Voyageurs Park Houseboat Extravaganza

2008 saw the addition of several notable changes around camp including the new Bearpaw court and fencing strip, the new Knutson Hall and of course the first annual Sam vs Sam fish-off. But hidden amongst the glitz and glam of these media and publicity behemoths, one under-hyped, little talked about superchange (I think I may have coined a term here) occurred and the responsibility to inform future generations of Chippewa loyalists falls on me. The change of which I write is of course the Voyageurs Park Houseboat Extravaganza. At the end of what already amounts to nothing short of one of the very finest ways to spend several days of your life, namely canoeing around Voyageurs National Park, the powers that be decided that driving around on your own private island from one fantastic fishing hole to the next was something we simply had to try. And try it we did. The first two trips last summer were both unparalleled successes.

Now I realize there are those purists out there that take exception to the notion of men from Chippewa using powered craft to explore primitive waterways and I understand from where that objection emanates. But I say to you, as a man who has traveled far and wide in canoe and boat alike, this addition to this trip adds an element of adventure to an already well established tradition and in my humble opinion, two of three is better than half the way there. So lets embrace this reprieve from the harshness of Mother Nature's Northern forests for one last summer before we send our men out without modern comforts. Let the true seasoning begin with their introduction to Canada's Quetico the following summer. Let this trip be about learning and, dare I say it, a bit of fun before the real work begins.