WISCONSIN FRONT STUFFERS

[northwoodsdave]

I'm in Northern Wisconsin (a couple of hours from Superior, only ta other way).  It's actually great, since I'm close to the Apostle Islands, where the fur trade really started in this country.  Find Ashland on the map and you'll see the center of my stomping grounds.

I'd love to meet up with a few of you some day for a bit of shooting and telling lies (I'm pretty good at both).

Dave

[voyageur1688]

  Dave,
Ashland really aint that far from where I live here in Ely Mn. We are working on getting a second rendezvous going up here for this year so we may be having one in August as well as the one in October. If your interested in either of them let me know.
Voy

[Elkinde]

A North Border States Rendezvous would be something. All the states on the border of Canada. Has that been done yet?

[voyageur1688]

Elkinde,
Our rondie is right up here on the border. Ely is just a stones throw from the border an we aint got any real civilization between us and the border. We are lookin at doin 2 of em this year (1 in Aug and the other in Oct.) an the area is just as purty as ya can find anywhere. I live in town but within 10 minutes of leaving home I can be in some of the most pristine wilderness ya can find in the country.
  Voy

[Elkinde]

Got a map here of where I'll be shootin this afternoon if your interested. You said you are familiar with my area! The red plot with the x is where I'm at. I'm 200 yrds S. of Little Silver Creek.

[voyageur1688]

  Wish I could make it but that just aint in the cards for me right now. Too blasted many bills and not enough income for anything right now. Make my truck payment and insurance, then decide ifns I put gas in the tank or food on the table or what I am gonna pay on with whats left. Besides having to keep the fire goin in the stove cuz all I heat with is wood and I dont want the house ta freeze up.  Last time I was in Ashland was bout 8 or 9 years ago and we encountered a spring blizzard on our way there from the Mich. U.P. an got to Ashland with a bus we had bought out on the east coast in time to see them using large front end loaders to clear the highway. Stopped at the casino for breakfast and WallyWorld to get a set of spark plugs for it and then went to a gas station farther along through town headed toward the Duluth area and watched a greyhound sized bus slide across the parking lot at the gas station and over the curb stop between the gas station and either a McDonalds or Burger King. Talk about the possibility of a new drive through window. That one was close.
Voy

[Elkinde]

My cousin has a property up there and if I ever go up I'll have to keep in mind a fellow SmokePoler is in the area.

[foxriver50]

Sorry I missed ya, was gone all weekend.
My grandparents farm, and my parents property is the in the block just north of the one you showed.

[voyageur1688]

Elkinde,
Wheres the property at up this way?
Voy

[Elkinde]

The spot I use for shooting is in Waushara Co. WI.(Central WI.). Also happens to be the place I've been deer hunting the last several years. Almost got stuck coming out where the snow plow banked up our driveway entrance. If you look down the road you can tell where the driveways are; look for the highest banks. The plows somehow manage to bank it up in those spots. Oh well! Winter's almost over. Won't need the 4X4 to get in the hunting land soon.

[voyageur1688]

  Same thing happens with my sidewalk. Dont know how but the city always manages to get more snow in my walk entry than anywhere else along the front yard. At least they havent put it right up to my front door like they did last year. Still tryin to figure out how they did that. I know my house is close to the street, but how did they manage to get most of the snow concentrated in a patch 15 feet wide and 12 feet in from the street right where my front door is? I had to go out the back door and crawl over the snow to get my shovel out to even dig out my front door and walkway because the snow wouldnt let me open the front door at all.
Voy

[voyageur1688]

  We have 2 rondy's coming up this year here in the Ely area. The first one is set for Aug. 13-15 and the other is set for the first full weekend in Oct. You interested?
Voy

[foxriver50]

How strict are they with PC

[voyageur1688]

  We are more lenient than many. We like tipi's, and aren't going to kick ya out for having enamelware or modern eye glasses and just ask that ya do your best to be in period clothing etc. We do ask that participants do demonstrate something while they are here as we are an educational org. We also do ask our traders to be handcraft traders and not national traders who buy all their goods from a store/importer. If there is something in specific you have questions about just fire away.
Voy

[hrayton]

skunkkiller,
I actually just found the web page for your rondy yesterday, and have made arrangements to drive up from Chicago that Saturday. Looks like about a 2 hour drive for me. Since I don't have much in the way of clothing or gear yet, I thought I would take advantage of your public days, maybe check out some traders, and maybe get some ideas, do a little window shopping for the basics. The ultimate goal is to attend that midwest primitive event on the U.P. at the end of July beginning of August, it looks like a heck of a lot of fun, and I'd like to camp there, but I think I need to get my kit together first.
Speaking of basics, if all of you experienced fellas had known then what you know now, and were gonna do your first one camping all over again, what would you have taken with you? Bear in mind I don't have a rifle yet, and I wanna shop for awhile before I get one, if you were to camp again for that first time, what would you take? I figure a simple wedge tent, maybe some wool blankets, I have a capote, 2 long pull over shirts, some drop front trousers that I need to figure out how to get buttons on    and I figure I can make some basic moccasins, I have belt, and I figure some non perishable food, I found a neat squirrel cooker on ebay, flint and steel, belt pouch, and I think I need a good corn boiler, a knife... any ideas?