travel – Fotomonkey Photography

Vision is seeing what others miss.

Sep 15

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Mercutio – The End

We woke up early. Most of us had a relatively early flight to catch. We headed to breakfast and fueled up before heading to the airport. Joey and Gary had the afternoon flight so the three of us loaded up in the hotel shuttle for the 3-minute ride to the airport. Normally I guess it’s 5 minutes but we must’ve missed rush hour. 🙂 We had to wait for security to open so the seating area in the lobby filled up. Eventually the security area was opened and everyone just shuffled from one area to the next. I think this is probably the smallest airport I’ve ever flow through that wasn’t a commuter airport. We had an uneventful flight into Minneapolis except for a little turbulence as we neared the airport. All of us were heading to different gates and didn’t have long to catch our connecting flights. Jerry, Edward and I said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I was very glad to have a direct flight home. The week was pretty epic. As with all good things, they must come to an end. I’m very glad I was able to reconnect with the guys and had the […]

Sep 14

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Mercutio – Flying Out

We awoke this morning at 7:30. There was still some packing of odds and ends to do. We needed to clean the cabin to get it ready to close up for the season. The freezers and refrigerators needed to be emptied. A lot of final preps before the float planes arrived at 9:30. We all pretty much skipped breakfast in favor of knocking out the last bits of work. Thanks to Gary the coffee kept us going. Everything came together nicely, though, and our gear was on the dock and ready to go when the planes arrived right on time. Edward, Jerry and I took the first plane back. It was another beautiful day for flying. Jim picked us up and did a great job. It’s easy to see why they call Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes. So, I won’t go into details, but I’ll post it for the guys. Now here’s where things skipped a beat. Somehow, our ride had us down for returning the next day. Rather than being there at 10am to take us back to the US, they were nowhere to be found. Keep in mind that we’re two hours from where we need to […]

Sep 13

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Mercutio – Day 6

The cabin was cold again this morning. I was sure I had the stove going fine when we turned it, but the wood barely looked charred. I woke up in the middle of the night to put my longjohns back on. Looking out the windows was interesting. The lake was gone. We were completely socked in by fog. It made for a pretty cool morning, though. It took several hours to burn off. The water (what we could see) was like glass. I love black and white photography and felt that the fog really lent itself to it. I loaded up my B&W film recipe and went to town. I think you open up a new world when you take the color away. The fog did eventually burn off and it turned out to be a gorgeous day. It was our last day at the lake before flying back to civilization and we were all itching to get on the water. The chill burned off as well and we didn’t have to bundle up too much. The lake was looking particularly lovely on this day and the colors were alive. We pretty much stayed together on this last day. Unfortunately, […]

Sep 12

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Mercutio – Day 5

We woke up to another cold morning. The wood stove died down overnight so there was a chill in the cabin. I got it going again and the warmth is starting to radiate. Sitting at the table, enjoying some coffee and more conversation, we looked out the window to find a bald eagle riding the wind right outside the cabin. The wind is still steady out of the west putting a nice “walleye chop” on the lake. After breakfast I think we’re going to brave the cold and head out to the bass spot. We’re all itching to catch some bass but are also looking forward to more walleye. It proved to be a mostly cold day on the water. I was definitely glad that I kept my down puff jacket on. This fishing wasn’t quite spectacular but we did manage enough for dinner.

Sep 11

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Mercutio – Day 4

Another day is upon us. The deck is wet so it must’ve rained overnight but I slept right through it. It’s brought in a deeper chill and the temperature is in the low 40s. It’s damp and the air is heavy. The mist can be felt and the cloud ceiling is low. Today is September 11. 9/11. Spent a little time in the solitude thinking back to that day so many years ago. Breakfast appeared in the form of eggs, sausage, and English muffins. It was small but hearty and set the stage for the rest of the day. The drone of a float plane could be heard in the distance. The noise grew louder as the bright yellow Cessna crested the tree tops and settled down on lake. The pontoons cut through the chop as the young pilot pointed its nose to the dock. The arrival of more ice, minnows, and food supplies was welcome. The pilot also got our water heater working. We’re all looking forward to a hot shower after several days. Morning turned into afternoon and the weather still looks iffy at best. The mist eventually morphed into a steady rain and it looks like this […]

Sep 10

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Mercutio – Day 3

We started today off with a nice pancake and bacon breakfast. Real Canadian maple syrup certainly hit the spot. We debated whether to head out for a morning fish or to wait and the afternoon won out. Edward went for a walk along the shoreline while Jerry took the canoe out for a nice, solo paddle. Looking outside, we noticed another woodpecker. Could it be Chip? He was clinging to a nearby pine tree with his head tucked in. The sun was on him and the morning was colder. It seemed like he was taking the opportunity to soak up some of the warm rays. A bit later he was huddled on the ground and as the morning wore on we’d spot him in various spots of sun. Just like yesterday, he was oblivious or uncaring about our presence no matter how close we got to him. Unfortunately, things weren’t well. I was intrigued by him and kept watch over him. That’s when I realized that he was struggling to keep his head up and I knew that he wasn’t well. At one point, as I observed him from the deck, I noticed that his head just rolled over to […]

Sep 09

by FotoMonkey in travel 0 comments tags: canada, mercutio

Mercutio – Day 2

The day didn’t start too early, though most of the guys are early risers. We took our cue from the White Otter and ended up having a nice breakfast of coffee, bacon, and eggs around 10am. We decided to head out for a morning fish but it wasn’t quite as productive. I managed to pull in a handful of fish along the shoreline not far from the cabin. It was a unique opportunity fishing under the watchful eye of a majestic bald eagle. The morning was very still. The surface of the lake was mostly glassy. This might have led to some of the challenges we had. Normally, you want to fish with the “walleye chop” so there’s some light wind chop but we didn’t have that at all. We returned to the cabin with a less than spectacular haul and sat around talking and catching up. The woods around the cabin are too thick for exploring so we spend our time on the deck at the picnic table or around the dock. After lunch we headed back out and had another good day of fishing. We had quite an interesting and unique experience. Stepping out of the cabin in […]

Sep 08

by FotoMonkey in travel 0 comments tags: canada, mercutio

Mercutio – Day 1

7am arrived early. We’d planned on grabbing coffee and breakfast before heading to Canoe Canada. Here’s some important information…There’s nothing in Atikokan, Ontario. The Outdoorsman restaurant was closed (theoretically until October). The White Otter advertised breakfast but the sign on the door said 10am. With no other options, we headed to the Esso gas station where we were at least able to get coffee and what resembled a cream cheese danish. We returned to the motel, packed our bags, and hopped in the van left for us by Canoe Canada. We arrived at their location a couple of hours early but this allowed us time to fill out our boating license and go over the maps. We eventually hopped in the van and they drove us to the seaplane base where we had ourselves and our gear weighed so they could load our two seaplanes. We met with Jeremy, the owner, for another review of the maps and hot spots. Things were a little backed up so we had to wait a couple of hours for the planes to tend to ferrying other passengers either to or from other cabins. It was finally our turn and Joey, Gary and I […]

Sep 07

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Oh Canada

It’s time for another trip with the guys. This year is a repeat for them but a first time for me. We’re headed to the wonderful wilderness of Canada’s Ontario, just spitting distance to the Quetico. The day started early at 4am to make a 7am flight. Security wasn’t too bad and the wait for departure went by pretty quickly. I met up with one of the guys in Atlanta and the entire gang finally came together in Minneapolis-St Paul. It was great to see almost everyone again after several years of missing our outings. We boarded a smaller jet for the only flight into International Falls that day and made the last leg of our journey together. Unfortunately, this is where we had our first snag. As the gates to the lone baggage claim were closed, one bag was missing. It hadn’t made the plane. It took a while to sort things out since the Delta crew had to turn the plane around for the return trip before they could assist. Welcome to International Falls. We met up with Bob from City Cab Company and loaded the van with all of our gear. We headed through International Falls and […]

Jul 29

by FotoMonkey in travel 0 comments tags: key west, kodachrome60s, sooc, travel, x-h1

Key West

Had a great day sailing today aboard bluQ with Honest Eco Tours. We actually got under sail which was a surprise for July. I was glad we didn’t have to motor the entire way. We explored several areas around the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. Our stops included a kayak trip around a mangrove island where we enjoyed seeing a number of frigatebirds. Our next stop was a sponge garden. The sponges filter the water at a rate of 10x their body mass every ten minutes! No wonder they make for a great indicator about the water quality. While snorkeling around the garden we enjoyed the sights of large hermit crabs, a yellow spotted stingray, numerous lobsters, and many fish. While we were underway, we also got to enjoy a few dolphin encounters. The most exciting was a family with mom, dad, and about a 3-month old baby. After exploring the water, it was time to explore a little of Key West. The heat was a scorcher and we couldn’t muster the gumption to head over to Duval Street with the main Key West activity. Instead, we stuck around the historic seaport. The photos in this gallery were taken with […]