Sunday, August 31, 2008 My daughter Jamie and I were up fairly early. Our gear was packed and ready to go from the night before, so loading and setting out was a quick process. We left home at 7:00 AM and made our planned stop at Caribou for coffee and muffins. One additional stop for ice for the cooler and we were on our way. We hit two detours within the first hour, but eventually were on I-90 headed for the Wisconsin border from Illinois. Only 8 ½ hours to go. Our drive was pretty uneventful and we arrived in Ely just before 4PM. VNO welcomed us and chatted a bit with my daughter, who had been on a trip with her new fiancé, just 3 weeks prior. There was a small mix-up with finding our reservation folder, but since we were headed out for supper, they had everything back on track when we returned. Since the bunkhouse was full, they had us put up at the Ely Motel for Sunday night. We checked in, and headed to the Ely Steakhouse for a very nice supper. We planned on hitting our entry point (Moose River North) early the next morning, so VNO gave us our equipment pack, our personal pack, and strapped our canoe to the top of our vehicle that night. We’d visit them in the AM to pick up our food pack and bait. We stopped at the gas station across from the Ely Motel to pick up breakfast: Fig Newtons and power bars. We settled in at the motel and packed our personal gear. We were ready to go and turned the lights out shortly after 9PM.