Johnny Panther Quests. Ecotours

Last week I worked on updating my brochure for print. I went through all of my digital image folders since 2006. WOW. It took days as I relived many of our adventures. I feel so blessed to be able to share special places and moments with others. It is amazing how time seems to acceleratewhen we're out there. I went out on a “recon mission” Thursday, and that one will take some time to put together. Today I’ll take the easy route and share an image from my “cheap trip” on the Flint River. In my biased opinion, it is one of the best color tours by boat in Michigan.

I went on an adventure trip last week. After working at my Dad’s for a while, I went home, unloaded, loaded, and went back to Saginaw. I didn’t get on the water until 4pm, and I could almost see the water level dropping. It actually dropped about a foot over 3 hours. My mission was St. Charles and back, I made it about half way. I passed 3 eagles nests in 3 hours, all of them with birds in or around them. I was somewhat surprised at the amount of ice left, even with the water high and raging. The second best time to go Johnny Panthering is when the water is high, breathing is the first! I wasn’t able to get any “takers” on a boat ride through the Shiawassee Flats on this pristine afternoon as the temperature was in the high thirties. After some creative line selection I found my way into the “narrow part” and hung out for a while killing time at one of my favorite places. I was surrounded by ice, and any mission up the Bad River would require some serious ice breaking and I was running out of daylight. One must always remember once ice is broken, it can be impossible to navigate again, but that’s another story. I actually got brain freeze at least three times running at speed up the maze of what I now call “ditches”. Once wild stretches of river, now reduced to glorified, diked, neutered drains, all character, mystery, and challenge gone. I’ll spare you the images of of miles of what was once wild river out there. As I idled back into the good stuff, the world wrapped itself around me. I felt like I was one with the swamp as the current rushed by. Eagles perched around me as ducks and geese flew just over head. Owls could be heard, their calls coming closer and closer. I wanted to stay and hopefully catch a glimpse, but I knew there would be a killer sunset and journey back to port though a field of ice bergs. I took my new camera and missed many great shots as I fumbled to focus or capture an image. At one time I had five eagles soaring over head. A northern harrier zoomed by, a rare glimpse of a beautiful bird. I thought of my Dad and Don and the many friends I have shared adventures with through the years., I felt blessed to be able to have those memories. When I was a kid, I forgot my little pocket camera while on a trip with my grandparents to Northern Michigan. Grampa said; “Just blink a lot, and you’ll remember the image.” I sure did blink a lot on this trip. I paused to watch the sunset as the world went by me. The sun looked like a volcano as it seemed to grow into a mountain behind the clouds. A few words and images of an afternoon filled with life and adventure. Yup- THIS is what I do! I am a “swamp guide” showing off the good side of Saginaw (and other places)by boat. I really enjoy it, but it’s a lot better when someone else is there to share it with!

I’ve been playing in the swamps of Saginaw since I was a young boy. Collectively known as the Shiawassee Flats, I’ve hiked, biked, boated, and ridden my motorcycle on the ice through the labyrinth of channels, ditches, rivers, and creeks. For me it’s like going to church, or recharging my batteries- as Don used to say; “I feel like a million dollars!” There have been times when I wanted to disappear for good out in the swamp, my heart full of sorrow and pain, but almost always I feel a presence or power that surrounds me. I can feel Don, my Dad, and others looking down at me, smiling, urging me to savor the moments and get back on course. When I started Johnny Panther Quests nineteen years ago, I thought I’d be killing it within five years- doing it full time and selling franchises. Well, I am not even close. My wife has put up with me chasing her, my dreams, and passions for over twenty years now, and frankly, I am a lucky man to still be married. Every year I’ve told her; “This is gonna be the year, I can feel it!” and it doesn’t happen. It’s a long quiet ride home from the CPA’s every spring. I have had many positive experiences sharing my “ecotours” with others over the last eighteen years professionally. Some of my guests have been world travelers, and claimed they saw more wildlife in one afternoon with me, than on safari in Africa. Others have told me the experience is invaluable for students, seeing the impact of man, urban sprawl, and climate change, not to mention history. These comments make me proud of what I do and share, but unfortunately don’t pay the bills. 2012 was full of challenge. I had no “real job”, and the water level and finances were moving the wrong direction. My saving grace is I was able to spend some quality time with the boys, and be ready on demand if need be to run trips. Strapped for cash, advertising was on the back burner. Logistics and overhead play a huge roll in taking people out on adventures which usually last 3-5 hours. Licensing, inspections, insurance, fuel, propellers, and vehicle upkeep require a lot of time, effort and cash. But this year it happened. We’ve had the same friend do our taxes for twenty years now. She’s seen us good, bad, and downright ugly. She said when I gave her the gross earnings this year she knew we would show a profit! Was it enough to pay our bills and support a family? NO! But it was a profit! For years I have had people telling me I’m never going to make it. In my mind, I made it a long time ago. I am hopeful that I will again be the primary bread winner and can give back to my family like they have given to me. I don’t think they will ever fully understand the energy and love of life I experience when on an adventure trip. But if I can pay the bills, make them smile, and eliminate some stress in their lives, I will consider myself successful! So whether it’s an afternoon in the swamps of Saginaw, or a week in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I feel blessed and privileged to be able to share it. This is gonna be the year, I can feel it!

When the water is too hard for Johnny Panthering, we need to get our adrenaline rush somehow. Back in the heydays of Flint, Michigan, this lake was a popular resort complete with a dance hall and amusement rides. We brought our own… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2-4ACbATlU

Words and images cannot convey the experience. Following is an attempt to share a Saturday of exploration and adventure. Billy and I took a ride down to the launch to see if it was open (the water). It was frozen about 100 feet to open water. While there we spotted a pair of bald eagles in a tree. I returned later with my Step-Brother Rick. I hadn’t seen him in a few years. The last time we took my big boat up the Cass River from Frankenmuth up towards the rapids of Tuscola. He’s a big guy, pretty much up for anything including fishing and hunting. He was pretty sure we weren’t going to make it to open water. The ice was 3” thick at the ramp and actually got a little thicker on the way out. We chopped and pushed nearly all the way, finally the ice sagging, and then breaking up as we engaged a little Honda horsepower. We were both soaked from sweat from our little portage. I remarked that it was a very good way to start out a winter boat ride. Did I mention it was 60 degrees on January 12, 2013 in Michigan?(!) We headed up the river a little ways. The further we went, the faster it got. We traded stories, and Rick watched as rafts of ducks took flight in front of us. It was a great afternoon shared with an old friend. As we got older and went our separate ways, he became a sportsman, and I became a motorcycle racing, swamp guide! But for a while that balmy afternoon, we could’ve been Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn traveling up the Mississippi. Here is a link to a video from our adventure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhFg7NrA2Pk