On the road to Boulder

I left Wautoma and Red and Sophie on Tuesday to head to a university town in Minnesota called Mankato.  I stayed at a perfectly awful motel but it's location turned out to be spectacular for me.  First, it was across the street from a Starbucks.  That in itself would make me a happy person.  But it gets much better - much better!

Second, it was near a Chipotle Mexican Grill which is a fast food chain with organic and sustainably farmed foods that I have been curious to try for a long time.  So I got a veggie burrito bowl to go and it was actually delicious.  Very impressive for fast, cheap food - I mean it is actually food!

Third, it was near both a car wash and a petco and I wanted to go to both.  Tramps ears have developed a yeast-y smell from all her swimming and I wanted to get some ear wash.  And the car was covered inside and out with sand and dirt from so much time in the woods and alongside beaches.  Since I will be primarily on the road now and in cities, I figured it would make sense to clean her up at this point.

Petco had what I needed and then some.  I got Tramp some new food to mix in with her kibble and she seems to love it; and I got her a brush to see if I could get her to look a bit more presentable, but she won't let me use that so....

But look at this!  This is the same front fender I showed you on the day I left with the awful scrape marks resulting from the good Samaritan who "helped" me back out around a double parked catering van.  Well, this wonderful car wash had a detail man who, for $14.11 buffed out the hideous white paint and I have a beautiful, clean, whole car again.  Yippee!

I left Mankato around noon and got here, to Sioux Falls around 3 after a pretty ride on deserted county roads due west through Minnesota.  I don't know how to quite describe the size of the farms along this route.  Endless.  Beautiful field after field of crops - many in different stages of maturity with different colors from gold to green so dark it looks almost black and different densities and heights and shapes.  Then, every once in a while, I'd come up to the industrial part of this industrial farmland.  Instead of the iconic red barn and pretty silo that I saw in Wisconsin, here there were gleaming silver silo factories - three, four, five or more giant silos of different circumferences kind of knit together with gleaming steel rectangular buildings and horizontal beams.  Huge constructions.  This is serious farming and processing.  And the wealth it creates shows through.  Nothing or no one is struggling here.  These agribusiness companies or chemical companies who own and manage these industrial farms may feign poverty and beg for subsidies, but come out and see these places and you see money being printed.  It is awesome.  It is beautiful in its own special way.  It is NOT business requiring taxpayer subsidy. 

Now I am settled in to a funky hotel in Sioux Falls, ND.  If I wake early tomorrow, as I did today, I will take the Tramp down to see the falls.  She has done nothing but sleep since we left Wautoma - no sweet puppies to play with; no sweet Sophie to swim with.  She is bored and she lets me know it.  So, if we can, we will walk in Falls Park to see the falls that give this city its name and try to find a place for Tramp to swim.  Then it is off to a B&B in Nebraska on our way to meet up with my step-son Edward in Boulder on Sunday.

A day of rest and re-charging

It has been about 40 hours now of hanging out, relaxing and re-charging.  It has been exactly what I needed after 10 days on the road.

Red and I arrived at her summer home in Wautoma at about 3PM Sunday and all stress from the road immediately dripped off us. This property has been in Red's family since her grandfather bought and rented out several properties in the 20's choosing this particular site for his own family.He passed it on to Red's Mom and she passed it on to Red explaining it is important for a woman to have a home of her own as a place to enjoy while times are good and as a refuge should times become hard.  (Smart woman!)

This past year Red decided to make some major renovations and as been working hard from her home in Texas to purchase the materials she wanted and to have the on-site contractor perform the work as it appeared in her mind's eyes.  It has come out beautifully, but it is still a work in progress and a place she is just now learning to operate - the heat, the fans, the appliances, the windows, the washer/dryer, etc.  For me, not concerned with any of this, I got simply to enjoy the fruits of all her hard work.

View of Red's home from the beach

Sophie wondering why Tramp was always so wet

Red's husband loves good wine so after unloading the car and settling in we raided his wine cellar. With wine in hand we all went down to the beach and as Red and I enjoyed the late afternoon breezes we watched Tramp enjoy the longest swim I've ever seen her take. Later I napped and Red drove to the local farmers market to buy the goodies for  a "farmer's supper" of fresh picked corn on the cob (best I've ever had), steamed potatoes and beans, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes and wisconsin cheese. We ate heartily and happily and soon it was time for bed.

I plugged in all the various electronics I've brought to recharge and lay down with a new novel. I think I got to page 4 before my eyes shut. I had the longest and deepest sleep I've had in days - maybe weeks - as the air turned quite cool and I slept curled up under a couple of quilts.

Tramp woke me early to go out for her first of four or five swims  (we are finally getting the stink out of her), I did two loads of laundry. We drove around the townships and looked at the farms and homes and shopped at the amish store.   We supped again on the freshest veggies available, drank more of K's well chosen wine, talked about our adventure together and printed out pictures for memories.  We skyped with Red's son and his finance in Montreal and talked about possibilities in our futures.  It was a thoroughly satisfying  evening.

I was up early this morning and watched the sun rise over the lake.  As I began unplugging all the technology I'd been recharging I thought this was a good metaphore for my time here.  My toothbrush, my camera, my computer, my book, all run on batteries that wear down with use but recharge with a bit of fuel and time.  Just like me, my tastes, my senses, my mind, my body, all run down after too much use and need the rest, the re-fueling, the time to recharge.  And that is exactly what this interlude in Wautoma has provided me.

Evening sky over Silver Lake

Today begins the drive to Boulder.  It will take me 5 days and 4 nights to get there from here, and there is nothing particular I want to see or experience along the way.  We shall see what the fates have in store.

Reflections on the UP

It is Sunday morning and I am sitting in bed in a funky, old Victorian hotel in the town of Nahma, MI. THis hotel has the feel of a place loveingly built in 1840, moderized in 1906 and maintained, but never again renovated in the 105 years since. At any rate, since I am about to leave the UP and begin a new phase of this trip, I thought I'd reflect back a bit and share with you what I've learned.

First, formost of this trip so far, I've been following something called the Niagara Escarpment. An escarpment is a cliff which developed over time by erosion of soft rock which sits beneath much harder rock. As the soft rock erodes, it leaves cliffs, and as with the Niagara Escaprment, lots of waterfalls. The biggest and best know is, of course, Niagara falls, but the UP has over 120 little falls scattered across it.  In fact, if I understand this geology correctly (and I may not) it is this erosion that resulted in Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan whereas lakes Ontarion and Superior were formed from volcanic activity. Most of what I've seen of the Niagara escarpment is not as dramatic as Niagara Falls, but the cliffs have a unique and rugged beauty and provide the lakes with shoreline far more interesting and impressive than I had anticipated.

I first picked up the Escarpment in Little Falls, NY which is a perfect example of the beauty, and challenge of the escarpment. Little Falls sits under cliffs with multiple small waterfalls. It developed as a town because canals and locks needed to be built to allow ships to navigate around the rapids in the river. In fact, it is the Niagara Escarpment that made the Erie Canal, just a few miles further along from Little Falls, a necessity.

The escarpment  continues from Little Falls through Hamilton, Ontario and up the Bruce Peninsular to Tobermory and then up to Sault St Marie when it turns back south across the UP and down to Wisconsin.  This has been almost exactly my route.

  

I had no idea when I planned this trip that I would be following this geological formation, but I am very happy I have been doing so.

  

So what about the UP? Here's what I've learned:

• The UP is HUGE. It's landmass is over 16000 sq miles (All of Massachusetts is only a bit over 10,000 sq miles), It's east/ west axis runs 320 miles long and its north/ south axis is 120 miles wide. It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior, on the east by the St. Mary's River, on the southeast by Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and on the southwest by Wisconsin.  I was overly ambitious, to say the least, to think I could explore all of this in only 5 days 

• The UP has only 300,000 people living in this huge space (that's less than half the population of Boston proper)  and it has been losing population over the past few decades. Large numbers of Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian emigrants came to the Upper Peninsula in the mid 1800's to work the copper mines and their descendants make up the bulk of the population today. (My niece married a Dane and I could see him live and work here very happily.  He might even find a demand for his expertese in Danish history!)  Today residents refer to themselves as "Yoopers" (U.P-ers) and maintain a strong and proud regional identity.

• The UP grew prosperous when copper was discovered to be here by the Europeans. In fact, the Indians had been mining the copper for 400 years. Between 1890 and 1920, 10% of the world's copper came from the UP.

• Today the economy is based primarily on logging the vast forests and tourism. The land and climate are not very suitable for agriculture due to the long harsh winters. About 1/3rd of the land is government owned forest land and much of that is set aside as national and state park and used solely for recreation, mostly during the very short summer tho there is a ski mountain and lots of snowmobiling in the winter.  

• Of the 15 counties, I spent time in 3, really only exploring one, Keweenah.
• The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northernmost part of the peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, part of a larger region of the peninsula called the Copper Country.  Copper Harbor, population 55, is its northernmost town. It is rugged land pitted with coves of rock and sand with forests kissing the water.   The lake water is clear, often calm, and suprisingly warm.  Red and I spent a day driving around this piece of the UP, stopping frequently to admire it's beauty and to walk the coves and let the dogs swim. There is no pretention anywhere - just a sense of good honest people who love living there and are happy that many other people enjoy their part of heaven, but only for a few weeks a year and then go home. I think the people who live here year round do so because of its isolation and scanty population while the reason most people choose NOT to live here year round is the long and exceptionally harsh winters. Records of 390 inches of snow or more have been set in many communities in this area. The Keweenaw Peninsula averages more snowfall than almost anywhere in the United States—more than anywhere east of the Mississippi River and the most of all non-mountainous regions of the continental United States.  The howling winds off the lake cause ice to form into what appears to be glaciers crusting the rocks and cliffs.  It is awe-inspiring to see these 15 foot high measuring posts planted alone the side of the road scaled to record the snowfall on the ground. 
• As much as I enjoyed touring this county, I did NOT like the B&B we stayed in.  Called the Dapple Gray and situated beautifully across the lake and above the trees providing exquisite views from our private balcony, it is decorated with mounted dead animals from squirrels to bear.  Our room alone had foxes and rabbits and animals we did not recognize on the walls and in alcoves and flying overhead. For me, this was horror.  Moreover, the innkeepers treated their guests - and it was sold out - as necessary evils clearly preferring not to interact with any of us if at all possible.  Ruth, the lady of the house, is really an antique glass dealer and the only time she engaged at all was when Red asked her about a particular piece of satin glass and she could explain the difference between satin and velvet glass.  As comfortable and clean as the inn was, and as beautiful as the area was, I was happy to leave.

View from our balcony at the Dapple Gray



Lake Superior beach




• My first experience of the UP was Mackinac County and St Ignace, the jumping off point to Mackinac Island.  As you already know I decided against going onto the island and instead drove across the straits of Mackinac over one of the longest bridges in the US opened in the late 1950's.  In St. Ignace, I camped in a lodge in the woods, just a small step up in comfort from a tent and outhouse, across from Lake Huron surrounded by families who enjoy the outdoor camping experience and fishing.  In fact,  Mackinac county is for fishermen.  In addition to Lake Huron and Lake Michgan,  it has lots of small, inland lakes and streams and driving the area you see commercial and pleasure fishingboats and fishermen everywhere.
• My last experience of the UP was Delta county and the tiny town of Nahma.  Delta is the walleye capital of the US and I had my first taste of this fish and now like it even better than trout. It also has over 200 miles of shoreline, the most in the continental USA.  Interestingly, the waters of Lake Michigan in Nahma are brown, residual still from the logging and mill operations that were the raison d'etre of this area and which closed way back in the 1950's.  So much environmental damage was done that the rivers and lakes still run brown with sawdust.  We made the mistake of taking the dogs to the beach and Tramp came back from her swim brown instead of white and stinky as could be.  We hosed her down and hosed her down and hosed her down and she still smells awful!

• As Red and I drive south today into Wisconsin I will be a bit sad to leave the UP. I feel as if I got just a tiny, but very tasty tidbit of this part of the world.

A rainy Friday morning overlooking Lake Superior

Well, the UP (Michigan's upper peninsular ) is BIG. Very, very big. In fact, I think of Michigan as a very large state and the UP is,by itself, a quarter of this large state's total land mass.  It's so far north that I think the cartographers need to shrink it a bit when they show it in relationship to the rest of the US, but when you are here, well, it is a big (literally) surprise. I had googled the directions from St. Ignace to Mohawk, our next stop, so I knew I would be driving a long distance, but somehow it didn't quite register how very long it would be.


I slept in Thursday morning, made some coffee and went back to bed to read a few more chapters in my book and wait for the sun to burn off the morning fog. Then I got on-line to compose yesterday's blog entry and before I knew it, it was almost 11 and time to check out.

My home in St Ignace

I loaded up the car, took some pictures, and set off for Mohawk.

Tyson, the Tramp's young friend

The sleeping alcove in our cabin

The route from St. Ignace to Mohawk starts west along Lake Michigan, turns north up to Lake Superior, and then follows the lake north and west along a point of land that hooks around like a crooked finger. Before making the turn north tramp and I found a sandwich shop and a beach and picnicked at the shore. The sand was white and soft; the beach only moderately occupied despite the absolutely perfect sunny day; and quite relaxed. Tramp was able to take herself down to the water and go visiting families and everyone was quite relaxed about her. After a nice rest, we hopped back in the car and continued on our way. OK, so that was our only stop, we were on the road at 11 and we didn't pull up to the driveway of this B&B until 6PM. That's right. 7 hours and I really hit the gas pedal in some places. At any rate I figure the UP stretches about 3 - 4 times the length of Massachusetts. That's pretty darn BIG.

After unpacking the car I showered and rested a bit and then piled Tramp back in so we could backtrack to Haughton airport to meet Red landing at 11:30. I found a little restaurant for dinner, talked to the owner/bartender/cook for about an hour and went to find the airport. Red got in early and after hugs and kisses all around (Tramp and Red, Tramp and Sophie, Red and me, Sophie and me, round and round) we loaded into the car and back we came. It was 1:30 AM before we settled into bed and turned off the light.

Today the weather has turned against us - thunder showers most of the day, I think, but if I can I'll take some pictures and attach them in a future blog.

Wednesdy, Aug 11th. A day of shopping.

It is already Thursday. I cannot believe this marks one week already that we've been on the road. Today we leave St Ignace and head for Mohawk at the northernmost tip of the upper peninsular. I will pick Red and her pup Sophie up at the airport this evening. It will be fun to have a companion for the next few days.




Yesterday was fun. After deciding on this route specifically so that I might explore Mackinac Island, we decided not to go. The more I read about it, the more upscale Disneyland it became to me. When I was touring Italy several years ago, I decided not to go to Venice because it's purpose had seemed to become to delight tourists. I think that is the purpose of Mackinac Island now as well. Except on Mackinac, there is a charge for everything. Chip and I spoke occasionally of the Grand Hotel, its wraparound porch, it's rocking chairs. If I were with Chip, no question we would have gone over to the island, perhaps even stayed there (tho the Grand Hotel is not dog-friendly) Chip was, himself, a bit of a throwback to the Victorian era, always dressed beautifully, always proper in his public persona. The problem is, of course, that Chip is not with me on this trip and I think going over to the island would have made me miss him terribly. And since there is a charge for everything - including going up to rock on one of those rocking chairs, it would have made me angry as well. So, instead, I loaded the Tramp into the car and we went over the Mackinac bridge onto the mainland and down to Petoskey.



I came across Petoskey in a NY Times magazine article months ago. Petoskey is also a throwback, nostalgic, a place out of time. But its purpose is not tourists. It purpose is to please the residents who live there all year or summer there when the other parts of the state get too hot, too unbearable. Petoskey is authentically charming. All the little towns around are authentically charming. It sits on Little Traverse Bay, a part of Lake Michigan. It is clearly well to do with upscale hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops. Oh, the shops. Janet, how I wish you were with me when I went to Dave's Boot Shop. They carry those clogs I see you wear all the time along with room after room of options. Down in its bargain basement I couldn't resist a pair of waterproof loafers in bright yellow rubber. Living deep in the woods, with rain clearly on its way, I argued to myself that these would prevent me from ruining any of the other shoes I had brought with me. But really it was just the bright yellow and plaid trim that compelled me to buy them. Next to this store was shop after shop of clothing and jewelry and "stuff". No chain stores. No stores that litter every major city in this country and every other country around the world. Here, the owners go on buying trips and carefully cull what they want to offer their customers from the name brands and unknown designers alike. The shops have character. They have personality. And the browsing is pure pleasure.



And, Jo, oh, my, what a bookstore! I think I was there over an hour talking with the owner's son who was helping me pick out new audio books for the rest of the trip given that I had already finished The Help. He, himself, loved audio books and had probably already listened to every offering they had. But he understood that there are some books you must READ, while others are even better when you sit back and listen to the story unfold. We talked and talked until he thought he understood me and then he began his suggestions. I left with 3 new books - I could have purchased dozens more - and a desire to come back to Petoskey often just to go and talk with him more about the latest offerings and what he liked and didn't like about them.



After the bookstore I walked down a cross street and came across a linen shop that had MacKinsey Childs ware in the windows. Now I love Mackinsey Childs and it fills my kitchen. It is happy and friendly and welcoming in its designs. And even while the original husband and wife team that built this company are long gone from it, having gone bankrupt and selling to a large corporation, the designs remain true to the vision and the quality has actually improved, and each piece I see still makes me happy.  While I would happily own any piece of theirs, I have a supplier from Martha's Vineyard who gets me a 20% discount, so I was not about to buy anything of theirs from this store, but the very fact that they carried this brand gave me confidence I would like the rest of their merchandise and so in I went.   I bought a lace hankerchief from them, a thick bright towel (Balsom Lodge does not supply towels) so that I could shower when I got back to the lodge, and a plaque to be a gift for Red and her husband to mount on the walls of their summer home after I drop her and Sophie off there early next week.



All in all I was very pleased with my purchases - new books to listen to in the car; bright yellow rain shoes, a thick plush towel to wrap myself in, and a sweet linen and lace hanki - a piece of clothing that is so reminiscent of the town, old-fashioned, unnecessary in the modern world, and a pleasure to the senses and soul.









We were back at the cottage by around 5. Our neighbors with the husky puppy came home shortly afterward and the puppy came calling for Tramp. They ran and played and swam and amused us all for about 30 minutes and then I left the group to come in for my dinner.



I had driven through the town of St. Ignace before coming back to the cottage. It, too, is a sweet little town, not as old-fashioned and upscale as Petoskey, but comfortable in its skin, and I liked driving around. We stopped for a local food - a Pastie. Pronounced to rhyme with sassy, in fact, at least the one I bought, ate more like the way I want to pronounce it - paste-y. Pasties are single portion meals made by miners' wives for their husbands lunches when they were deep down in the mines. They are baked meat and vegetable pies with the crusts wrapped complete around the filling. Wrapped in linen or newspaper, they stay warm for a long time. The fillings are dense with full-bodied flavor. Eat one and you won't soon be hungry again. The one I had was all vegetables - potatoes and rutabaga and carrots and broccoli. It was also bland. I don't think I'll have another anytime soon, but it satisfied for my dinner and the peanut butter cookie I had for dessert was yummy. That cookie, along with a big glass of ice cold milk topped my day perfectly.



Tramp and I curled up on the bed with my book and we happily spent a quiet evening enjoying listening to rain on the cabin roof and forest leaves. We fell asleep wrapped by the sensation of clean fresh green forest air.

Pictures from E'terra Lodge

I couldn't get these pictures to publish when I wrote the post.  I am hopeful this will work today.

My camera, of course, cannot take photos that would do this building and it's surroundings justice.  But I hope I can give you an idea of the uniqueness and a feeling of the luxury you experience when here.

The indoor pond on the ground level

The lodge is built into the side of the cliff on multiple levels.  You can enter on the ground level or the first floor.  Here, on the ground level you can see the rocks and trees the structure was built around.  This pond has goldfish in it and miraculously Tramp never actually went in.  She tried, but listened to our stern, NO, and - believe it or not - she obeyed.

Also on this level is the kitchen, dining room, breakfast area, and 2 bedrooms.

My room. 

Laurie had set aside a room with two single beds since we had hoped my cousin would come with me.  When I arrived alone, and when it turned out the Tramp and I would be the only guests, I had my pick of rooms, but this was on the ground level, I could let Tramp out onto the patio and into the woods whenever she wanted, and the room was so charming I had no desire to switch, even for a larger bed.

There is a saltwater infinity pool on the property, but mostly there are woods with multiple trails and paths.  A short walk down one path takes you to this stairway to the cliffs and water.

The Tramp heading to the water

I didn't realize, when we took this walk, that there wasn't beach at the bottom of the cliffs.  They are steep and difficult to climb.

This looks relatively flat, I know.  Trust me, it is quite steep.  So much so that I knew I would not be able to negotiate them, but Tramp was fearless and literally slid her way down and into the water.  She swam happily until she realized she had to come back at some point.  I could watch her trying to figure out what she was going to do.  Then, honestly, for the first time ever, I saw a dog rock climb.  She took one paw at a time, curled it into a rock crevice, and pulled herself up paw over paw.  I think we each might have lost a year of our lives.

Happy to be back on land

E'terra and St Ignace/ August 9 and 10

It is Tuesday morning, August 11th and I am back on-line after a couple of days with too much to do and too little time.  (  I think that is going to be the theme of this trip - while I will be away for over 5 weeks, I don't think I will have enough time to do and see what I want to.  Oh, well.  These are busy and full days.)

My last day at E'terra was packed with sensory experiences. I had arranged to have breakfast at 9, but awoke around 7 to the smells of dark, rich coffee brewing in the kitchen.  With a large cup in hand I returned to bed and watched Good Morning America, my usual routine when I am home. At nine, Laurie brought in a breakfast tray with thick slices of homemade toast and jam and a fruit salad with fresh peaches and blueberries and cherries. I had asked for a light breakfast because I was to have a massage at 10. Christiana, Laurie's gal Friday, is a massage student and she was setting for me. She came to get me around 10:30 and for the next 90 minutes or so she practiced her magic. I hadn't realized my body was as sore from so much driving (I've logged over 1000 miles already) as it was. The massage quite literally hit the spot - actually all the spots!




I had arranged for Tramp and me to go out on the harbor for a cruise of all the islands and sunken ships at 2, and as it was 12:30 by the time I was dressed and ready to go out,  we decided to drive into town to explore a bit. The restaurants all promoted their fish and chips - the big local food, but a few also had poutine which piqued my curiosity. I'd never heard of that and I love to try local specialties so.... Turns out that poutine is french fries covered in melted cheese and smothered in gravy. Well - had to try it, right? Let me simply say this. After eating half the order I thought I might never eat again!



At 2 Tramp and I were waiting at the harbor next to The Lark for Gary, the captain, to tell us to board. The only other passengers were his folks, farmers up from Owen's Sound, and their friends who were also now farmers in Owen's Sound after recently returning from over 30 years in Alaska. They bought a large cooler aboard filled with beer and picnic fare and invited me to join them.



We set out but a thick, dense, soft fog decided to settle over us just as we were heading out.  We started out hoping we'd find pockets of sunshine, but no such luck and after 30 minutes we turned back - this tour was not meant to be.



The tour was to have been of Georgian Bay, the water that surrounds Tobermory. Below these very clear waters are over 120 documented shipwrecks from the late 1800's - many of which you can actually see from above. There is a national underwater park where people come from around the world to dive and swim around and through these wrecks. I took pictures of one we could see, but don't know yet if it actually came out.





Back on land earlier than we had expected, Tramp and I decided we'd take a walk out to the Grotto. The forests around Tobermory are littered with hiking trails of all levels. We found the trail head easily enough after just a couple of wrong turns, and I went for my camera to carry with me on the hike. Oops, no camera. Should I give up the hike and return to the boat or take the hike without the camera and then return for it? I chose to take the walk. This trail was actually a path, as wide as a city sidewalk and as level, about a mile long out to a swimming hole known as the grotto. It is a natural cove with rock steps and rock edges for walking or jumping or diving into warm and crystal clear waters. Tramp made her way down to the water as I waited above and swam happily for about 20 minutes after which we returned to the car and then to the boat. The boat was gone and so we went back to E'terra hoping Gary had found the camera and dropped it off at the lodge. No such luck. Laurie reached Gary on his cell; nope, he didn't see a camera left behind. We decided to meet up at the boat and go over it together. Two hours later, having searched high and low and talked with his folks and the harbormaster, etc.etc. etc no camera. Shoot!



By now it was nearly 8 at night and I was pooped. Tramp and I needed to pack and load up the car, settle our bill with Laurie, and set the alarm for 5AM so we would be at the ferry dock by 6 to cross the Bay and begin our ride north of Lake Huron to Sault St Marie where we'd cross back into the USA.

As we packed and loaded the car, I opened my carryon to put my passport and Tramp's papers in the pocket and there it was, my little camera, right where it was supposed to be.  How could I have missed it those 50 other times I looked right there?  Doesn't matter.  I had the camera and was, once again, a happy person.


Around 9 I was sitting with Laurie chatting and reviewing the bill. She charged me $30 for the 90 minute massage - Christiana was still a student afterall, and the aborted boat cruise was free. I was sad to say goodnight and goodbye as I wouldn't see her the next morning. She said she'd set out coffee and toast for me and a bag of fruits and other breakfast stuff to take on the ferry.





The alarm sounded all too early on Tuesday. It was still dark out. But, other than the fact that Tramp really didn't want to get into the car, all was well as we said good bye to this piece of heaven on earth. We were in line at the ferry on time surprised by the number of cars and vans, trucks and trailers that were making the crossing so early, midweek. The ferry was anything but pleasant. We were not allowed to remain in our car, but the only deck that would allow dogs was outside in the cold and wet with morning dew. No place to sleep. No way to get another cup of hot coffee. It was a very long two hour crossing, but by 9:30 we were off the ferry and on our way.





I had only three disks left of the audio book I was listening to, but I put them into the CD player and set off. The forests we drove through were scruffy and not particularly exciting, which was good since my eyes were blurry with tears that wanted to erupt as I listened to the sad, sweet and hopeful ending of my book.



By 2 we had crossed the boarder back into the US and I was surprised how much neater and more prosperous the US appeared. I remember the last time I was in Detroit and crossed into Windsor, Ontario. Detroit was like a bombed city, decaying and depressed; Windsor, on the other hand, was clean, prosperous and optimistic. I think I expected this to be similar where Sault St. Marie Canada was full of itself and its future while Sault St Marie, USA was old, tired, and just kind of holding on. In fact, that was not the case at all, and it surprised me.



I got to the Balsams Resort Motel and Cabins by about 4:30. Off the main road and across it from the lake, the motel looks like a throw back to the 1950's. I was led to my cabin by a young woman on her bike and Tramp and I settled in. Where E'terra was rustic elegance, Balsams is just rustic. Still, it is on a stream, as advertised, and the young family in the cabin behind me has a 3 month old puppy who fell in love with Tramp and they went exploring the woods and the streams together as the humans got acquainted. 

Back in the cabin I made myself some supper, called Mom to wish her happiness on her 96th birthday, and settled in.



I fell asleep as soon as I hit my pillow and slept deeply all night. I am now in the office, getting ready for my day. I had planned to go over to Mackinac Island, but I am rethinking that. I may go and explore a little town written up in the NY Times some months ago which sounds terrific. I'll decide when we get in the car.