River Day 03/26/2012

It's official! The fish have started biting at the river, and the winner of the "first catch of the year award" goes to Jay. Sorry Jay, there's no cash award.

Although it wasn't the evening we've had (60'ish with strong winds), the weather was beautiful with clear blue skies. The river was up quite a bit from the "normal" level (several feet up into the yard at camp) so the hot fishing spot was down in and among the trees along the bank. Attendees this week were: Ted, Jay, Tim, Kevin and I (Mark). Judy and Ron were also at the camp, and Freddy visited for a little while. He's always good for an interesting conversation.

Due to the high water there was plenty to burn this week, as I'm sure there will be for the next several weeks. Sorry there are no pictures of the fire this week, but as usual...

Everyone left a little earlier than usual this week, but I think we all had a great evening.

RIVER DAY 3/19/12

Things were quite a bit different this past Monday! We had seven guys down to the river last week to celebrate the holiday…Today…one! I (Tim) was the only one able to make it down this week, because of work schedules and personal schedules and Jay’s foot issue, (That’s a story for another time) nobody else could get down. It was still nice to carry on the tradition, even if I was alone. I wasn’t able to make it to the regular spot this week, it looked like Ron and Judy were there, probably getting things ready for the upcoming season. With the weather as nice as it’s been lately I can understand the eagerness to get things to a point that you can start spending the night. So I ended up going down to Glade Creek road to the second pull-off, by the bridges. Speaking of the weather, WOW! The temperatures were in the mid to upper 70’s and it was sunny. Just a side note, take a look at the pictures from just two weeks ago!! What a difference two weeks has made! We were throwing snow balls two weeks ago and I could have worn shorts this past, Monday! I was able to do a little fishing, didn’t catch anything but it was nice to be out there trying. Hoping for better conversation next week!

River Day 03/12/2012

The weekly celebration of River Day saw a record number of attendees this week: Jay, Ted, Tim, Pat, Kevin, Scott and I. We even had a visit from one of the locals - Freddy. David was the only one missing from the group that makes the annual fall camping trip.

The weather was good this week, despite the rain we had early on. Temps were in the mid 60's, and the river level was back down to "normal" for this time of year. Jay and I tried some fishing; first with worms, then with a couple of helgramites that we found. We didn't catch anything, but since the natural bait is starting to emerge, it can't be long now until the fish start biting.

No projects going on this week, but with the number of people who were there, there was always a good conversation (or two) going on. We were even able to get in a few games of washer-toss after the rain stopped. Ted provided dinner this week with potato soup he had started earlier in the day and finished up over the Weber grill and charcoal. Everyone had plenty to eat and it was a good contribution to the evening. Thanks Ted!

Ted and Jay got down to the river before the rest of us and had cleaned up the majority of the flood debris from the previous week. A couple of pallets helped dispose of that in the fire.

The extra company really added to another great evening at the river.

A Pat "travel pack"!

River Day 03/05/2012

Winter made a reappearance this week for the weekly holiday, but that didn't stop us from celebrating as usual. I know everyone's getting anxious for warmer weather to get here, but we enjoyed the snowy weather as usual. Jay, Tim Ted and I all made it down this week.

As you can tell from the photos, we had a bit of snow Sunday night and through Monday (on and off), and temps were in the upper 20's (expected to get into the teens overnight). The river had been up quite a bit due to the heavy rains over the past week and as always, plenty of wood (and other burnables) was left behind for the fire. We did gather a little firewood downriver, but most of what we burned was picked up right below the fire. There'll be a bit of a clean-up after the snow melts.

No big projects this week, but I did bring my ham radio down again; I had a different antenna to try out. Didn't talk to anyone, but we were picking up stations from Puerto Rico. Not enough power out of my portable station to get back to them.

Didn't see much of the locals around this week, but I did give the Arthur kid and his significant other a ride half way up the mountain to where they'd left their car in the snow. Guess they made it back home ok.

Jay brought down several pallets this week, and with the colder weather, they made for a great fire (best on the river?).

River Day 02/27/2012

Everyone made it down this week for River Day: Jay, Ted, Tim, Pat and I. We even had a local visitor for a while (Freddy). The weather couldn't have been any nicer considering the time of year: clear skies and temp around 60.

I brought down a little project this week (sorry, no food): a low power ham radio and a home-made portable antenna that needed some modifications. Everyone helped out a little and we had the antenna assembled and up first. After that we ran the coax cable to the radio in the building and soon had it on the air (mostly listening). The radio acted a little goofy at first, but it may have been because it hadn't been powered up for a couple of years. Anyway, once everything smoothed out, I actually made a contact with a guy in Naples, Maine. Not bad for 10 watts of power from a river gorge. Turns out I had talked to this guy before in 1999 (not that I was keeping track).

Jay tried his hand at fishing for a while. He started from the eddy pool in front of the camp and worked down river for a bit. He may have had a couple of bites, but nothing was landed. With the weather being what it's been lately, fishing season may be here before you know it.

Pat brought down some scrap wood for the fire (best on the river of course) and as an added bonus, brought down his Christmas tree from this winter for "disposal". Everyone should witness one of these little infernos at least once to appreciate the carnage.

We had a great evening on the river and I think we're well on our way to spring.

(Aerial tic-tac-toe?)

River Day 02/21/2012

Monday night fell on a Tuesday this week; River Day did anyway. The majority of the regular group was either out of town or working, so we moved the holiday back one day. Great how you can do that with River Day, isn't it?

Jay, Tim and I were able to make it down. Temp's were in the low 50's and skies were clear. There was no evidence at the river that the area had received nearly 7 inches of snow just 2 days previously. You can just about feel spring getting closer, and I think everyone's looking forward to it (even though the winter has been mild).

Not much going on this week. Little to no activity from the locals. I brought down a pot full of 15 (or maybe 16) bean soup for dinner - that always seems to hit the spot, especially when the weather is on the cool side. Unlike last week's dinner, I forgot to take a picture before we dug in - you'll just have to visualize it.

Thanks to some help from a little bacon grease, we once again had the best fire on the river.

River Day 02/13/2012

We had a much smaller group for the weekly celebration this Monday; no visitors, and Jay was out of town. Ted, Tim and I made it down though and enjoyed a nice River Day.

The weather over the weekend was typical for February; ice cold and snowy. But as you can see in the photos, there was only a little of the snow left over, and the temps rose up to about 40 degrees.

Tim got ambitious and put together what was probably the best snowman on the river. Of course that wasn't good enough for us so we decided to accessorize just a little. Someone on the outside looking in would never guess that there was no one under 50 in this group. Amazing how much fun you can have with a little imagination!

I brought down a little dinner for everyone this week - beef and Irish stout stew. Good hearty meal for a cold evening. The three of us wiped out the entire dish. Guess all that work on the snowman really worked up an appetite.

I would be amiss not to mention the best fire on the river: it may not have been the biggest we've had, but I feel sure there wasn't a better one anywhere nearby.