Bear Quest III actually began on Thursday, 6/18 for Gatekeeper and myself. We had an early flight out of Kansas City, and since I live an hour away, my wife and I decided to get a hotel close by and have dinner with Tom and his wife Lindy. The wives got along great, and Tom and I were like a couple of giddy kids at Christmas. I tried to go to bed early to prepare for the following day's journey, but sleep was elusive, and I finally gave it up around 3:00 am.
I picked up Tom around 4:15, and we headed to the first leg of the trip. Travel went smoothly, and we arrived in Albany around noon, had lunch, and were soon met by Larry Dix from Texas, and Allen Shelton, one of the Bear Quest "guides" from New York. After a short wait, we were joined by Kip Manuel from Louisiana. Five of us squeezed in to Allen's truck for the relatively short drive to Tom's abode in the Massachusetts woods.
We were greeted by the Lady of the Manor, Paula, Tom's lovely redheaded colleen. In true Irish fashion, she welcomed us in to her cozy home, plied us with food and drink, and allowed us to stretch our weary bones. Allen left to drive home for his gear, and left us in Paula's care. In the yard were Bill Moran from eastern Mass, Bobby Cunfer from PA, and Jay Addair of Virginia, who were busily unwrapping a seemingly endless supply of Hostess treats in preparation for the upcoming week's baiting runs. The way these boys were bent to their task, I suspect that Paula may have had a whip hanging somewhere, but in fact everyone pitched in to help. The work detail was supervised by the Phillips' springer spaniel, Fergus, who laid in wait to clean up any "spilled" treats. Ocassional breaks were taken for some of the crew to shoot a few arrows, chew the fat, and lounge a little. A little crisis involving Kip's passport caused some anxious moments, but a call to the airport and good news sent Jay and Kip motoring back to Albany, with the promise of meeting the next day somewhere in Quebec. Upon Allen's return, we loaded up and began the 500 mile trek to La Tuque, and a meeting with the first week team.
I have to admit to not being much help to Big Bill on the trip up, as the 3:00 wakeup was taking its toll on my aging carcass. I dozed on and off through the night (more on than off). As dawn made it's first peek above the horizon, we were greeted by our first view of the Canadian scenery...
Topic: Bear Quest III >>---> Start Your Engines (Read 22680 times)
