One more week to go!

It looks like we can confirm for Joel that all the pieces are falling into place for next week. Like last year, he's going to bring a tent big enough for three so nobody has to sleep with a dog or a snorer in the other tents. He'll also bring the tripod grill, for whoever needs it. If anyone needs a dry bag, Peggy just bought one on sale cheap-- he can bring it if anyone needs it. David has reserved a canoe from the U of M outdoor adventure people and will haul it to my house. The young lady who took the reservation is from Black River Falls and said we have chosen a wonderful location for our fall adventure. She must not have been around in the late 19th Century as Joel points out farther down.

I will drive. Unless consensus dictates to start earlier we'll meet at our house between 4:00 and 5:00 on Thursday and to leave as soon as the van is packed. We are four, so nobody has to take the emergency seat, which is not in the car anyway since Colin contaminated our van with rotten fish guts shortly after our trip last year. I took out the rear seat bench and cut out the carpeting, the odor is neutralized, mostly.

I'll have the Coleman 2-burner stove, a french press, a tent for the dog, its owner and any additional person who may be brave enough to bed down with both. I will also bring a tarp to sit under in case of rain. I do have a couple of sturdy dry bags, too, if anyone is interested. If you are missing any type of gear, please ask, I may have it and I am happy to let you use it. By the way, I started packing yesterday evening and I am getting giddy with excitement kind of like my dog when she sees me about to throw a ball.

It's been so dry in MN--Joel, and the rest of us are all hoping there aren't any fire bans in the areas we'll be in. The long-range forecast looks like we might have to tolerate some highs in the upper 50s for late next week in Black River Falls--we can handle it! And some rain has been announced, too, so fire ban may not be something we need to worry about either. And it looks like a full moon ...

For local flavor Joel dug up his copy of Michael Lesy's book Wisconsin Death Trip (1973), which used photographs and newspaper cuttings to highlight the harshness of life in Black River Falls of during the late nineteenth century and the effects it had on the psychology of the inhabitants. It was later made into a movie, no, not Deliverance. It furthermore served as the inspiration for some thrash metal album of the same name. Maybe I'll use this as the score for the film and slide show that will doubtlessly follow our trip ...  We'll hope for slightly less harsh conditions--Joel swears to have heard that next weekend is the local technical college's annual Nude Swimathon in the river.