City of Stone & Big Haul on the PM!

Kristine and I just got back from a river cleanup in Baldwin. A couple of times a year, a local shop, Baldwin Bait and Tackle, sponsors this outing. It's a chance to give back to the river a bit, and also enjoy some good company.

Kristine took all Friday off and we went to the Petra exhibit at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. An utterly absorbing, thought provoking show--and, oddly enough, it gave us a few ideas for remodeling our house. After that, we drove north to Baldwin, where, after the obligatory dinner at the Log Bar, Kristine chilled in our motel for the evening while I went to the Pere Marquette for a couple of hours. Hit a spot near Gleason's Landing, and all indicators pointed to a good night--warm and still, with very few fishermen around. A bit after 9:00, flies started popping (sulfurs, mahognies, grey drakes), and soon fish were feeding freely near me, including some that sounded quite large. But I'll be darned if I knew what they were eating. Threw numerous variations of sulfurs, and drakes at them to no avail. The feeding stopped about 10:15, and I headed back to my car, or tried to. Got lost on the way back to my parking lot and had to ask a guy camping near there for directions. Once I got in my car, I got lost on the maze of back roads returning to Baldwin. Not one of my better angling performances, any way you look at it.

The cleanup began at 8:00 Saturday morning with a group photo at BBT. After we found spot in a boat and laid in a supply of trash bags, it was off to the river. Kristine and I joined a guy named Craig from Saginaw to clean a middle section of the Pere Marquette. I fished a little at first, but eventually put the rod away to concentrate on gargbage detail. The river was actually not too trashed, though the stretch we were on probably sees less traffic than some others. Still, we managed to fill up two large garbage bags with beer cans, chip bags, sandals, lighters, and discarded fishing line, among other things. Most unusual item--an umbrella hat I dug out of a mud bank, basically an elastic headband connected to small umbrella. I'd think that would be a bit unweildly, and not terribly dignified. The wearer might have thought so too. Kristine found a very rusty beer can with a logo a copyrighted 1933. Craig handled rowing duties for the day, quite ably, I should add. After about 10 AM, canoeists passed us pretty frequently, and every one of them we talked to was grateful for our work. Hopefully, they were also encouraged not to add to it.

We got off the river a bit after 3 and headed back to Baldwin for a little nap in preparation for the post-cleanup banquet. Details on that gathering to follow shortly.