More Camping Photos

Here are some pictures from the weekend that I got from Schoen. I guess you could call these mugshots.
Bob / Red BoneJoe / EdEricNate / Tubbs / Buddy / PhobosThis is Eric's Brother in Law, Troy, but we called him Chaka (from the Land of the Lost).WallyDougTimI didn't have any pictures of me hitting the beer bong, but Schoen got one.Dinner. I am getting hungry again just by looking at it. Even though I rarely ever eat steak, I always do on this trip.Now you understand why we called him ChakaPotato guns.Borky being BorkyUnloading wood for the campfire. Schoen would take pictures while we worked to document the event.Wow, I am really losing my hair. And the hair that I do have is starting to turn gray. I was told this a number of times. Not good.Wait, that last picture wasn't Borky being Borky, this is Borky being Borky.It was a fantastic weekend, I want to thank all of the guys who showed up. It really is a great group of guys. I can only one argument in the four years that I have been going on the trip, and that was when Red Bone and U2 Bob got into a debate over their political views. But after Borky put a can of Beef-a-rino in the campfire without venting it, and the can exploded and some Beef-a-rino landed on U2 Bob's head. And not only did U2 Bob end up with a burn on his head, but when it landed on his head, U2 Bob went running like a mad man, hit a chair with his big toe and split the end of it wide open. Now U2 Bob doesn't come any more.
But back to the point that I was trying to make. It is so laid back and relaxing, when necessary everyone pitches in to help out. A big thanks to Bob and Nate for shuttling everyone back and forth from the launch.
Also thank you to Doug for the great fireworks. When I got dropped off at the launch Sunday afternoon, one guy said to us, "You must have been the guys making all of that noise. It sounded like the 4th of July over again."
To Nate, Tim and Eric, who cooked up the dinner each night. Nate made some amazing pulled pork. He strained off the grease and marinade juices into a cup. Of course we had to give it a taste, and while it sounds a big gross as well as being extremely bad for you, it tasted great. I know, I know, but it was delicious.
Tim the steaks, well it is an understatement to say that they were great, but they were.
Schoen thanks for a second set of pictures to post.
If I am missing something I apologize. I am already looking forward to next years trip.

Camping

I made it through the weekend, barely. It was my camping trip on the Mississippi River. It is such a great time. This year I decided to make it out to the island on Thursday night. In years past it was only 2 or 3 guys out there on Thursday, but this year it was 7. It is looking like that number will continue to grow in the years to follow. The weekend is really all about cooking up some great food, drinking some beer, shooting off some fireworks, relaxing and some incredible conversation around the campfire that on average stretches well into the next morning. I think the last person to leave the fire each night was somewhere around 5:00 in the morning. Not surprisingly, I think Nate was the last one standing every night. Let me get to the pictures.
Last year there was a picnic table on our island, but it was missing when we got there this year. But on a trip back to the launch, Tim and Bob spotted a picnic table on one of the other islands and snagged it.Nate and Eric bring there potato guns. I think we went through about 20 pounds of potatoes. We also learned that if you load the gun with a potato and then put a golf ball on top of that, that the golf ball goes much further. I believe we hit a barge once.But we also bring a driver and golf balls and try hitting the barges the old fashioned way with a golf club. Doug was the only one I saw hit a barge. This swing is one that sent a golf ball crashing into the barge.They never really do anything when we hit the barge, other than come out with a pair of binoculars to look at us.How quickly a Favre hater can change his mind.Borky is all on board with his new quarterback. I am pretty sure he is going to screw them over just like he did to the Jets.Nate always has something going on. Here his beer holder that he came up with last year.But it does work.Tim and Doug shotgunning a beer after losing in Hillbilly Horseshoes.A great sunset on Friday night.Nate with a beer bong, and would anyone like to tell me what Borky is doing in the background.Favre's favorite fan doing a beer bong.Schoen's beer bong.Bob's beer bong.Saturday night dinner. Steaks over the campfire. Delicious as always.Team photo, Schoen, Doug, Eric, Tim, Borky, Wally, Joe, Nate, Chaka, Bob, Molly and myself.The Hults boys, Bob and Tim. I believe that they are the ones who started this camping trip 8 years ago.Me in another awesome sunset.Borky didn't have any luck fishing in the morning, afternoon or evening.Steaks on the grill.Tim getting the fire going after dinner.I didn't get as good of a picture this year of the ring of fire. Maybe next year I will get up in the tree for the picture.Nate recovering Sunday morning.But the Island trip couldn't be completed without a game of "Foot In the Cooler". I believe we set an unofficial record. The game started with 4 participants, Joe, Borky, Schoen and myself. Joe made it 37 seconds before he pulled out. Borky had enough at the 5 minute mark. Schoen and I cruised past the 15 minute mark, as well as the 30 minute mark. The game finished with all ice melted at 46 minutes. Schoen wanted to call it a tie, I said no, he pushed me over but I kept my foot in the cooler. I then managed to pull his foot out before mine. I think I will call that a victory. Yes the unofficial world record for "Foot in the Cooler" is 46 minutes and 48 seconds.

The Long Walk Home

I try to get in a bike ride as often as I can. Last night I decided to drive up to Fond du Lac and ride the bike trail along the 151 Bypass. The main reason for this, was because back in the day when I worked for the DOT, I worked on that project. And in laid out the majority of the bike trail along the bypass. So this was something I worked on and designed, and I had always been wanting to take a ride on it. The trail is about 8 miles long. I parked at the park and ride lot a the north end of the trail. I jumped on my bike and clipped along the bike trail and a good pace enjoying the work that I had done. The trial must be at least 5 or 6 years old and still rode very well. I hit the end and turned around. I was about 2 miles into my return trip and noticed that my bike wasn't performing too well. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the front tire had lost all of it's air rather suddenly. 6:45 in the evening and my bike is toast. I ditched my bike in some tall grass along the path and started the walk of shame. The 5.2 mile walk of shame. I did run the last mile or two. But I didn't get back to my truck until shortly after 8:00 in the evening. So that was fun.

But more fun is on the horizon. Today at noon, or hopefully at noon I am leaving my project for the week and headed for the Mississippi, the mighty Mississippi, the old Miss, the old Man, Deeeeeep Riiiiiiiveeeeeer. (Chevy Chase). The annual camping trip is upon us, or me. You can expect some filtered stories and pictures come next week.

Absent Minded

My memory is going and I might be losing my mind. People are often telling me "You said that would happen!" And usually come back with "I did?" This is even true on my blog and it is written down. My esteemed colleague, "The General" just quoted my prediction of the Bears / Packer Game. "Week 1. Home against the Bears. Culter has no one to throw the ball to and gets picked three times, one for a TD. Packers win. (1-0)"

The Windy Apple

I didn't wake up too early on Sunday morning. I needed some time to recover from the show. I was up at 8 in the morning, and while the rest of my fellow concert goers continued to sleep, I decided to get out and walk around one of the biggest cities in the world. I don't get to Chicago often enough and when I do, I am normally in a rush to get some place or some event. It was actually nice to take some time and explore the city. I think Chicago is just a great city. They have a lot of parks. And it appears to be a very active town. I walked along Lake Shore Drive, and was pretty amazed by the number of people that were out running, walking, biking or even swimming.

I think Chicago has a great skyline. It is pretty amazing when you drive in from Milwaukee and as I-94 and I-90 meet north west of the downtown, there is always a huge bottle neck, but that is also when you see that great sky line.

You Too

Yes, this past weekend was the U2 concert in Chicago. As they always have been, the band was great. Like I said in a previous posting, it has been 14 years since I have been to a concert at Soldier Field. Things have changed quite a bit. For one, the parking lot was way different. Instead of just one big flat parking lot, there are a bunch of medians and grass areas throughout. And the lot didn't fill up very fast at all. But we did get in our share of tailgating. Here I am getting ready for the show.

I went to the show with Doug, Liquid and Lynn. But Joe and Dawn were in town because Dawn was running the Chicago half marathon the next day. They came and met us in the parking lot. Here is a group photo, I am sending out the vibe. This is a picture of the stage. It was by far the most unique and over the top set up I have seen for any concert. It looks like something out of War of the Worlds, which is one horrible movie.These are just a really nice set of legs I noticed as we were walking around before the concert started.
Here is the setlist:

1. Breathe

2. No Line On The Horizon

3. Get On Your Boots

4. Magnificent

5. Beautiful Day / Blackbird (Beatles cover, snippet)

6. Elevation

7. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me (Ben E. King cover, snippet)

8. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of

9. Unknown Caller

10. The Unforgettable Fire

11. City Of Blinding Lights

12. Vertigo

13. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight

14. Sunday Bloody Sunday / Oliver's Army (Elvis Costello cover, snippet)

15. Pride (In The Name Of Love)

16. MLK

17. Walk On / You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)

18. Where The Streets Have No Name

19. One

20. Bad / Fool To Cry (snippet) / 40 (snippet)

Encores:

21. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)

22. With Or Or Without You

23. Moment of Surrender I didn't take too many pictures in the concert because they all look the same, as these three do.

I don't take my good camera into concerts anymore, just in case I get it taken away. So I use my old camera which doesn't have a very big memory stick. And this is the only video I shot. If you are even a mild U2 fan, I am guessing there is a good chance that you have seen their movie, "Rattle and Hum". One of the best images of the movie, is when they open the show at ASU with "Where the Streets Have No Name", and as the opening of the song hits the crescendo the lights turn on and light up the entire stadium. Very cool. As far as I can remember every U2 show I have seen, they have every light on the stage light up at that same point. So here is the video of it.

Sadly they they didn't do it this time.

As mentioned, I thought it was a great show, but don't take my word for it. Here is proof that it was a great show. At first I thought she lost a contact in the grass. But that wasn't the case.