Chippewa National Forest and Cass Lake Minnesota

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It was a driving day and I again stuck to my boycott of inter-states. I planned on taking old Highway 2 across Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota and when possible veer off on those little dotted lines on the map indicating a scenic route. It was a somewhat dreary cloudy day but did not get much in the line of rain. My first goal was to drive the Apostle Island National Lakeshore Road, route 13, which appeared to be rimming Lake Superior in Northern Wisconsin. It was dull gray and windy and though the route was nice, I personally did not find it worthy of those dotted lines on the map. I had anticipated many grand vistas of Lake Superior. For the majority of the route there was a thick stand of trees between the road and lake so there were very few dull gray vistas of the lake. I opted for a picnic lunch at the one rest area on the lake shore drive which turned out to be an expensive mistake to say the least. First a chilly and somewhat windy dog walk and a photo opportunity from the bluff. Significant erosion had cut into the bank and the reddish earth in the area had tinged the Lake Superior water a muddied reddish brown instead of the deep blue crystal clear water I imagined. It append erie. With the fussing around of taking food to the picnic table, corralling dogs, putting leashes on and off, checking phones, taking pics with cameras, putting thing in and taking things out of the car, I couldn’t seem to find where I put my camera after our lunch of cheese, crackers, salami and carrots. Yes I did share with the dogs as the looked so imploringly pathetic. I looked around a bit for it in both the area and the car but as i couldn’t see it I figured it had fallen down into or under one of the ten thousand items I have stuffed in every spare inch of the interior of the car. I figured it would show up when I set up camp and I was eager to get back on the road.

My next goal was to head into Duluth MN. When crossing St. Louis Bay I entered Minnesota, for the first time in my life, and the view of the city was quite stunning. I wanted to see the home where my Grandfather and grandmother Carroll live for many years. Siri lead me there with no hitches and though in an older section of town with homes at various stages of upkeep it was well maintained and definitely refurbished. Though my father wasn’t born there, several of his 11 siblings were. Right around the corner was St. James Catholic Church, which I imagine was the parish of this large Catholic family. The building appeared to have been built many many years ago and they lived there in the late 1800’s. No one was home but it would have been nice to meet the current residents. Siri found me a Petsmart so I could replace Simba’s car harness. Loosing it was a careless $29.00 mistake. Now I could get on the road to the Chippewa National Forest and my camping destination for the night.

As the miles ticked off, my driving foot kept getting heavier and heavier. I couldn’t seem to find all that patience I had talked myself into a couple of days previous. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the land. Very mildly rolling farmland and small towns, straight road and low traffic made it ever so much easier to inch up up up over the speed limit of sixty. I for years was meticulous about not speeding but somehow on my journey west last summer i found that inner speed demon and she has yet to go back to rest. As journey’s end neared the countryside turned to forest and lakes and many national forest campground and other resorts. Norway Beach Recreation Area and Campground is a lovely pine forested area and well maintained campground. There was even electricity for no extra charge!!! SO I felt no need for my coffee pot and could sip my Starbuck’s via with pleasure in the morning. Arrival was ay 4:30 and setting up camp was so much more efficient. BUT there was NO $300.00 + camera to be found in the car! I was pretty bummed but thankfully had downloaded my picture from the card the day before. Cass Lake was quite angry the whole time I were there. The wind had wiped up the waves and with the heavy gray clouds it appeared quite menacing. But a bracing walk in the wind through the area was welcomed after so much riding.

I awoke the next morning to another menacing sky. I pleaded for the rain to hold off until I at least had my coffee. I love my tent home, though it is a bit large to be using in cold weather because believe it or not neither the dog or I are full enough of hot air to keep it warm inside. But I can put my chair inside and sit in there and read etc. if the bugs get too annoying.

With the drizzle beginning, I all of a sudden had a not very brilliant idea inspired by my little internal and at times very alive and running the show Prissy (childhood nickname). This childhood part of me definitely does not think things through. Prissy always believed in St. Anthony’s intercession in helping one find lost items and she thought St. Anthony gave her the brilliant idea of going back to the rest area to search for the camera. As it was raining, my adult self agreed as I figured it was about 40 miles back!!! So off we went retracing our journey. When I arrived at the rest area I realized that this was NOT the one I had lunch at. So I looked at the map and figured it must have been the one before this one. As it was still pouring, back down the road I went to continue on my mission to find that camera. Well you might guess that this next one also was NOT it either. At this point Bernadette called and, in relating my tale to her, it was revealed that I had been taking pictures of Lake Superior on the Apostle Island Drive when I told her I was going to have lunch… yet another hundred miles back!!!! At least my adult rational self took over and I headed back to camp wanting to disparage myself for such a bonehead boondoggle. But I just had to chalk it up to my life-long habit of just jumping in the deep end at times and about 95% of the time things work out just fine. This was part of the other 5%. Back at camp the drizzle had stopped. I went into the tent to retrieve something and noticed a three inch round hole in the side of the tent. I know all about not leaving any food items in campground and tent so I thought I had stored it all in the car. But much to my chagrin, I found a bag of dog treats left in that corner. I saw a squirrel hanging out near the campsite, whom I am sure was the culprit! So we are now on day three of yet another blunder! BUT silver tape to the rescue!!! I had thought to bring a roll and it did a nice repair job. At the rate I am going perhaps the whole tent will end up being silver taped together!! That fixed and making sure there was NO food in tent, Kil, Simba and I took a chilly 5 mile walk through the woods on a well maintained bicycle trail. It was bracingly windy with an occasional spattering of rain but overall a superb walk in the woods. The rest of the day and night were uneventful and I thoroughly enjoyed a campfire. We will be off to the Dakotas in the morning.

June 20-22 Copper Falls State Park- Mellon Wisconsin.

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Opting to avoid the height of rush hour, I left Chicago around 9:15 and even though I was headed north of the city there certainly were enough reverse rush hour commuters crawling towards O’Hare. But with patience I was soon on my way, with another ambitious driving day (470 miles) to northern Wisconsin and hoping to get a campsite at Copper Falls State Park. I was out of the reservation window to book online but it looked like there were numerous sites available when I was looking the day before I left. My goal today was to get to the Madison area via interstate and from then on avoid as much as possible any major highways or interstates.

I had a desire to see Madison Wisconsin. I recollect my mother talking about what a lovely place it was. She told stories of her summer school adventures at the University of Wisconsin back in the mid-1920’s. Growing up in this “perfect” family in suburban Detroit with a “what will people think” script, led me to surmise that my mother probably never did anything risqué or “bad.” Only in her later years did she acknowledge that perhaps she had a little bit of a wild streak when she was younger. She talked of sneaking out of the dorm there through the window with her friend Marcie to meet boys. Now I am not sure what transpired after that, but nostalgically decided to visit the city of her “crimes!” I also wanted to see the capitol building. The visit was less than satisfactory as it was pouring rain and lots of construction in the area— meaning no parking anywhere nearby. But I had loving feelings for my mother as I drove through the area and proceed on to negotiate the rest of the drive.

Driving through the country on two lane roads, even when there are slow-pokies ahead of me, gives me that feeling of “living on the edge”. It comes with the decisions of whether it is now safe to get out on the other side of the road and pass and pray that the local yahoo being passed doesn’t choose at that moment to speed up. Going through the myriad of small towns with their 25 MPH speed limit reminds me of the controversy over Starke FL and its speed traps. So I brake down to a crawl and appreciate all the local establishment: the many well worn store fronts, which for the most are family owned; rusting water towers; the waysides, instead of rest areas, with vault toilets; town signs that state the population ranging from 345 population s couple thousand. I must admit it was extremely difficult to follow the Wisconsin two lane road speed limit of 55mph. So I didn’t abide by it that much and now find myself that speed demon I so loath on the interstate highways.

I pulled into Copper Falls State park around 7:00 and secured one of the vacant “walk-up” sites (meaning they can’t be reserved in advance.) And much to my chagrin not only did I have to pay a $11.00 entrance fee for each day there in the park (double the price for non-residents) but also an extra $5.00 per night as a non-resident for a campsite. And an extra $10.00 per night because it had an electric hook-up whether I needed it or not. seems to me Florida should do this and then maybe we residents could get a site in season! Then the real fun began. Setting up camp! Guess I was on brain drain or so road weary that I could not do anything with ease or quickly. It took me forever to set up the tent which I have done many many times. I had that momentary but thank goodness fleeting thought that this adventure was a colossal mistake. Adding to this intuitive feeling was the distinct aroma of urine in the campsite. It had recently rained and looked as if it might again so I kept setting up as it was already too much work and too late to change sites. But the worst part was now it was getting dark, and I had no idea where to find what I needed. Having packed the car more than 3 weeks prior to the trip and then not being sure of everything I packed necessitated throwing a bunch of thing in at the least minute. As I am discovering, those items for the most part are not needed but definitely taking up way too much space in my overflowing Prius!!! I did manage to heat up the left over pasta Jamie sent along for me, find some warm layers of clothing to sleep in, find a flashlight that actually lit up, and get my cot put together and bag rolled out. Of course the dogs would have preferred to sleep on my cot and they very begrudgingly finally nestled into their little beds. Not sure what the temp was but they were shivering (in high forties I think) so I had to hunt down their coats. Once settled though we made it through the night with no drama.

Awoke to a beautiful cool morning and enjoyed a hot cup of S’Buck’s Via. I was excited and energized again. But, I new the task at hand was a major re-organization of the equipment, clothing and food since I searched for a good ten minutes for the oatmeal packets. But that was the last logical thought I had. I again entered a state of ineptitude and just could not get my head to work in any kind of an efficient manner I commenced a classic ADD adventure that took four times as long as it should have..I began moving things from the car to the picnic table, to the tent, back to the car, into another box, then back to another spot in the car…and though the re-organization is definitely an improvement over the initial state of disorganization, it remains a work in progress.

So after dallying around with equipment it was time to explore the park. The Bad River (great name for the river that runs through it) was beckoning. The Bad River — I can conjure up all sort of scenarios taking place. Additionally, I certainly could not have anticipated the 100 foot deep canyon cut through by the river nor the splendor of the both Copper and Granite Falls. An exceptional nature trail, the Doughboy’s Trail, with footbridges overlooking the falls on the “Bad River” was built by the Civilian Conservation Corp after World War I. My only complaint was that this trail, the most spectacular in the park, was not dog friendly. So I waited until 5:00-ish when it was cool and there was lots a shade and left the boys in the car with instructions to take a nap and not let anyone in! I enjoyed that hour long hike through the woods and marveled at the richness of the colors reflected in the water as it cascaded over the black and red lava and the various colors of the sandstone and shale. But what was a much more fun experience was the hike with the dogs earlier that day to the Red Granite Falls area. It started at Loon Lake, and was lovely peaceful walk inn the lush green woods of aspen, paper birch, hemlock, a variety of ferns and wildflowers. It brought us to a series of falls and rushing whitewater. As there was no defined trail down to rivers edge, the dogs had there first experience of rock hopping with a bit of aide from myself. They were pretty nervous and hesitant but no way was I going to let my dogs be wimps. They were clearly intimidate being at the edge of the roiling water which I so love the energy of. The 4 mile round trip brought us back to he car at which point I discovered I had lost Simba’s car harness which I had originally left on him. However, it appeared a bit awkward and heavy to be walking with it on, so I removed it and thought i was putting it in my daypack. They both were too beat to go back and look for it.

Back at camp that evening was uneventful. Simba whined and whined as he had to be either on a tether or in the fenced yard I have. The instant I let him off he would start on a walk-about. Kili is still pretty close to my heals all the time but had an obsession with running through the path to the neighboring campsite. So of course they remained tethered! Thankfully it was a much warmer evening and after I cooked dinner on my Coleman stove, I had my first fire as no camping trip is complete without a fire. It was another cozy night in our tent without having to crawl out of the tent until 5:00 am. After a brief visit to the woods I tried getting back to sleep but in northern Wisconsin it is very light out at that hour.

After my fresh brewed coffee…Yes I had my 4 cup pot with me and since I paid all the extra $$$ for the electric site I was going to make use of that electric current running through woods. So there was my little pot on the ground next to the tent filling the morning air with the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. I really enjoyed that $20.00 cup of coffee.

It was time to break camp and I tried to be very methodical about it. Also hurried a bit as it appeared to be threatening rain. I was able to put a few items up top into the carrier to free up some space below but I think everything grew bigger and it did not appear to fit any better (in fact a bit worse) than before. But at least it was better organized. But we were all loaded up and on the road by 9:00. I anticipated only about 275 miles of driving and had two goals on my agenda before arriving at the Norway beach Recreation Area Campground in the Chippewa National Forest on Cass Lake Minnesota.

 

A Grand Traverse of the USA and Beyond 2017

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June 15-16

With the important family obligations in Alaska and Michigan-Charlotte complete and after three days of the final frenzied packing for this grand traverse of the USA , we were wished Godspeed and lifted in prayer for a safe journey by many friends in Venice. Then Kili, Simba and I set of at 10:00 am on Thursday, June 15th with the goal of arriving in Chicago by Friday dinner time. This meant 1250 miles in two days, with seemed quite the challenge with two dogs to manage and a bladder that demands stopping at least every hour and one half. Back in the “old days” traveling to and from Florida, driving straight through, with kids was the norm. But alas a 73 years of age and solo that agenda is not very appealing. Even the two day goal seemed a tad ambitious.

Traveling along with my two buddies afforded a lot of time to think and ponder since they are not great conversationalist and certainly aren’t able to help navigate. I at times will play music but it eventually wears on me and I relish the quiet (that is if I can dissociate from the noise pollution of the road such as the drumming of the tires on cement highways, the rumble of the warning strips, thrum and hum of tires on asphalt, trucks blasting by, the vroom of the speed demons, and my own engine groaning down the highway.

I didn’t start out this day (or the trip) with any notion of transformations to take place or even hard lessons to be learned. But underneath my stated external goal of adventure and self reliance, as well as building on my goal to visit all states in my lifetime and visit all the national parks a well, there already seemed to be an undercurrent , conscious or unconscious, of an internal component to beyond this sense of self-reliance. I already feel an internal migration towards really wanting to connect to the land and to live more simply. Driving alone affords a lot of space to think, to work through internal conversations,

From a physical perspective I love the satisfaction of being able to negotiate this trip, by myself, with my dogs, living relatively basically in a tent and with a camp stove. Though my body is aging and I am growing old, what really matters is I never stop growing. In connecting to my wanderlust, I hope to become a truer version of myself.
The overarching theme that my head kept returning to this day was environmentalism and our countries ecological footprint…definitely triggered initially by the NEVER ending massive constructions projects along Interstate 75 in Florida. I found the traffic hellish and hate driving wedged in between unyielding cement barriers and huge 53 foot semi-trucks and the B-train semis with their two trailing units (which at times appeared to be trying to shimmy right off of the semi truck cab.) Getting from A to B is no longer a leisurely experience through bucolic countryside but a mad mad dash to everywhere, needing more and more traffic lanes to accommodate our insatiable need to drive everywhere, only to exit the highway having to make a very difficult choice of where to stop: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Chick-A-Fil, Pilot Travel Center, Flying J Travel Center, Love’s Travel center, Holiday Inn, Ramada, Choice, Hampton Inn, Econo-Lodge, Red Roof Inn and on and on… Every exit appears to be a clone of the previous exit stretching from “Sea to Shining Sea.” And if it isn’t the fast food, gas and motels it is the big box stores — thus every city and every exit is unfortunately the same. AND I might also admit of course, that perhaps this adventure of mine might be considered part of the problem that I am railing about.

I chose Pilot Travel Center with a McDonald’s as the first gassing up choice. The boys got their $1.00 cheeseburger. This would not be my preference but Kili spurns his normal dog food and I will compromise my boycott of fast food for the most part just to have him eat something. And so it went hour after hour with sections of clear sailing but more, by far sections of construction, an inordinate number of semis bearing down, with most travelers traveling at 80+ miles per hour! I find the homogenization of America so disenchanting. The “highlight” of day one was crawling through Atlanta at a snails pace during rush hour and then when finally moving being pummeled by lightning, thunder and driving rain up the road a ways. But the true highlight was the SKY and sunset after the storms when driving through Chattanooga.  Mother Earth’s palette was amazing and there was something so peaceful and spiritual about the panoply of yellows, corals, mauves, and pinks lighting up the sky. Twelve hours and 708 miles later we arrived at the dog friendly Red Roof Inn in Manchester TN for an all to short but restful night.

Day two proved to be much of the same and I still couldn’t find anything redeeming about the drive. Long and tedious, but not quite as long (11 hours and 556 miles.) Thought a lot this day again about the environment and the impact both I and others have on this once pristine beautiful world. Granted there is still an enormous amount of beauty but also an enormous amount of ugly. I know in the USA the per capita consumption dwarfs that of most any other nation. I am certainly not a minimalist but am taking pride in driving my 7 year old high mpg Prius and sleeping in a tent without air-conditioning!!!

Arriving in Chicago during rush hour on Friday wasn’t the wisest choice but surprising Siri help me negotiate it with no wrong turn and I arrived a Jami’s wonderful home a little after 7:00. It is always such a joy to see my son Jamie and to be greeted by his big lopey dog Cooper. We had a meet and greet session with the dogs and it went quite smoothly. We decided to order in from a Pan-asian restaurant and ended up with a not very good, extremely bland Pad Tai and a beef dish missing the vegetables we ordered.