Good Fortune

Day 10 -- Friday the 13th


Doesn't bother me. I'm not superstitious. But it is ironic that I was just thinking about how far I've travelled into Canada without seeing any wildlife when something black appeared on the side of the road ahead. No... You've got to be kidding...A black cat! And it just crossed the road in front of me--on Friday the 13th! What are the chances? Actually, I am kidding. It was a rabbit. Sixteen hundred miles and I've seen an eagle and a rabbit.

I didn't make it to Watson Lake. I'm about 150 miles from there, at the Northern Rockies Lodge in Muncho Lake. Why? Because of the allure of the Beaver. Two of them, in fact. When I stopped for gas, I noticed them down by the lake.

DHC-2 DeHaviland Beaver

The DeHaviland Beaver is my favorite airplane. I've built and flown many of them at about 1/12th scale. In fact, I flew this one on floats the day before I left Elizabethton.

As I stopped in to pay for fuel, the brochures about the lodge's sightseeing and fly-in fishing trips caught my eye. For an all day, once-in-a-lifetime fly-in fishing excursion, $630 seemed like a bargain, so I've booked an overnight RV parking spot and I'm hoping that at least one more person will show up and want to go with me tomorrow morning. If not, the fare doubles to $1260, and I'm not sure the bang for the buck ratio is positive at that rate. So, it's 1:30 pm and I'm settling in for a restful afternoon and night here at Muncho Lake.

Today's favorite road sign: "All of you who have had a ticket, raise your right foot -- Canada Dep't of Safety". By the way, this is correctly Day 10.  I'm not stuck in Groundhog Day. The Day count got screwed up back in Sturgis. Here's a few scenes from the drive this morning:

Summit Lake

Toad River Restaurant -- Now there's a place to hang your hat.

Business emulates nature.

Ever wonder how a float plane gets lifted out of the water?

GREAT NEWS!  They got another charter, and right after finishing breakfast tomorrow morning, I'm in for an all day fishing trip. Won't get to fly in a Beaver, but the next best thing is a turbine powered Otter, and that's what we'll be taking. Oddly enough, I just finished building a twin Otter and flew it with Dave and Joel a few days ago. It lost one motor and I was unable to maintain control and crashed. Let's hope this scenario doesn't play out in full scale tomorrow.

Tomorrow's Ride -- DeHaviland Turbine Otter

Catching a fish will just be a bonus.