admired.  In that case, I understand what she meant.  But all of that other stuff is still crap to me.

Kevin was 10 1/2 at the time and was full of energy and excited about almost everything.  He would discuss almost any topic with great enthusiasm and ask questions for hours on end.  At least I would not be bored during the drive.   In retrospect, bored was never an option during that trip. 

We left Rhinelander Wisconsin and headed for Minnesota with the idea of fishing at Mille Lacs Lake, a well known place for great fishing.   We spent a day fishing and caught a few small fish.   From there we went to Mobridge in the heart of South Dakota where we fished another day.  The winds were very high that day and we did not catch a thing.  Fishermen’s luck was not in our favor, but we had a great time.

We drove from there to Mount Rushmore where we joined thousands of other tourists and admired the great sculptures carved into the mountain.  We continued on through the Black Hills National Forest and saw herds of elk and buffalo in the distance.   Descending from the Black Hills, we came onto the eastern plains of Wyoming.  It was not long before we began seeing pronghorns and prairie dog towns everywhere.  At one prairie dog town we watched as pronghorns grazed around the area and a coyote hunted for lunch.  We watched for nearly a half hour, but he never was able to chase something down. 

We drove through the Thunder Basin National Grasslands to the little town of Edgerton.  We had to wait at the gas pump for about 10 minutes while they switched pumps.  We were the first car at the newly opened pump and we received 13 gallons.  As it turned out it was 13 gallons of water and not gasoline.   Driving away, I went about 15 feet before the car died.  The man at the pump seemed to know immediately what the problem was.  He got under the car and checked the gas line and saw it was all water.  They immediately took responsibility.  They put us up at a local motel, had us towed to Casper to a dealer where the entire gas line from the engine back to the tank was replaced at no cost to us.  I cannot say enough about the honesty and character of the people I met there. 

From Casper we drove to Yellowstone National Park.  Along the way we stopped in the middle of the highway twice.  Once for a Golden Eagle in the middle of the other lane perched atop a kill it had just made.  I opened the window just in time for it to hiss at us from about 4 feet away.    The second time was for a huge elk that was in the middle of the road with a broken back. It could only move its huge head and horns.  I had nothing I could use to put it out of it misery.  I drove on and we passed a truck going the other way and the driver waved at us, I hoped that he knew about the elk and assumed he was about to end the elk’s suffering.

We spent a long day and saw all the usual sights in Yellowstone.  By now we were anxious to get home and from there we drove and talked and saw the sights, but did not stop and spend any more time.  This was a great trip and I relive it in my mind often.

The most memorable part of the trip happened back at Mille Lacs Lake when we were done fishing.   On our way to the motel for the evening we stopped at a grocery store for snacks.  On the way back to the car Kevin bent over and picked up something.  When we got to the car, he showed me.  It was over $200, a credit card, drivers Licence and Golf Club membership held together with a rubber band.   He said, “I’m going to keep it”.  I shrugged my shoulders and waited.  For a while he talked about what he was going to do with the money but after a long silence he said. “No, I’m going to give it back.” 

Over the next three hours he went back and forth with these same two thoughts.  He asked me what he should do and I told him it was his decision. He called his mother and she wisely said it was his decision.  Finally he got the telephone and called the phone number listed on the Golf Club membership card.  There was no answer, but he left his name and our motel number and room number.  Boy was I proud.  He had made his decision and it was a good one.

Within an hour we got a return call from the gentleman that lost the card.  He was in the area and came to the motel where we met him and Kevin returned his belongings.  The man took the $100 bill that was in the rubber band and handed it to Kevin and shook his hand and thanked him.   He explained that he was an educator for major corporations and taught business and personal ethics.  He said he now had a new lecture he could give concerning personal ethics.   I believe that day was a defining moment in Kevin’s life and his sense of self.   For a young person of only 10 1/2, he demonstrated the character of honesty and decency that he has maintained as an adult.  I still brag about him.

Whenever I am in this part of the State of Jefferson, and time permits, I like to take this drive.   A word of caution, this road is not maintained in the winter and then is only accessible to snow mobiles.   Snowplows will usually block the entrance to the road during the winter.

When the snows are gone and the weather is nice, this road will provide you much scenery.  Bring the camera.   Entering from highway 140 just west of Fish lake you will encounter the flanks of Brown Mountain.  Brown Mountain certainly is an appropriate name.  This is the remains of a volcanic outpouring and is a stark barren landscape.   I have heard it referred to as a cinder cone.  Ha!  These cinders are huge!

Soon you will come upon Butte Creek which flows from Fish Lake.   Here there are tall trees and places to park.   You should take this opportunity to stretch your legs and look around.   A short distance further down the road is the Elk Ranger station, a historical landmark.

Continuing down the road you will encounter Brown Mountain Road (NFD 3705) branching off to your left.  This is a single lane paved road that wanders across the crest of the mountain meadows.   Follow it and it will wind for a few miles in some of the most peaceful  landscape around.   You will pass camp sites and hiking trails along the way.   Take your time and enjoy the mountain air.  If you follow this paved road, it will change names a few times, but eventually you will come out onto Dead Indian Highway.

If you are a hiker, you may be interested in hiking the Brown Mountain Trail.   This trail, about six miles in length, intersects with the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada.

For more about the State Of Jefferson see The Mythical State

Just 49 miles from Montague is the summit of Mount Shasta.  Rising majestically 14,179 feet into the sky, Mount Shasta dominates the view to the south.  Between the summit and Montague are the remains of a huge debris avalanche that occurred over 300, 000 years ago.  This mass of debris appears to us as ridges, hills and mounds rising above the flat slopes of the area.  Since they contrast markedly from their surroundings, these landforms are easy to pick out in the satellite photo.  These masses of material are comprised of a wild mixture of volcanic rock, lava flows, ash, mud, silt, and whatever else was carried along by the avalanche.  Scattered along the western slopes of the valley are volcanic boulders of all sizes.  Some are as tall as a 4 story building.

All of this make for some interesting sightseeing and gives you an opportunity to introduce the kids to some geology.

If you are driving on Interstate 5, you can enjoy much of the scenery here with just a small detour.   Traveling north on the 5 exit at the city of Weed and take Route 97 northwest as if you were going to Klamath Falls.   About 5 miles out of town is Big Springs Road.  Another 10 miles or so ahead is the 99-97 cut-off.  Take either of these and go north to Harry Cash Road.  Take Harry Cash road north and then west to Montague-Ager road in Montague.  Take Montague-Ager Road north to where it becomes Copco Road.  A short distance later you will be back at Interstate 5 at the town of Hornbrook.

As you drive you will see a variety of odd shaped landforms that you can also identify from the satellite photo. Along the way are numerous little side roads you can explore if your schedule permits.  There are a couple of cafes in Montague where you can stop for a bite to eat and where you can meet the people of the area.

The USGS has 3 short but excellent articles about debris avalanches.

For more about the State Of Jefferson see The Mythical State

Here is a photo of an elk about 15 feet from the house on the 3rd of August.