3 Days, 2 Sons, 2 Grand Kids that turned into 2 Days

[sweeper]

I figured it was time to get my 4 year old Grandson out in a canoe, along with his citified father, the Engineer, and what better place to do it then the Floodwood Chain on Ponds.

We started the morning at my favorite breakfast stop "Dots" in Wilmington VT, and my favorite breakfast of home fries, topped with 3 eggs, smothered in Creamed Sausage with the biscuit on the side to clean the plate.

All pics taken by my son.
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We drove for 3 of the 4 hours to the tune of "Are we there yet?", from my grandson Connor. He final fell asleep for the last hour. We stopped at Raquette River Outfitters to pick up a paddle and a PDF for him
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Day 1 Purple
Day 2 Whatever you want to call that dull gold
Day 3 Green
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And we're OFF!
The place was packed. I had hoped to set up on Pollywog but a look at the 2 parking lots and what we could see on Follensby Clear we opted for what was available, and it was a good thing, all the campsites I was looking at were full as we past them the next day.
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Tent up, Time to fish.
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We bought him a Zebco set, some hooks, sinkers and worms. The set came with a 3" red plastic fish. Turns out that's all we needed. Ten minute of mis-casts, he got the hang of it and was happy as a Clam just throwing that fish out and reeling it in for the next 2 days.
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Beans and Franks for supper
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My Granddaughter Renee doing summer homework and Conor coloring.
Sat morning we headed out on the loop
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Renee in her tiny fat Yak, she learned a lesson in canoe design.
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Fish Creek
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Conor takes yet another Dinger.

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Mid-after noon treat. Cinnamon Buns in the reflector Oven and White Pine cones for fuel with no ash in the buns, then nap time.

As my oldest son cooked supper I pulled out the weather radio. The storms were moving up and predicted to hit around 4 AM accompanied by 30 mph gusts. We saw a lot of people leaving the pond

We eat supper and packed.

Tupper Lake and Conor was out.
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It was a successful trip, Connor wants to go again and Renee will give in and try my Keewayden 15, no permanent scares.

 

[Canotrouge]

That is awesome man!! Look like a few new canoeist are borne!! That carbon fibre canoe look pretty nice too!!

 

[Odyssey]

Oh my gosh, that's a trip that warms my heart. That little mutant ninja tripper looks right at home there.
I only just put my own two little grandsons on a plane a couple days ago, to fly back across the country to their home. Seeing the smiles in your TR has left me feeling a little dinged too. But thanks for that. It's just what I needed.

 

[latremorej]

Awe man! Awesome ! Thanks for the pics and story!

Jason

 

[Robin]

Nice trip, beautiful pictures, Thanks for sharing.

 

[Murat V]

Great set of photos! Connor looks to be right in his element. What a treat to be tripping with Grandpa...and in a state-of-the-art carbon fiber canoe! Really like that shot with that reflector oven and the cinnamon buns. I can see how collecting pine cones for the fuel could be a fun distraction for the kids. We had a total fireban on our trip so the reflector oven couldn't get any usage.

 

[snapper]

Thanks for bringing us along. Looks like a wonderful trip that he'll remember for years to come. My two oldest grandsons will be with us in a couple of weeks and I already have a short overnight planned for the Catskills. I hope my little ones will be as pleased as Connor when we come back home.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time....be well.

snapper

 

[Guest]

Sweeper, it did my heart good to see those photos.

I still enjoy paddling and camping with my sons, now in their 20s, but those younger days hold such great memories.

The happy smiling bowman and wading in the shallows could have been my guys. The fast asleep in the back seat en route home was a routine.

The only downside to those trips were the battle scars. My oldest was (still is) a bug magnet, and a bug bite scratcher. And was a bit of a clumsy and incautious bull in the woods, so he was also cut up and bruised. Sending him back to school with bloody welts, bruises and bandages made me wonder what his teachers thought about our homelife.

And, something to look forward to, their smiles were even larger when they went into their own size-appropriate solo boats*. My smiles too.

*Their first solo boats were an Old Town Rushton, a Dagger Tupelo, occasionally a Wilderness Systems Piccolo. Never too early to start looking for a kid sized boat. Or building.