OK, I know it’s not officially Riley news, but I thought that I’d share some pictures and news from the 2007 fishing trip on the Ivanhoe River in Chapleau, Ontario. Mark, Uncle Tim, Grandpa George, Uncle Rich, and Chuck spent a fun week of fun, fishing, and fellowship. Here are some of the highlights:

• The crew made great time on the drive up (we left early – around 11:30 PM or so) and we actually got flown in to the river on Friday instead of Saturday; we did a bit of grocery shopping and made a dent in The Beer Store’s inventory before we flew out;
• The weather was interesting this year – it was in the 70s/80s when we first arrived at camp, the mosquitoes and black flies were our welcoming committee; from there – we experienced high winds, rain, cold temperatures (in the 30s – there was even a weather warning for ice pellets and wet snow in the area where we fish!); but we were able to fish every day, and caught enough walleyes to eat them most days and bring back a full limit for every person;
• Speaking of fish – Mark was the repeat winner of the Big Fish contest this year – so I got to award myself this year’s prize (a new rod/reel combo and a collapsible LCD lantern) and agree to furnish the prize for next year as well (still working out those details, but luckily I have some time);
• We saw plenty of wildlife on the drive up (a few moose, a black bear), and at camp (eagles/ospreys, beavers, loons, ducks, the rare Canadian water squirrel, and best of all – no bear were spotted near camp this year!;

That’s all for now – I’m sure that there are some details that I have missed, as I recall them I’ll be sure to update the post. If you’d like to check out some of the pictures from the trip – look right here. (Warning – there may be an image or two that aren’t suitable for kids, so adults may want to preview things ahead of time)