My Sort of Travel Day

Typically travel days aren't my favorites, but today has been quite fun. Long, no doubt. But fun. The start was good simply because it was eventless. Driving through Atlanta and then working my way through airport parking, check-in and security were smooth, and my plane took off on time.

The flight itself was more enjoyable than most because I ended up sitting beside a fly shop manager and guide from Montana who was flying home from his first fishing trip to Chile. I enjoyed lots of good conversation about trout, out West, in South America and in the Southeast -- and about ice-fishing.

Flight two was fun too because I had my own row, which meant I could look out the window AND have space. Flying from Minneapolis to Bemidji, the plane never goes terribly high, so you can watch the landscapes from start to finish. I enjoyed seeing the snowy fields and forests and the frozen, snow-covered lakes, including roads and footpaths leading to villages of ice huts.

From Bemidji I drove an hour or so through beautiful snowy Northwoods before meeting Jeff Sundin, stopping just long enough to check into my hotel and change clothes and then heading for a lake. We only had a couple of hours of fishing time, but that was plenty to catch several bluegill and crappie and to get some good photo work. There aren't many days that I start at my home in North Georgia and finish on the ice, catching fish.

I'm looking forward to a couple of full days of fishing, beginning tomorrow!