Harry’s Island

[riser4]

❤️Merry Christmas!

Did you just buy Harry a hovercraft for Christmas??? Sweet!!!

[KQ]

Did you just buy Harry a hovercraft for Christmas??? Sweet!!!

Nah.... just his usual and some toys for Gigi. [emoji74]

[riser4]

Eels in a box instead of a hovercraft. Check.

[axebiker]

When a MAYOR retires, they are rewarded for their service!

Next fall, we'll have to have an island evening sleepover, Harry...

[Harry]

I totally agree that there's something romantic about having your own island. It feels just a little bit more lawless.

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[Buzzworthy]

Well that looks tasty

[Harry]

I camped on my island last night to experience the aurora of the century or whatever it was hyped up to be. I figured it would be a good northern lights show, but I wasn’t quite prepared for what was about to happen.

Got my tent all set up while it was still light. No clear view because of trees, but I placed an adirondack chair facing true north, and settled in with a nice bottle of wine and a bowl of sativa.

About 90 minutes after sunset it started. Very faint colors and hard to see, but they seemed to pulsate. I have never experienced these pulsating colors before, it would go from bright green, almost neon, and then fade to a seafoam green, then go back to neon again. The aurora seemed to be all around me, even overhead. So cool, it was like being inside the aurora. I got tired about 3am and it was still going on. I climbed into the tent and curled up in my sleeping bag.

Incredible experience, by far the best aurora of my lifetime.








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[Brownski]

Awesome. That’s the first description that comes close to what I experienced back in the day on the Alcan. Harry wins again.

[gravitylover]

Awesome. That’s the first description that comes close to what I experienced back in the day on the Alcan. Harry wins again.

My first experience with the Northern Lights was on the Alcan back in May 1989. As we came over a small rise in the road the sky started moving along the horizon and over the next 20 minutes it worked it's way up to almost directly overhead, the most colorful dancing I had never imagined could be real but it was. I made my roommate stop the car so I could just stand there and gape at it in the most wide open place I think I'd ever been up to that point in my life. Just fucking awesome!

[bennymac]

well played Harry. Tenting on your own private island to watch the show is doing it right.

[uglymoney]

That is awesome Harry. We had a good lightshow here right at sunset so we high tailed north of town to a lake in a state park, along with everyone else, because I don't have a private Isle. Still cool, but not a bottle of wine with relaxant on an island cool.

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[BmillsSkier]

This is what winning looks like. Awesome stuff Harry.

Even got the aurora down here in N Georgia. Lots of pink/red/purple not much green.

[singlecross]

Hope you’ve been enjoying your island… you get your canvas tent set up?

I went out today and got my campsite set up for the Summer.

[rideit]

You see this?

https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-...n-sauna-2024-7

Go international!

[m2711c]

agreed.



https://hollysellsparrysound.com/all...ario-40605977/

[rideit]

Harry, I just love what you have done with the place!
Stunningly tasteful, actually.
https://www.mansionglobal.com/articl...ction-e766bf07

[Harry]

This weekend I wrapped up the 3rd Boy Scout troop that I have hosted on the island this summer.

This first troop this summer was the same troop as the previous summer. Great kids with great adult leaders. You can’t even tell they were ever here. They had training sessions each day, and over their 5-day stay each Scout earned 3 merit badges and did partial work towards 2 more merit badges. This group of Scouts are welcome back anytime.

The second troop was a different story. Trash everywhere, candy bar wrappers, soda pop cans, I was pissed. Plus on day 3 of 4 some kids Mom showed up on a pontoon boat with a big Honda generator on wheels because the kids cell phones needed charging. Apparently they spent all day sitting in their tents playing computer games instead of enjoying the outdoors. Plus the Mom smoked a cigarette and threw the butt on the ground, real classy. That troop will not be invited back.

The third troop, the most recent, were just out there one night. They were working on Astronomy merit badge, and Saturday night was the peak of the annual Persieds meteor shower. Kids were excited and stoked to see the meteors from such a dark sky. Great group of kids.

When I bought this island I had not expected the side benefit of hosting Boy Scout camps. But I am digging it, kids are fun.




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[heckacali]

I'm curious how you dealt in real time with the second group.
Seems like a great opportunity for education about stewardship for the kids, to point out the trash in front of them and the leaders before they leave.
Nothing you can do about the trashy Mom and poor leadership allowing them to zombie out in electronics though.

[m2711c]

Did you lay down the rules before they headed out to the island? Do you have a list of rules behavior and expectations?

The national forest service has a pretty comprehensive list of dues and don’ts for running the rivers out west that would probably work perfect As a starting point for camping on your island.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/scnf/...=fseprd1059194

speaking of which, what are you doing with all that poop?

[Flounder]

They are Boy Scouts, Harry shouldn’t have to create a separate code of conduct or set expectations. It’s supposed to be the core fundamentals of scouting. Haven’t been around scouting in 40 years and I still know a scout should be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. We always left sites cleaner than we found them.

[Core Shot]

You can’t call them Boy Scouts anymore.

You misgendering fuck sticks need to control your language

[Cisco Kid]

If the Boy in Scouts offend you, an option is to STFU. I know that is not possible.

As an ex Scout Master, I salute you Harry.

[uglymoney]

That is really too bad, Harry. Just back from the BWCA and the amount of tree damage at the campsites from hatchets and saws tearing them up or removing bark is horrendous. Every site we stayed at also had some green wood drug in from somewhere that was obviously off of a live tree. My understanding is that a lot of the damage happened during COVID when undereducated people spent time in the backcountry. Obviously, education is the problem. I do hope you can use this an opportunity to help educate these kids and their scoutmasters. Obviously, sometimes, this is a case of the blind leading the blind very common in scout type groups.

If people are oblivious enough to leave trash, they don't deserve an invite back. That is ridiculous.

Great thing you are doing here. And people like Core Shot don't belong in here. Go buy your own island. Straight white men and boys should not be the only people who feel at home in the woods. For that matter, white men shouldn't be the only people writing the rules of how we act in the woods. But some conservation and leave no trace truths are universal, and it is up to people like us to practice and preach what we were lucky enough to have learned in our own lives.

Make sure you take steps to protect your trees before that becomes a problem!

[skiJ]

Harry, Thank you for what you are doing - both in the recent past, and in your vision for your island --

I empathize with your disappointment with Group2, and would echo the idea that this is a Failure of the adult ( ( lack of) leadership ), as much as the kids ; kids still reflect the behavior shown by those of adult age...


I believe References can be found in the (Boy) Scouts own Handbook about care for the environment and Good conduct -

I may follow - up -
outdoor recreation is dear to me ( and I have loved ugly- 's TRs of the Boundary Waters ! ( My thanks ! !! )


the mosquitoes have finally eased, and my Time on the Flambeau has been postponed...


Thank You, my friends.


skiJ

[BmillsSkier]

Solid work as always Harry. I hope the second Troop learned something about policing your campsite and how to act in the woods before they are a guest on someone else's property.