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The Iron Mushroom

September 30 - October 3 - be there - Sharoom!!

The Big Show - Comes to an end!!

A pictorial of the last couple of days of the Tip O Mitt Small Boat Adventure!!

Now that's entertainment!!

As the awards and dinner progressed, the last two Full Mitt participants finished!! Now that's entertainment; cheers hoot and hollering!! You couldn't have orchestrated this any better!!

This is a great finish to a great event!!! That is a long way in one of those skinny boats they call kayaks!! Jon Holmes (red and yellow kayak) and Dan Wyns (red kayak) - Wowzer!

Let the awards begin

Mark enjoyed the plank seating in Gabby sooo much, Team Project Lakewell comes up with a prototype seat for the Sea Wind and Cruiser. Mark receives the Plank seat award!!

oh my...

The finish party begins!!
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Scott "The Grillman" Smith works the "Smith Barbecue Magic" and gets things a cook'n! Great job to ALL the volunteers that made the dinner an outstanding success!!
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Now this is good living!! Thanks Volunteers!!

Gabby - On the Manistee

Captain Mike and select crew take a handful of admirers out for a spin on the Manistee; a real social paddle a dozen or so of boaters joined us for a 3 hour paddle.
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A great experience, a lazy day on the river.

Photo by: Bob Bradford

A rare photo opportunity finds the Hunter S. Thompson of adventure reporting hard at work; known in these parts as a cross between Twain and Hemingway; people close to him know him as the Capt'n of the O dark 30, a real William Shakespaddle.
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Call him what you like, just don't call him late to the pending pig roast!

Land ho

Team Project Lakewell finds safe harbor at the Insta Launch Campground, the finish line of the Tip of the Mitt. Mass exodus out of Gabby as team members fall to their knees to kiss the ground. Cries of joy as the cheers "were home, were home" soon drowned out by the clanking of cocktail glasses and bottles of barley pops.
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Three cheers for the Captain and crew of Gabby!!

Gary and Uncle Al - Racing???

Ah the secret of their success - more pics - click here

Day 4 - Find Lynn

Find Lynn in the photo

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Like the book "Find Waldo" we were coordinating a rendezvous location to pick up Lynn for the last leg of the trip; after a couple of calls it was determined we would pick up Lynn and Beverly at the boat ramp just entering the Manistee -wOo hOo...
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You could sense the excitement for the finish, but there was this under lying feeling that it is coming to an end; I would say everybody left Gabby wanting more, and that my friends is a good thing.
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We had Friday to look forward to and that was a free day; more story telling cocktails and possibly another outing with Gabby on the Manistee.
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to be continued...

Day 4 - Clickity Clack

Like kids at opening day at the pool, the excitement builds; Mark's water-wings securely fastened we start lining Gabby down the Platte River back to the blue water of Lake Michigan.
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Mark and the crew splish splashed their way south in soggy conditions; crazy as there was no horizon or shoreline to be seen through fog, one becomes a little disorientated bobbing around in the mixed swell.
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We were all out of sink with our paddles, clickty clack; hmmm what was the variable in this equation... hmmm MARK!!!
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Seriously, it was nice having Mark aboard for the day, a new set of stories to be told and great updates on the TOM participants coming across on the Au Sable / Manistee Rivers. This my friends is one heck of an event.
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paddle paddle... to be continued