posted 05-24-2005 11:36 PM ET (US)        

If people are interested I am willing to host a rendezvous at my family's cottage in September. So, if we can come to a consensus as to a date I will get it on the cottage calendar.

posted 05-27-2005 09:21 AM ET (US)            

My early summer schedule is very full with fallout from our move to Fruitport (near Grand Haven) and the salmon tournament fishing schedule that we are committed to, but I would love a chance to get back to Mullet Lake.

posted 05-31-2005 07:12 PM ET (US)            

If you live in a contiguous state and haven't done Michigan's
inland waterway, it's a must do. After all you can go right out
into Lake Huron and anywhere in the world from there!

posted 07-30-2005 08:59 PM ET (US)            

Your 22 would do great in the waterway until you get out of Pickerel Lake, then it gets a little hairy.

posted 08-01-2005 11:33 PM ET (US)            

Heck I even have Labor day weekend open, just not enough time to drive all the way up for the Isle Royal trip.

posted 08-27-2005 11:31 AM ET (US)            

The consensus in the thread is that the weekend of September 30th is a good weekend. So, I’m calling it. September 30th is the weekend.

Now that we know the when and where we can concentrate on who and what. That is who is coming and what do we want to do?

From Mullett Lake the more interesting run is down through the Indian River, Burt Lake, the Crooked River and to Crooked Lake. This is about a 30 mile run (one way) with about a quarter of it in no wake zones. The other direction is to head north through the Cheboygan River to Lake Huron. This route is less than 10 miles long and a no wake zone all the way. Any trip out into Lake Huron or the Straits of Mackinaw is always very weather dependant.

So, what are your thoughts?

posted 09-02-2005 04:07 PM ET (US)            

Well first of where are most people staying? I cool with camping so I assume the Aloha Sate Park would be the best? Since you can know reserve on line we should try and get a group of sites together....
[urlhttp://tinyurl.com/87oul[/url]

Sites 173 -191 would be nice
http://tinyurl.com/8xf6t

Or 218 - 195
http://tinyurl.com/dp3uj

I am just geusses from the maps. I have never been there though..

posted 09-05-2005 06:06 PM ET (US)            

If there's still room, count me in.

posted 09-06-2005 10:12 AM ET (US)            

How far is this from the Sault border travelling at 55 mph?

posted 09-06-2005 10:32 AM ET (US)            

John

posted 09-06-2005 10:44 AM ET (US)            

John's right - an hour across the UP and less than an hour to the lake - depending on where you plan to stay. If you drive all the way to indian river, you will have a half hour beyond the bridge.

Cheers -

posted 09-06-2005 10:58 AM ET (US)            

I've realized, after the drive to the Isle Royale trip, I've made a mistake thinking it better to travel under the lake to join some of these events. It's been many years since I drove those northern roads and my distances & timing were all screwy it seems. Plus the wonderful improvements to the highways up there :)

It's still 3 hours to get to the boat, but only 6.5 to 7 hours of towing after that from what you're all saying.
Crossing the border seems easy too. All they want to know is how the fishing was.

Peter

posted 09-06-2005 08:18 PM ET (US)            

best

posted 09-06-2005 11:14 PM ET (US)            

OK it looks like interest in growing for this rendezvous.

Sorry for being silent for from this thread for the past week or so. I was tied up getting my daughter off to college and squeezing a trip to the cottage in during the Labor Day Holiday.

Accommodations:

If you want to camp Aloha is probably the best spot. It is right on Mullett Lake, it has it’s own launch ramp and a small but well protected harbor. As jeffs22outrage pointed out a number of these campsites are right on the harbor. The waterfront campsites do not have docks but the shore line is soft and grassy so people just push their bow up onto the grass and tie the boat to a tree.

For motels there is the Best Western
http://www.cheboygan.com/touristbureau/bestwestern.html and the Fleetwood Inn http://www.cheboygan.com/touristbureau/fleetwood.html . Both of these motels are on the Cheboygan River and have docks for you boat. It is about a 30 to 40 minute run from their docks (no wake the whole way) to get to Mullett Lake.

Itinerary:

It seems that most of the people want to cruise toward Crooked Lake. So let me throw out this itinerary as a strawman. Please chime in with your thoughts.

-We gather on the water in front of Aloha State Park on Saturday morning
-Then we cruise down Mullett Lake through the Indian River to Burt Lake to the Crooked River.
-We can stop for lunch in Alanson. There are some docks we can tie up to and walk about a block into town.
-After lunch we cruise on to Crooked Lake and explore the lake. Maybe we could even venture into Pickerel Lake.
-At this point we reverse course and go back through Crooked River, Burt Lake, Indian River to Mullett Lake.
-We can close the day out with a cookout at my cottage on the north end of Mullett Lake or we can cruise on up the Cheboygan River and have dinner at one of the restaurants on the river like the Hack Ma Tack
http://www.hackmatackinn.com/index.php

Here are some links to information on the area.

www.fishweb.com/maps/cheboygan/mullett/index.html

www.fishweb.com/maps/cheboygan/indianriver/river/index.html

www.fishweb.com/maps/cheboygan/burtlake/index.html

OK, let’s hear your ideas.

posted 09-08-2005 10:09 AM ET (US)            

Count me in - 4-man Tent with two persons.

posted 09-08-2005 06:17 PM ET (US)            

Any thoughts? Ideas?

posted 09-08-2005 06:36 PM ET (US)            

Like I said, I have site reserved that will hopfully be at the basin. If that works out you should be able to beach your boat on my site and camp in the boat. I promise not say anything to the park rangers: ). You could maybe anchor in the basin or for sure in the lake.

Images of the park
http://www.fishweb.com/maps/cheboygan/mullett/aloha/index.html

posted 09-08-2005 06:41 PM ET (US)            

should read

Though I do not see reason why they would NOT give it to you.

posted 09-08-2005 06:59 PM ET (US)            

Peter - I'd recommend planning to simply put the nose on shore and sleep aboard - no biggie - it's a soft, grassy shoreline there..no sand, or rocks..just topsoil/mud and then lawn.

The basin is just large enough for two boats to pass each other when there are boats beached on either side of the basin, and there is a nice ramp at the base of the basin, meaning that any early morning fishermen would have difficulty navigating around a boat anchored in the middle all night.

Depending on wind, you may also choose to anchor in front of Don's cottage. He's on the lee side of the lake for prevailing wind (westerlies). Aloha is on the windward side of the lake - nearly directly across from Don's place.

I normally sleep aboard, but I've neglected my tent this year, so I think I'll be sleeping in the tent on this trip. So long as you don't snore like Paul, you are welcome to seek shelter with me - if needed at the last minute.

posted 09-08-2005 08:45 PM ET (US)            

And thanks for the info on everything else everyone. A few hours later and all the links are working, even Jeffs tiny urls that didn't work from the get go. Beats me. I'll give Aloha a call and see what the deal is.

posted 09-08-2005 11:52 PM ET (US)            

Seriously, Suzanne and I would both like to make it to this rendevous. About an 80% chance I'd make it at this time. Suzanne is up in the air. Visiting her mom in New York and a show coming up in Chicago won't leave her with much free time. Hopefully I'll know more in a week or so.

It'd be nice to see everyone and meet some others.

Paul

posted 09-09-2005 09:59 AM ET (US)            

Dis Yooper came across in 'is bote with 'is buddies - and dey all sleep in da bote, eh! But dey make 'im go sleep in a shelter on land. After nitefall da noise from da shelter starts up and is loud 50 yards away on da dock, eh!

Jerry, Rick and I looked at each other with that "What the hell is that?" look.

posted 09-15-2005 01:02 PM ET (US)            

Anyway, the "subject" let's call him Chain Saw Jim, had a routine where he brushed his teeth in the dark before he crawled into his sleeping bag - he Stevie Wondered the procedure, squirted on the toothpaste, brushed the teeth, then swished out his mouth with canteen water and spit out in the sage brush.

Chain Saw got his payback - they switched his toothpaste tube with Preparation H - get the picture? the whole dramatic and profound reaction? Chain Saw was furious but it was the negative reinforcement, no more snoring. Freaking funny man!

posted 09-15-2005 09:05 PM ET (US)            

i.e. Does everyone make it there for Friday night or Saturday moning? What is a typical time of departure on Sunday?

I'm trying to get a handle on my timing in case I have to take my crew out of school for an afternoon (Friday) or for a morning (Monday).

Driving alone it should 9.5 hours. Who knows with the crew along?

posted 09-16-2005 01:57 PM ET (US)            

Didn't mean to ignore your post...Yes. Your dates are correct.

posted 09-17-2005 09:27 AM ET (US)            

We'll probably leave around noon on Friday. About 3.5 hrs from Port Huron. You coming this way, or across the north?

posted 09-17-2005 09:49 AM ET (US)            

It looks like we're going to miss this one; Our son Chris is coming home from Little Rock to see the UM/MSU game that weekend and while he and Jess and I fished together in Apalachicola last spring, Katie hasn't seen him since the winter.

So here's hoping for good weather for the rest of you, and we'll see y'all on the water somewhere down the line!

posted 09-17-2005 01:41 PM ET (US)            

Itinerary:

It seems that most of the people want to cruise toward Crooked Lake. So let me throw out this itinerary as a strawman. Please chime in with your thoughts.

-We gather on the water in front of Aloha State Park on Saturday morning
-Then we cruise down Mullett Lake through the Indian River to Burt Lake to the Crooked River.
-We can stop for lunch in Alanson. There are some docks we can tie up to and walk about a block into town.
-After lunch we cruise on to Crooked Lake and explore the lake. Maybe we could even venture into Pickerel Lake.
-At this point we reverse course and go back through Crooked River, Burt Lake, Indian River to Mullett Lake.
-We can close the day out with a cookout at my cottage on the north end of Mullett Lake or we can cruise on up the Cheboygan River and have dinner at one of the restaurants on the river like the Hack Ma Tack

posted 09-19-2005 11:16 AM ET (US)            

The best free launch ramp is in the Northwest corner of the lake.

http://www.fishweb.com/maps/cheboygan/mullett/index_north.html

http://www.fishweb.com/maps/cheboygan/mullett/mullett-lake_ramp/index.html

It is easy to get to and has plenty of free parking. Right next to it is Mullett Lake Marina.

http://www.mullettlakemarina.com/

The problem with this ramp is if the wind is out of the east it can get a little rough. The alternatives are Aloha State Park which is completely sheltered so it's good in any weather. Or, there is a ramp where highway 33 crosses the Cheboygan River.

posted 09-21-2005 05:09 PM ET (US)            

Hey Dave,

Mapquest has me going from the house in Portage (MI) 94 to 69 to 127 -- What route are you thinking of taking? I would have thought that 131 straight up would have been better? (Mapquest has taken me the long way before)Will leave at about 12 or 1, would you want to hook up and go together? I am right at the 94 and 131 interchange if you are interested or anyone else for that matter? (Roommate coming as well)

posted 09-21-2005 05:26 PM ET (US)            

When I lived in Kalamazoo, I tried both ways to get to the UP (picking up friends at State, and just driving 131 north).

It's all about equal, now that the traffic pattern is "fixed" through the S curve in G.R.

My route takes me 196 to GR then 131 North to Cadillac - then M-55 E to 127 and north onto I-75.

Avoiding traffic in GR is the biggest gamble. Lansing traffic can be worse but I'm not sure what the construction is like around Lansing. North of GR, the roads are pretty torn up through the I-96 interchange near Fifth Third Park. One would hope that they have that sorted by now, but I'm not counting on it.

Both routes are superhighway all the way (except for a short 30 mile stretch from Cadillac through Lake City to Houghton Lake).

I'm still negotiating when I'll be leaving. I may have a meeting on Friday morning at work with the lawyers and regulatory folks; meaning that I won't get out of Chi-town until like 1:30 PM, putting me in GR around 6 PM local (Smack in the middle of the Friday night rush).

If not, I'll be leaving much earlier on Friday morning and getting into GR much earlier. Being a Friday in September, I'm not optimistic the traffic northbound will be great anywhere in Michigan, due to everyone getting final weekends in at their lake homes and / or closing up summer cottages. If the weather is nice that will compound the problem, but it usually moves along pretty well north of GR.

Perhaps we can arrange to meet at the Rockford Meijer north of GR? Good place for gas and a nice big parking lot in front of a brand new store, with food nearby, and right at the cusp of free-flowing traffic...

Let me know.

posted 09-21-2005 09:39 PM ET (US)            

She's 'dangerously' close to Michigan ave - right near my office actually.

I guess I should just thank you in advance. Folks like your wife make it possible for me to live in one of the biggest cities in America that does not tax it citizen's incomes....

:)

See you in a little over a week.

posted 09-22-2005 11:00 AM ET (US)            

Tom hope you can make it. If you want to camp at the park you might want to make a reservation. I am not sure if they will have a spot for you if you just show up.

posted 09-23-2005 03:21 PM ET (US)            

Nice folks too it seems.

posted 09-25-2005 09:23 AM ET (US)            

There appeared to be plenty of sites left at the park when I made my reservation yesterday.

Anybody interested in doing a breakfast at the park?

posted 09-25-2005 01:54 PM ET (US)            

attendee # of people
JimH 2
HomeAside 3
Djahncke 1
dfmcintyre 2
Buckda 2
Royboy 2
Jeffs22outrage ?
banff22 ?
Cicada 1
TomG 2

Please chime and confirm the number attending and where you are staying so we know to lookout for you.

I propose that we meet on Saturday morning at Aloha State Park at 9:30. From there we will head south to the Indian River and continue on to Alanson where will stop for lunch.

Let’s use channel 68 for communications and as a way for latecomers to find the group.

For Saturday night I will host a dinner at my cottage. Nothing fancy but it will be warm and dry with lots of good whaler talk.

posted 09-25-2005 07:56 PM ET (US)            

Tom--

posted 09-25-2005 10:14 PM ET (US)            

You should be fine with 22 gallons. And as you guessed there are places to by gas on the Indian River, the Crooked River and Crooked Lake.

posted 09-26-2005 09:39 AM ET (US)            

We're driving up on Friday and leaving about mid-day on Sunday - staying at Aloha.

posted 09-26-2005 01:29 PM ET (US)            

Dave - If your thinking of doing a I/R presentation Saturday evening, do you want me to bring a LCD projector (I'm assuming it would be on laptop)?

Planning on arriving early to mid afternoon Friday.

posted 09-26-2005 02:40 PM ET (US)            

I'm happy to share the photos from Isle Royale...there are a lot of them, so bring an extra beer or two!

posted 09-27-2005 08:13 PM ET (US)            

Sunny to partly cloudy. Winds from the SSW at 16 mph. High: 72° F

posted 09-27-2005 08:22 PM ET (US)            

My cheeky response is I'm having trouble rationalizing with my kids, and me, driving 10 hours, arriving at 3 or 4 am, boating for one day then driving back on Sunday. Seems to me these weekend rendezvous are better suited for when the kids are out of school in July & August.

To continue the cheeky part of the repsonse:
So why am I driving all this way when in 3.5 hours I can have my kids at my beloved Bustard Islands, in our OR 22 by dinner time.

I know a number of you know EXACTLY where I'm talking about. Gee, I may even slip around the Chickens down Collins Inlet for a few hours? Shucks, I could even slip by Killarney for lunch in another 20 minutes or so after that. I know, I'm spoiled. :)

Have a great Colour Cruise. And the colours have already started up here BTW.

Stay well.

posted 09-27-2005 09:48 PM ET (US)            

I'm thinking about Hack-Ma-Tack for dinner Friday night, or perhaps a restaurant in Indian River proper, then planning on sandwiches aboard the boat on Saturday afternoon, so JimH - if you are also planning sandwiches aboard the boat, you're welcome to grab a slip next to Gambler at Alanson and we can have a bite dock-side.

Where are you and Christine staying Jim?

VHF channel 68...I'll make a cruise by Don's cottage once we splash the boat and set up camp.

posted 09-27-2005 10:49 PM ET (US)            

For lunch I was think of walking into Alanson to enjoy one of the local restaurants. Lesters is one that comes to mind. It is a nice little place that is in the old railroad station.

Dave,

For Friday night I was thinking the Boathouse in Cheboygan. It is in downtown Cheboygan on the river. However, if people want to go to Hack-ma-tack that would be fine with me also.

I'll keep an eye out for you on Friday afternoon.

posted 09-28-2005 05:05 PM ET (US)            

Is there anyone else leaving the Detroit area around 4:30 - 5 that wants to drive up together?

posted 09-28-2005 06:09 PM ET (US)            

Look for my truck and trailer. If memory serves, I'll probably take a site past (beyond) the ramp in the back section if I can, out with a view of the lake.

I'll give you a call.

posted 09-29-2005 09:10 AM ET (US)            

Anyway, have fun, be safe, I'll look forward to seeing photo's and reading the narratives....enjoy, see you soon...

posted 09-29-2005 09:31 AM ET (US)            

You avoiding me this summer? :)

posted 09-29-2005 02:26 PM ET (US)            

Hope you all have a great time and great weather! Wish I could be there with you...

posted 09-29-2005 03:19 PM ET (US)            

Newport Whaler..sorry.

eight boats?

posted 09-29-2005 07:53 PM ET (US)            

Sorry to hear you guys aren't going to make it. I was looking forward to seeing both of you again.

I'm still looking at about a midnight arrival at Aloha. Looks like the weather is going to be pretty good. I heard that the colors were starting to go wild up there? An absolutely great time to be out on the water!

Looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting some more people. See ya up there.

posted 09-30-2005 02:04 AM ET (US)            

Any chance of finding you guys on Sunday? NO vhf - sorry, new rig for us, 13, waiting to determine best configuration for new finder/GPS and radio.

thx - anyone got a cell phone? do they work in that area?

posted 10-02-2005 06:28 PM ET (US)            

I just returned the boat to home and had to stop in the office before I leave tomorrow. I have to say thanks to everyone for the great weekend. I enjoyed seeing those who I have already met again, and to others I was happy to finally met you. Don, thanks for opening up your amazing cottage to us. That is truly a gem of a house. Also, Dave thanks for the slide show. Truly inspires me to go up there for a week. I can not wait to see the pictures of this trip when I return on Wednesday.

posted 10-03-2005 08:16 AM ET (US)            

To complete the inland route tour, on Sunday we went up the Cheboygan River and into Lake Huron.

Transiting the lock on the Cheboygan River was an experience. There are very strong currents above and below the lock. It was not designed with boaters in mind.

We spotted our trailer at the marina ramp at the mouth of the river, so when we got to Lake Huron we could haul out easily. As we were washing down the boat and prepping it for the highway, it seemed quite warm and sunny. A sign at the bank in town said 89°--quite a beautiful October afternoon!

Don Jahncke was a great host. Dave's slide show of the composite photo album of the Isle Royal trip was very entertaining.

Did anyone else get stuck in the massive slow down on I-75 south of West Branch? We were stopped for about 20-30 minutes due to a bottleneck from road repairs.

posted 10-03-2005 12:07 PM ET (US)            

Thanks to all for a great trip, great time, great food, great weather and great company (but lousy jokes about smokey motors).

I should be able to get photos posted tonight or perhaps tomorrow.

posted 10-03-2005 08:48 PM ET (US)            

What I want to know is who do we give credit to for the great weather? There certainly wasn't "frost on the pumpkin" as LHG predicted (unless you count the frosting on the Halloween cookies). My guess is that the credit goes to Chris as she was the first to suggest the week of September 30th.

After you left Jim I couldn't resist the weather and headed out with Newport_whaler for an extra run up and down the lake. It got me home alot later. But I don't regret it a bit. I didn't even regret it when I was sitting in the traffic jam south of West Branch.

Dave, I look forward to seeing the pictures.

posted 10-03-2005 09:13 PM ET (US)            

Don, Thanks again for the dinner and making your place available. Also, the return of the hat. I think that one's going to become standard Whaler wear.

It was a real pleasure meeting everyone that I've never met and great to see everyone that I know. Those short little runs on the river were an eye opener for me concerning the performance of the boats. It was fun looking at everyone's boat in the relaxed atmosphere.

Jim,

I got caught in the same tie up. The drive ended up being about six hours. About an hour and half longer than it should have been. The high point of that drive was sitting stuck in the right lane with the left lane blazing by at about five miles an hour. The passenger in a pick up truck passing me leans out of the window and says "Hey! Nice boat!". I love it when that happens.

I have to look my photos and see if there's anything worth posting. I didn't take many pictures this time. I was too busy enjoying myself.

posted 10-04-2005 09:30 PM ET (US)            

Paul, I had the same thing happen, guy rolled by and said the same thing!

posted 10-04-2005 09:35 PM ET (US)            

A few photos posted at:
http://photobucket.com/albums/y108/mottpm/Mullet/

Includes djahncke in his sweet little Dauntless, Newport_whaler's Newport Whaler and some photos of the fleet.

Need to set somebody up on one of the bends in the river and get some action shots.

posted 10-04-2005 09:40 PM ET (US)            

I often wonder what some people are thinking when they drive by - you know, the ones that look like they're checking the boat closely. Guess we found out. Maybe another Whaler owner.

Paul

posted 10-05-2005 09:47 AM ET (US)            

Kurt, Don, and I went out for a spin across Mullet and then up the Cheboygan River, Don peeled off at the party store, to the Dam where lots of people were catching Salmon.

We got part of that storm on Sunday night (Saturday A.M.). For the first hour it was on the West side of the lake. It was like our own light show, beautiful!! It rain on us from about 5am until 10 am and hit pretty hard for awhile. We ate breakfast and pack up until about 1:30 and parked the truck at the launch ramp.

The weather on Monday was mid 80’s partly cloudy and the lake was calling to us. We had to go out for a couple of hours and drain the water out of the Boat from the rain the night before. (Shucks!!) We came back to a ticket on the truck for not purchasing a vehicle pass (6.00). Nothing could make me more upset (heartbreaking) than having to leave Aloha with such great weather. Work is over rated – it only feeds my addictions.

Don –
Thanks so much for the wonderful meal and hospitality.

Paul-
Thanks for the coffee and as of yet I don’t know what Kurt did with the cup!!

Jeff, Geoff, Kevin, Don, Gail, Jim, Christinee, and of course Dave
--We had a great time and made new friends. Sorry no pics – but if I did have one it would have had problems like all the other electronics.

Roy, Karen, PeteB, Pat, Peter (Banff22), TomG, John, Chuck, Sportroyalwulf, Larry,

I hope to meet ya soon, but at least by this trip next year-hint hint!!!!(Don)

posted 10-05-2005 03:16 PM ET (US)            

That's Jeffs22Outrage in his father's 17' Montauk. I have to say that that boat was the king of the rendezvous in terms of sheer OEM beauty. An absolutely spectacular specimen kept in bristol condition.

posted 10-06-2005 07:10 PM ET (US)         

So what happened to the old Mariner? Is it a 115 or a 90? That engine looks like new. Not too many of those around.

posted 10-07-2005 04:27 PM ET (US)            

It lost power tilt and trim over the weekend (Dave has pics of my in my boxers in the water lifting the motor by hand). I was able to lift the engine up by hand and tighten the bypass to trailer it home. When you would hit the trim buttons the solenoids would click but the motor would never run. Then once we got it home and dropped the engine the motor ran the hydraulic pistons out then stopped once they reached the engine. So we think it is a voltage problem. Because the electric motor draws a lot of power to lift the engine.

posted 10-25-2005 04:00 PM ET (US)            

As promised, check:

http://photobucket.com/albums/a118/dfmcintyre/Mullett%20Lake%20weekend/

for my images.

Good time.