This past week was the first road trip for delivering lamb to some of our out-of-town customers. We had a number of people reach out through our website and social media platforms expressing interest, so a plan was hatched to visit Dryden and Sioux Lookout. In the interest of backstory, Dryden and Sioux were chosen because I have a history in both towns, having worked in Dryden and lived in Sioux Lookout prior to moving to the farm. This means that I have a good understanding of the layouts for navigation and am fortunate enough to have friends in each community to visit with-more on that later…
Prior to the actual trip, Gwen and I decided that we would need a better cooler-plan (think: ice-box not gin in a tin). Up until now our cooler collection was serving all our needs effectively; picnics, fishing trips, and long drives stayed supplied with plenty of temperature-controlled snacks and drinks, but with the amount of frozen lamb being moved at once and the disastrous notion of premature defrosting in mind, a new and much larger cooler would be needed. Research was undertaken and the car trunk measured in an attempt to find the best quality and largest capacity cooler that could be shoehorned into a Ford Fiesta. For those of you not familiar with this particular vehicle, know that it is a subcompact (read: clown car) and space is at a premium in the back hatch. We settled on a 120-liter cooler that just manages to squeak through the hatch opening and although it weighs a ton and doesn’t leave much room for luggage, it seems pretty well built and can hold a surprising amount of lamb and ice.
The drive was uneventful, deliveries went well, and it was really nice catching up with some friends in Dryden before heading up to Sioux for an overnight rest. This is where the business part of the trip gave way to the almost vacation portion. I ended up staying at Red Pine Lodge, owned by a former coworker and good friend Alina Hall and her husband John. The family had me over for a delicious dinner and I stayed in a gorgeous cabin right on the lake. I thoroughly enjoyed their company and cannot speak highly enough of the facilities and location. Anyone reading this that is looking for a destination for fishing or a lakeside retreat (check them out at www.fishredpine.com) this is the place to go in Northwestern Ontario. The next morning, I was again treated to an exceptional meal and almost talked into staying late to squeeze in a quick fishing excursion, but farm duty calls and I had to make the drive back to Neebing.
Moving forward, we are hoping to continue serving local communities and expanding our area of sales to other communities in the Northwest and beyond. Thank you to all the new customers in Dryden and Sioux, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.
See you at the (beach) barn,
Brody
