The road goes on and on and on and on

After 2 nights at Fall Lake Camp Ground it was time to hit the road.  We departed Ely on September 3 with our camping gear finally dry and secure in the storage bay under the coach.  Our first stop would be for mechanical service at Precision Frame and Alignment in Elk River MN, about 30 miles north of Minneapolis.  We normally take US 53 to Duluth, then I-35 south to "the Cities", which is the quicker 4-lane route.  Today we had plenty of time and took the scenic route, US 169 from Virginia MN directly to Elk River.  That was a mostly 2-lane route that took us through Hibbing MN, the home town of Bob Dylan.  We arrived at Precision Frame about dusk, where they have RV hook ups, and set up for the night, ready for our 8:00am service appointment the next morning.  We stop at Precision Frame every year for coach lubrication and an alignment check.  The owner, Dick Lornston, is a nationally known guru on motor home tires, handling and suspensions.  This year the Element also needed some attention.   While Dick worked on the coach, I went to get badly-needed new tires for the Element.  The Element has a problem with the rear end and has been chewing up tires.  Dick checked the alignment front and rear and inspected the rear end, but was unable to definitively identify the problem.  Ultimately he seemed to agree with some other mechanics I have spoken to that said we needed new struts.  Unfortunately his schedule was such that he would not be able to get the parts and install the struts before we needed to leave.  He gave me some tips on how to mitigate the unusual tire wear and told me how to inspect the tires to help detect and diagnose any issues.  The new tires will make this easier.

Set for long distance driving

We departed Elk River about noon on September 5 with nothing but long miles ahead.  We had no other stops planned before our scheduled arrival at Virginia Beach for a Country Coach rally on September 10, a mere 1500 miles down the road.  We had options: we could do shorter days and take longer daily breaks, or we could make longer days and spend more time at a single camp.  Ultimately we decided to bust ass, then spend three nights at Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay, just beyond Richmond VA and close to our ultimate destination Virginia Beach.

Matilda's place when we are driving

Our first day, actually a half day, we made 270 miles and spent the night at a very nice Passport America park (half price camping for members) called Black Hawk Valley CG, near Rockford IL.  The next day we made 370 miles and spent the night at Thousand Trails Indian Lakes near Batesville IN.  This is a favorite stop for us, and there is a hairdresser on site that Dorcas likes.  It is also free for us since we are Thousand Trails members, so this stop was a no-brainer.  We arrived only a few minutes before Goldilocks' scheduled hair cut, so I dropped her off at the shop and then made camp  while she was being shorn. The next day, continuing to gain momentum, we made 510 miles and spent the night at the Walmart Supercenter in Waynesboro VA.  We had dinner and then breakfast at the nearby Cracker Barrel.  Finally, we had a short day of only about 150 miles and arrived at Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay near Gloucester VA, where we will spend the next three nights.

Whew!   Time to chill for a few days.

Out of the Boundary Waters - 2014

We put in the BWCAW on August 19 at Little Indian Sioux entry point and took out 14 days later at the same point.  We have used this entry several times before and had intended to travel basically the same route Dorcas and I did when we went by ourselves in 2011.  We had planned to make a leisurely loop with plenty of layover days.  At our second camp we all realized that we weren't as young and fit as we used to be, and that the portages were longer and steeper than they used to be.  Consequently, we shortened our planned route considerably to make an easier trip.  Ultimately we had a LOT of layover days.  We made a total of 4 camps: 1 night on Upper Pauness Lake, 3 nights on East Loon Bay, 3 nights on Heritage Lake and 6 nights on Lynx Lake. 

The weather was moderately cool; much the way we remember it being the first few years we came out here.  Most days the highs were in the mid 70s and the lows were in the mid 50s.  One night it did get down to 42 degrees.  That was the good news.  The bad news is we had more rainy and windy days than during most of our trips.  This put a damper on some of those layover days, and we spent more days on shore, rather than fishing and exploring, than we would have liked.

Our longest paddle day was actually our last day as we made our way from Camp 4 to the Little Indian Sioux River Entry Point.  That day was also a dreary day, and we were soaked in a down pour within 100' of the take out.  To add insult to injury we had a flat tire on the Element and had to carry our gear an extra hundred yards since we couldn't move the car.  Thankfully, I was able to inflate the tire with a portable compressor I carry in the car and then limp into Ely for repairs.

We drove back to Fall Lake where we found our motor home in the same condition as we left it (always a concern). We checked into the camp ground and took much needed showers.

The next day was sunny and clear, and we were able to spread out all our gear before packing it all up for our trip south.  We had a a nice dinner at the Chocolate Moose, a tradition for us.

For those that missed it last year, click here for a detailed description of our Boundary Waters techniques.

And finally, here are some pictures:

Our put-in at Little Indian Sioux River

Our route

We love our new chairs!!!

Chef Wayne cooking the fish

A dreary day on the lake

A dreary day at camp

Ducks on the pond

The day's catch

This lamprey was attached to a Northern pike I caught.  He immediately dropped off the pike and fell into the boat when he figured out all was not well.

Like a mirror.  A rare calm evening.

Matilda says "Hurry up .... let's go."

Matilda says "Hurry up .... let's go."

Matilda chillin' out at camp

A smallish Northern pike .... Certainly not a trophy catch.  But hey .... it's a fish!

A sloppy portage path.  Actually a beaver dam backed the water up over the trail.

A fair-sized small mouth bass

Wayne and Lynda enjoying the view from camp

A 5-star Boundary Waters kitchen

What are y'all looking at?

Another glorious sunset