Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Float Planes

Suskeegach is on an island surrounded by many other islands. Since there are no bridges, people depend on the inter-island ferry and planes - float planes - to hop from town to town.

A float plane is basically just a plane except that it has floats under the fuselage instead of landing wheels. Taking a float planes can be a bit embarrassing since you have to reveal your weight. The planes are small, and the airline has to be careful how much weight it carries as well as how it's distributed.

These colorful small planes are all over the sky in Suskeegach. Some are gray but many are yellow, red, or blue. They are quite loud when starting up. I like sitting on the rocks besides the Narrows and watching them take off and swoop down for a landing.

Monday, August 16, 2010


If it's August in Suskeegach, then it must be the Blueberry Festival. And if it's the Blueberry Festival, then it must be slugs. As in the Annual Slug Race. That's when kids of all ages gather slugs from inside mailboxes, under rocks, along a stream or anywhere they can be found. Plop it/them into a traveling home - a plastic container of some sort - and then you're off to the race. First is the weigh-in and then the fun begins. The entrants are plopped in the center circle of an elevated square wooden racetrack. The first one to slime its way to the outer, larger circle is -- the WINNER!