Valhalla Island, Rainy Lake, Ontario - 2012

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Smiley's Valhalla Island

 

Located in the region of the north arm of Rainy Lake

near the famous "Little Canoe River" - in Ontario, Canada

 

Ducks and grouse,

pike, bass and walleyes,

moose and bear.

Valhalla Island - land of paridise, where the rest of the world disappears.
 

Landed last Wednesday afternoon, Danny and Dad, but the weather was not as in the above picture.  Winds exceeding 30 kts out of the northwest which made for a tricky landing.  A quick slip in the tiny bay did the job to the safely at the well protected dock on the island's eastern shore.  All were happy to step ashore and begin the adventure.

 

Our fine host - Smiley.

Day 1 - Driving wind and rain ruled the afternoon and evening.  But that didn't stop us from taking to the boats with pole and gun.  Some ducks fell, and the guys caught about 8 nice walleyes!



Phipps proudly shows the catch to the gawking crowd.

 

Early in the dark the next morning, we were all up for ducks.  Danny and Dad went with Smiley and Phipps in the Big Brown "Toon Barge".  Sure was fun to just be there in the tranquility, with a small pack of wolves howling to a lonely loon.




Danny and Sadie sitting on a very active beaver dam.

Smiley, Phipps and Danny pulling out.  Breakfast awaits all good hunters.

 Back to the cabin we went, all boats converging for one reason - Minn's famous breakfast!!










Never have you had pancakes like this. Minn's secret famous recipe.  Plain or with freshly picked blueberries. 


Sausage links, crispy Canadian bacon and fresh fruit plates.  Hot java to wash it all down.



Look at those eggs, they are PERFECT.



"Young Gun" Dave Jr. starts the ball rolling.



Phipps can't wait; he's whistling Dixie.

Videos



Wayne's world of pancakes.



 

 

 

Then it was time to kick back and work off the food comas, tall tales were told over and over (below).

Stories were told of past hunting escapades, including Holly's "Moose Boy" experience:

Several years ago, three of us left here for an overnight trip to hunt black bear. We left by Beaver for Zup's Camp at Lac La Croix to get a bruin. When we were all together finally in position with game coming towards us, the big bull moose of record size almost trampled Holly, who was seated on his game trail.

Shorts were almost changed.

The trip ended when the 20 horse Merc quit 8 miles from camp in the bush. The guide had a glum look on his face when he told the us that "WE" had run out of gas.

We were very resourceful, including rowing a couple of miles and then breaking into a ranger station shed to siphon weed-whacker gas. It was just enough fuel to make it home.

You talk about focus...

 

 

The following days found the weather improving.  The group went to a neighboring island to hunt grouse.  Spectacular trails winding all parts of this 200 acre island, breathtaking.  Videos below:

 

 

 

 

 

More action, more fishing, more grousing, and an Annie Oakley game, go go go. Then some down time.  Dad crashed in the hammock, Danny and Sadie made up for it.

 

Danny with Sadie outside bunkhouse

 

"Dixie Licks"

 

 

 

 

Can you spot Billy Hayes?  At the mouth of Rat Root Bay.

 

Then Danny and Dad went on an afternoon adventure, exploring the Little Canoe River, all the way north till it ended at the bottom of the waterfalls at Vane Lake.  The water was low this fall and the falls mostly dry, but our one year old lab Sadie still almost couldn't help falling aff the side cliff as we climbed the trail up.  She didn't fall off luckily...just her back end you can see in the video.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the last night some low bush flying over the boys who were duck hunting.  It was a beautiful sunset, calm with the half moon on the rise.

 

 

 

Credit and thanks to Dave Ronning Jr. for capturing these above 4 images on my camera.

 

Back for more dockside sauna, ice cold dunking’s off the diving board in the lake, followed by the world class dinner of the most succulent roast beef, with baked potatoes and baked bread, followed by a huge bonfire.  A few drinks were had....

Up at 7am Sunday, time for all to go.  A group picture of the gang below.  A fine collection forming the 2012 hunting and fishing crew.




The 2012 boys of fall at Valhalla Island.

 







Father's Day Weekend

Up to Minocqua and back.

Here is a simulcast video - one taken from inside the cockpit, and at the same time - outside outboard on the left side of the elevator stab.  You can watch them at the same time - start the top video first and wait exactly 60 seconds, then start up the action from inside the cockpit (lower video).  Then you are synchronized.

Wing Camera outside the cockpit

Just recorded these 3 test videos yesterday.  Testing the new bullet camera located on the outer left side of the elevator, mounted on the outboard vertical stabilizer fin.  Will get better footage from Minocqua in northern Wisconsin soon.  Also lowered and moved forward the interior Hero2 GoPro camera mounted in the cabin between the front seats.  I think this will yeild a better angle to see whats happening outside front.

By the way, synthetic vision in amazing.  One can spot obstacles much easier and it is reassuring to see the runway coming in on a precision instrument approach. 

Go Pro HD Camera in the Cockpit

View from inside cockpit of N888BH DeHavilland Beaver - Take off from Lakeland Airport runway and "Touch and Go" on Fence Lake near Minocqua Wisconsin, Memorial Day weekend, 2012. 

Also have an HD camera now also mounted on the tail.  Working on the remote cabin mounted monitor.  Once complete, we will be getting some good action from outside.  By end of June hopefully.

Video from inside the cockpit of DeHavilland Beaver N888BH - Memorial Day 2012 weekend in Minocqua area of northern Wisconsin.

Solo Relief Mission 2005 - Hurricane Katrina

Found some pictures from back in 2005 solo relief mission to a couple of the stricken cities next to New Orleans - Slidell and Stennis.  I took off from C81 in Grayslake a few days after the disaster with around 500 pounds of relief supplies ranging from juice and canned goods to baby diapers and formula.

MaComb Mississippi Sheriff's task force

 

The farthest that I could initially fly to was to McComb, Mississippi.  Just south of there was the new Restricted Airspace Line approximately 50 nautical miles north of New Orleans.  After being unable to contact anyone on the ground anywhere near New Orleans, I conferred with the McComb Sheriff's Department's task force that was mobilizing there.  I was considering joining them on the ground trip to New Orleans, but instead filled all my fuel tanks to the limit and punted.  I didn't know how I would get home, thinking the ground trip could be a one way trip.

Picayune Mississippi Airport Ramp

I took to the air and monitored several frequencies.  After a short while circling the airspace border, I made contact with a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and he gave me the frequency for the active AWACS plane ("Omaha 45") circling high over the disaster area and handling all the traffic control. A few minutes later I had my clearance number and made a bee line south.

Where to land?  As I approached 10 or 20 miles north of the coast I could start to see the carnage on the ground.  I decided to land 12:00 at an airport that looked pretty torn up.  It was Picayune's field.  No one answering any calls, I set down on the main runway and avoided tree limbs and other debris.  Met an FBO guy and learned that they had just tackled a guy trying to loot AV Gas, but that they were in OK shape.  I received intel that Sliddell was in pretty bad shape, so I took off and headed that way.  

Damaged twin at Picayune Airport

Slidell Louisiana power-lines down

Flipped over at Picayune Airport

Slidell Louisiana - McDonalds

As I approached the northern coast of Lake Pontchartrain, I could see all the roads and houses were underwater.  I landed in Slidell and assisted the fire department for 2 days searching for fires and locating stranded people.  I worked with these two guys in the picture.  They were the first people I saw when I landed.  They immediately went off and an hour later they pulled back in with a truck to transfer my relief supplies. 

Jim and Seth

Temporary shelter in school gym

I had heard that Stennis was in even worse shape, so I took off and heading that way.  Most of the flight was over flooded thick bayou and was a little scary.  There's no hiking out of there.  I called Stennis 5 miles out on CTAF and was surprised to hear back from a "Tower".  Stennis was in the process of being turned into an Army base.  The Marines were already there and this was to be the final base of departure for a lot of the troops going into downtown New Orleans.  I landed and followed all the instructions.  I was  welcomed I think because everyone loves this Dehavilland.  The Base Commander came right over and wanted to sit inside.  So there I was - parked next to the C130's and sleeping on a cot eating K-rations.  It was around 100 degrees and the humidity 80%.  When I was walking on the tarmack at midnight, it was "alive" and moving.  I thought at first I was seeing things, but then i realized that it was millions and millions of some kind of large black beetles.  No fun to step on.

Stennis Mississippi - Army taking command of field

Stennis Mississippi C130 departure for New Orleans

The goal for me there in Stennis was to see if there was a family I could help out, or even fly back to Chicago to put up for a while till they got back on their feet.  Went to the shelters with the Manatee County (Florida) Sheriff's task force.  There were task forces from cities from all different parts  of the U.S.  Very impressive.

Stennis Mississippi hanger damage

Stennis Mississippi overpass high water line

I needed to get to the shelters 10 miles away.  Nobody at the airport temporary shelter could help me because of the “formal risk” of helping as a "private individual" from Chicago.  They would be blamed if anything happened that would be my fault, i.e.: plane crash.  They said all they could do was tell Red Cross and try and connect me with them.  I said “thanks” and that I would be with my plane on the ramp for the night.  Not a half hour later, a Manatee Sheriff wheels up in his truck and says: “Let’s go.  I am under your command for as long as you need me.  I am formally not to get out of my vehicle or assist you in any way, but just get you to where you need to go.”

Stennis Mississippi Ramp - more relief planes coming in from all parts

So we got some good stuff done.  One memory was chasing looters after curfew; people posing as rummaging through their own belongings, but they really didn't live there.  The side streets were barely passable and instead of houses, everything looked like a big toothpick sculpture.  Cars and refrigerators in trees, stuff like that. I finally made it to a shelter and a woman and her small children wanted to come back with me to Chicago.  We had it all set, but then out of the blue her Aunt came running up and vetoed the whole thing.  I guess I wasn't wearing a pilot's uniform with stripes on my shoulder, so she thought it was all a big joke.

I figured I had done as much as I could do, so I flew home the next day with an uneventful flight except dodging a few thunderstorms and getting into a little nasty IFR.

Chicago return - My little guy  - Welcome home Dada