Last Weekend

I've been slow getting up my report about last weekend, though my field reports gave the skeleton outline. I'll just flesh those out with some pictures.

Our first stop was the Loud Creek trail system near Mio. Nothing spectacular about it: just a nice rolling woodland trail. We did run into several wood lilies along the way



Near the end, the trail crossed a small stream near an abandoned beaver dam. A meadow had filled in the old pond some time ago.



We picked some blueberries along this trail to put on our cereal the next morning. Unfortunately, I left the container we put them in on top of our car when we drove off. It had taken us a while to get a couple of cups, too. Berries were sparse everywhere we went.

When I hit the North Branch Au Sable the next morning, a heavy fog lay over the river. It lifted slowly.



I should have taken pics of some of the brookies I caught, but the flies were out and fish were rising. It's hard to remember to break out the camera in those conditions. Or almost any time after I've caught a fish.

Saturday afternoon we took a hike around Wakely lake, east of Grayling. We got poured on during the last half mile of the walk, but it was pleasant going at first.



I was glad we'd stayed in a motel this time, as it rained off and on throughout the weekend.

When I got into the river at Dam 4 Saturday morning, I'd seen a flyer advertising the annual "Beaver Stew, Beer and Banjo" festival, a gathering to benefit the Lovells historical society. It sounded like an interesting way to pass a damp Saturday night, so we drove up to the Lovells tavern around suppertime. We assumed that the featured dish didn't really include beaver, but when I asked the waitress at the tavern about it, she confirmed that Castor Canadensis was indeed the chief ingredient. Kristine and I exchanged a "What the Hell?" glance and ordered it. It was actually good--like beef stew, as I said in the field report. If you got a larger chunk of meat, you could taste a little rankness, but not enough to put any but the most delicately constituted off their feed.



Before heading home Sunday, Kristine and I canoed the upper Au Sable. We passed through a light rain, then a protracted heavy one. Not good photo conditions.

Plans are in the works for another bowl of beaver stew. Kristine and I are talking about spending this week--the week before the big canoe marathon--in and around Grayling next year and chasing the race once again. That could become an anniversary tradition. This year, we'll settle for going to the annual Michigan Beer Festival.