Author: Chris

Happy Labor Day Happy Campers! Fall is in the air, leaves are starting to show the first signs of autumn and the migration is starting. Nighthawks have passed through the northern Prairies and the first Canada Geese migrated thru yesterday!

Magoo and I have started hunting Geese near the Manitoba border. Small flocks of resident Honkers are around and while we are in a 100 year drought, we did get about 2 inches of rain last week which helped, but we will need feet to catch up. Small grain harvest is happening and we have hunted a stubble field nearby. This morning we were greeted by a big hatch of mosquitos and while they did their best to fill the decoys, few Canada Geese were in the air and while we did get one, it was sure nice to see Magoo tear around the fields and also put her teeth into fresh feathers. Simply awesome to watch and hear her as she drags back these birds which I guess are around 6 or so pounds. Often times Magoo is snorting as she brings them back. In fact, this morning I forgot the game strap and after I layed down the Goose which was not dead, it took off into the decoys and Magoo quickly grabbed it and brought it back for a second time. Interestingly I think she watched me so I did not let that happen again!

Earlier this weekend, Magoo and I went fishing and found plenty of large Bluegill on a weed edge. We kept a handful for a meal, and while they are quite the fighters, nice to put them back for another day! Temperatures should soar into the upper 80’s this week, so while Autumn is here, the temps will mean summer is hanging on which we certainly do not mind!

2022 will be upon us soon and we can not wait for Happy Camp 2022, and seeing the Canadian Wilderness again. I am guessing there will not be a shortage of items to repair, but a Spring Bear Hunt is definitely in the works, let’s all work hard on this Covid thing and do our best to take care ourselves and everyone around us!

The Bucks brought home the first of a trifecta for the Wisconsin Sports fans, Brewers certainly look great and each game is a treasure in its own with Bob Uecker calling spectacular home games. Like yesterday winning in grand fashion with a Grand Slammer in the bottom of the 9th. Let’s hope for the Brews to send out Uecker in style holding a World Championship up for Halloween. Finally, the Packers will embark on another journey which will end in February bringing home the Lombardi Trophy. Sure they are lofty goals, but all the pieces are in place for the trifecta!

If you are looking for a place to come unwind, catch the beauty of the far north, peace and quiet with awesome wilderness, get in touch with us to save your spot at Happy Camp Ontario. Take care and Happy Labor day all!

Good Morning everyone, as you know there is no update from the border. As of late, I have begun to really struggle with the essential travel? Can anyone explain to me how hauling cattle to the US is essential, or hauling goods like toilet paper is essential to Canada? I have often thought that each country is self supportive and does not really need each other? So I am beginning to become irritated by the lack of movement on either side to ease up. Lately I focus on repairs, how Happy Camp will look when we ever get there. We have our fingers and paws crossed that Mice have not overrun the camp, guess we shall see?

Changes were to occur on July 5th, but that only amounted to re-wording of restrictions and nothing is different for us to cross to Happy Camp! So as we sit and twiddle our thumbs and paws, I saw a hockey game last night. As it began from Montreal with players from Tampa, Florida and Montreal, Quebec playing, I scratched my head again! Hockey is essential, how is that so? But none the less, a smile came to my face when I heard the familiar O’ Canada sung by the crowd and even a deeper smile came as the some of the players sang! It is so wonderful to hear the outcry of nationalism in Canada, and while we do it as individuals in the US, I have never heard anything like what I hear even at the smallest venue in Canada! One would hope that is this day of hopeful Unity we would hear different in the US, but it appears that we are drifting farther apart everyday. While we can only control ourselves, we can only hope our fellow Americans will come to their senses sooner than later?

Thanks Canada for making me Happy last night with your outcries of Nationalism, not soon enough can I cross the border and get back to Happy Camp, take care!!

June 22, 2021 is here everyone, and as we were hoping for the best, we knew the inevitable was going to happen and it had. With the extension of the closure of the border thru late July, none of us will have the opportunity to be at Happy Camp in 2021. As we have for the last 2 years, we say let’s look to the future and plan for 2022 to get back to the wilderness and enjoy the beauty and peace that is has to offer.

So until then, shoot us a message or phone us to save your date, stay safe, be strong and do the best you can. We look forward to seeing everyone after the pandemic is gone, take care.

Good Morning Happy Campers! Summer is heating up quickly and along with it we finally have seen some rain on the northern prairies. While not nearly enough, at this point we will take any rain we can get. Most sloughs are dry and many fields bare from no seed to sow nor rain to germinate. So we shall see what unfolds as it does not look promising for the crops nor bird hatch.

Speaking of promising, all of us know all too well of the Covid and border closures. From what we can figure, if all goes well, we figure their may be some ease up around September and with that we will not be at camp in 2021. While this breaks our hearts, we need to remind ourselves that this is out of our control and we can hope for the best in the future.

A couple bright spots do definitely come to mind, especially when thinking of Bear, Birds and Fish, when we do get back to Happy Camp, all of them should be excited and happy to see us!!

So for now, I will finish school for the year, then hopefully relax and enjoy as much of the summer as I can. I urge everyone to get their vaccine and continue to stay safe, after all, we can only control ourselves.

If anyone is out wandering around, shoot us a message or call, we always enjoy seeing and catching up with all of the Happy Campers! If not, the 2022 Calendar is ready for us to pencil you in to save your spot to Come and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!

Happy Day everyone! While the Covid rages on here and everywhere, it is easy to get caught up in all the hullabaloo of this mess! Brain Fog often is in my mind and I suspect many people. Although it is the day of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Race like no other, it is time for me to reflect on Memory.

Hi folks, Catfish Chris here and as you know there is not much to report on the border opening. As of now, many people who have no control in the US are saying the border will open on June 22, but that is nothing but them running their mouths. From what we surmise, the border may ease up in late summer and early fall. So unless a miracle happens, we don’t think we will see Ontario again until 2022.

Please remember to take a moment for Memorial day, we have so much freedom, but need to give our thanks to the people who had their lives taken while serving our country actually providing us our freedoms! Simply said, Freedom does NOT come free, so I urge you to give thanks. In 2020, I spent time making music for those who have fallen, and in 2021 I will be doing the same in the Rolette, North Dakota Memorial day ceremony. In addition, Ray Trottier, a 7th grade Trumpet player in our Band, will be traveling with the Belcourt VFW and performing Taps, thank you Ray and to everyone thanking those who gave themselves for our freedom!

Memories develop for all of us and for me watching Grandpa get his Indy car list ready and sit near the radio listening to AJ Foyt, Gordon Johncock and the boys race for gold was great, well before TV and all the Hoopla shit that overshadows so much today. Later it was drinking a few Pabst while listening to the Race with my brother and in the last years before Covid it was either at Happy Camp or traveling to the great north with Larry. I remember a few years back I dedicated a song, Alberta Bound, for my buddy Shadow on WPR Simply Folk radio show and heard the host Stephanie Elkins play that song for Shadow while Larry and I were on the north shore of Lake Superior, my time just flies doesn’t it?

So many memories and in the past years made at Happy Camp. Seems like eons ago, but we can only hope to make new memories not soon enough. But for 2021, there again will be no Bear hunt, but the Moose crew’s will be in full force in late September, man I wish we could be there for those days, those were memories!

So for now, we will all make memories today and everyday, I hope all of yours are special and in time you find your way to Happy Camp, make memories and also share a few with us. Until then, take care and keep in touch!

Good Morning Happy Campers! As always, we hope that you continue to do the best you can with the pandemic. Furthermore, there seems to be no end in sight and sadly the window for 2021 it looking bleaker all the time.

As the same for the last year, we do not anticipate any change anytime soon, wish we had better news. Interestingly as I opened the site today, the sight of Happy Camp brought a smile to my face. We so miss all of it, from the Wilderness, wonder, people, excitement, fresh air, smells and all that makes it Happy Camp.

Extreme drought continues on the northern prairies and almost all sloughs are dry and the ones with water have many waterfowl, but they will very soon seek out areas to nest so we continue to pray for rain all the time. Spring is slow to arrive here as well this year, temperatures struggle to stay about 20 over night and highs in the 50’s do help. Trees are starting to bud a little, but I think the drought also plays a factor.

Magoo did go swimming on Pelican Lake last night and we did find a couple pods of Bluegills sunning themselves in very shallow mud where it was warmer. It was nice to see them, soon we will get out and try to catch a few too! Western Grebe’s singing thru the woods are a beautiful sound as they sing and mate on the water’s edge.

We will update as we learn of anything, take care everyone and Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers big and tall, short and small! Take care and keep in touch.

Good Morning Happy Campers, welcome to March! Each day we inch toward spring, the sun is warmer and higher and the end of Winter is near! Not soon enough for us here, and as I write, another bitter morning and at -15 F at 8:45 a.m.

We, like everyone else, are so eager to get the pandemic under control and gain some sense of normalcy. I do understand the borders being closed, but I also wonder why their has an continues to be free travel of any goods across the border here in northern North Dakota? Frustrating as today, which is Sunday, there will be a steady stream of cattle trailers out of Manitoba to Rugby, North Dakota for weekly cattle sales. It does seem odd that they are allowed to come into the US, you mean that cattle sales are essential, what don’t we have any beef in the USA?

On a somber note, CeCe was killed last week by someone from the area. When I came back from Bottineau someone had killed her and layed her body in my driveway in a pool of blood. If you know me, I was and am deeply angered that anyone would do this. The anger burns deep inside of Magoo and I, and we worked last Saturday taking CeCe to the island on Gravel Lake. Last spring I built a campsite on the island and CeCe was layed to rest their and her ashes will forever be part of Gravel Lake. Tina, CeCe’s sister and lone survivor, went along and watched the proceedings. So now Tina will hunt mice alone and there is no doubt that CeCe and Tina would have raised holy hell with the Mice of Happy Camp. Watching the 2 of them work together in our compound trying to catch birds was fascinating to say the least and sadly they will not hunt together at Happy Camp.

I need to ask all of you, why is there so much hate and anger in our country? Why do so few people seem to care for anyone else except themselves? Times certainly have changed and each day Magoo, Tina and I walk this world we will laugh with each other. Magoo is snoring on the floor, Tina is in her hut and I at the computer looking for more coffee.

So as I end this bit, I hear maybe the end of summer will come a time to ease up on the border, keep our fingers crossed it is much sooner, but I sure wish I had Cattle!

Take care and keep in touch!!

Hi Happy Campers.  We lost another good one over the weekend.  Doug Rogers left us over the weekend, and while we are saddened by his loss, his pain is over and hopefully where he is now there is lots of sunshine! 

Doug was the morning host of Frog Country and then WTCH Radio in Clintonville where I was born and raised.  Well before Happy Camp I listened to Doug and he brought many laughs and smiles to our faces.  As with far too many these days, Doug was taken way too soon and will not be forgotten. 

How could we forget one whom yelled HOLY COW when Happy Camp Bear Hunt was trying to solve trivia and phoned in many times.  As luck would have it we finally did win and wouldn’t you know it, we won a Gift certificate to the Hungry Bear Restaurant!! 

We tried so hard to fill the void after your chats with the Memory mall in Nichols from Happy Camp, but luck was not in the cards for this to happen.

Many mornings everything would stop while Doug was on the air.  Usually it would start at 7 am with the news then Trivia.  Later, out in North Dakota, Doug woke me everyday as Alexa chimes in at 6 am with WTCH.  Although each day still I am woke with WTCH, it is nor will it ever be the same without you Doug!  

So Doug, from Frog Country and his move to WTCH, Morning Trivia, you calling a ballgame or so much more, you always brought a smile to my face and later to the faces of the Happy Camp Crew.  I remember a whole host of folks sipping coffee as we tried to get Trivia correct.

Thank you so much for that, your laughs, smiles and wit were second to none!

I believe we become who we are by some of the lives of others that touch us.  You, my friend, have touched us and all are better for knowing you, and until we meet again, God’s speed.  

I heard earlier today that God had built this huge hotel and how your room is full Doug, but perhaps down the hall you see Dad, Mike, Grandma’s and Grandpa’s, Tom, Shadow, Buster and all the family, friends, pawed and hooved friends who have gone before. please leave the light on for us to share a laugh at a later date! 

With that said Happy Campers, it is time to go to the wilderness in Northern North Dakota with my right hand girl Miss Magoo to look for peace and sanity in this insanity.  Take care and keep in touch.

As I look at the site, I look into Shadow’s Spirit! I gaze into those big brown eyes and tears come to my face. Oh my Shadow I remember the days you and I romped all over the place. The spirit you brought me, the desire to please me and me please you was second to none! To have you at my side for as long as I did I was truly blessed, thank you!

In front of me is an aging wonderful companion in Magoo. Her paws are running now as she dreams, hopefully of one of our adventures. As you know, each adventure is special in its own right. Magoo’s face is greying like Shadows and her spirit is while very similar to yours, it is truly unique. One day, hopefully not soon, the 2 of you will meet and have many adventures but save some for all of us, 10-4 OLD BUDDY!!

So each of you leave your imprint not only on my heart, but also on my spirit. I can only hope that others lucky enough to have such best friends like I have been blessed with have imprints left on their heart and spirit like I, god bless my pawed friends we call the DOG!