Johnny Panther Quests. Ecotours

Imagery Relived

JPQ Captain — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 12:03:16 +0000

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.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

2013 Refuge Recon- Reader's Digest Version

JPQ Captain — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:42:00 +0000

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!

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Turning the Corner?

JPQ Captain — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:42:43 +0000

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!

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

2013 Ice Racing National Preperation

JPQ Captain — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:07:57 +0000

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

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Family Adventure

JPQ Captain — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:09:15 +0000

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

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

The 2013 Hangover National-Amateur Video of Professionals

JPQ Captain — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:58:11 +0000

I'd like to share a little taste of the 2013 Hangover National ice ride in Michigan with some friends. Every year on New Years Day we get together and ride. Some years are bigger than others. This year, because of the climate change, we were forced to drive north to Houghton Lake. Only a fraction of some years riders drove up, but for those who did, it was big fun. Click the link to see what some the best motorcycle riders in the nation did for fun the first day of 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAnyTXZ3Dp4

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Caterpillars in December

JPQ Captain — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:35:29 +0000

This is what I saw in my backyard last week, December 13, 2012. Not sure what kind it is. Yesterday it was 50 degrees on December 16. Anymore, it’s not unusual to sneak a ride or two in at the club this time of year. To me, what IS unusual is the duration of the mild weather. I feel like I have my finger on the pulse of climate change here in good old Mid-Michigan. This year the water in the Shiawassee Flats was 3 feet below “normal low” consistently through the summer. Likely some lack of water can be attributed to the overzealous dredging of the St. Clair River mouth, but certainly we have not seen the precipitation we used to receive. Of course with the lack of rain we have had a lack of mosquitoes too! My little part of the world has changed dramatically climate wise, and it’s pretty hard to supplement my income plowing snow when there isn’t any. If this keeps up, I may need to consider kayaks to show off the Everglades of Michigan. Boat rides often morph into boat walks when our spartan Johnny Panther boat’s draft exceeds that available. This year I walked up river channels I used to water-ski up! I love Michigan and its seasons, and make the most of all of them. It seems to me that winter comes later, and leaves earlier every year. This year it was 80 degrees in March for about a week! It really screwed up the flowering trees and fruit crops. This year we didn’t experience the “snows” of May and June, the cottonwoods shedding their fuzz balls. Couple these changes in my little piece of heaven with those around the world and it presents a pretty dramatic view of our changing environment. At this rate it won’t be long and I’ll be able to offer boat tours year round. I love the seasons of Michigan, but I feel like we are staring to lose winter…

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Deer in the Water

JPQ Captain — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:29:48 +0000

I’ve seen some pretty dramatic things this year out on my boat- no water, sweltering heat, and death stand out. Be assured we also saw incredible beauty and life in abundance, but it was a hard year on the wildlife.

Last year we rarely saw big bucks, this year we saw many. Mostly near the water, sometimes swimming, others staring as we drifted by. Spectacular racks in velvet, stunning specimens of Michigan’s finest.

It almost seemed too good to be true. My ecotour guests were impressed; many had never seen deer swimming before. I told them we usually only saw it happen one in ten trips. But indeed, it was a sign of something wrong.

The first indicator of an environment askew was the pike die off in some of the rivers. It was so hot this summer; some of the water couldn’t hold enough oxygen for them. On one tour we drove past a hundred floating belly up on the Cass River. The mild winter, draught, and increased temperatures created the ideal conditions for a little bug to thrive in the now exposed mud of the Shiawassee Flats- once bitten the deer barely made it a week before succumbing to EHD or blue tongue. This condition stretched across the northern U.S.

I knew something was wrong weeks before there was visual confirmation. I could smell it in the air, and it wasn’t dead fish. Soon the bodies started appearing along the banks of the rivers. Full of fever and dehydrated, they tried to cool themselves and quench an insatiable thirst. They lost their fear of man, and looked (when they should have run) as we drifted by, almost begging for help. I have often remarked at the intelligence of the wildlife and pets that surround us. I’ve seen it many times over, the compassion and team work that they exhibit.

We all have our daily struggles. Beat down by sickness, brutality, road rage, or not nice people. We live in an incredible country of opportunity, yet some choose to try and segregate it. We’ve got it easy- watch a herd of deer, flock of geese, or even a family of beaver if you are lucky enough. Appreciate each day's new adventure, because something stupid (no fault of our own) could happen and change things forever. The best time to go Johnny Panthering? WHEN YER BREATHING! On this breezy, cloudy, gray, gloomy day, let’s milk it for all it’s worth and celebrate how lucky we are to still be sucking air!

Original post blogged on b2evolution.