Last night was my final Wisconsin 2023 summer evening on the porch with Granny. Once the sun set we had a nice dinner then I hopped in the Explorer and headed for the Duluth Airport. This morning I had the 5:04 AM Delta for Minneapolis. I dislike doing 3 AM drives. Instead I prefer to get it done the night before then sleep in my truck. That’s what I did (you may remember when I got froze in my car).
But Minneapolis was not my final stop. From there I headed up to Calgary and over to Kamloops, British Columbia for the 2023 World Masters Fly Fishing Championships. Funny, during my layover in Calgary I ran into my friend Jeff Evans, the general manager of Winston. We caught up over a quick beer. Small world!
I’ve talked about this trip with friends lately and they all asked about the famous Canada fires. The burns have been bad for sure and there were times this summer I wasn’t sure if we’d have a tournament. But its on. I saw fires and thick smoke during my flights but once here in Kamloops it’s not so bad.
I was the third member of Team USA Masters to arrive. Mike Sexton and Loren Williams come late tonight. Pete Erickson and Brett Bishop got in early today and were out fishing when I arrived. I was going to take a taxi to our Airbnb but the nice guy I sat next to on the last leg of flights lives down the street. His family came to fetch him from the airport and they stuck me right in with them and took me. Canadiens are amazingly friendly folks!
Pete, Brett and I headed downtown Kamloops to check it out and we got a nice dinner at the Mittz Kitchen. The place was great. We are now totally exhausted and its time for bed. Tomorrow we need to start learning this water!