The Myth & The Majesty

It was 1:30 (Eastern Daylight Time) on the 16th when I entered Ontario. This was my first foray into Canada and with a target like Niagara, you could perhaps call me jazzed. Over the next two days, I would see so much and do so much that summarizing it here could get downright tiresome. But I'll try anyway. It's gonna be a long one. With a lot of pictures. You've been warned. * Objective 1: See the Falls. Because of course it was the first objective. Objective 2: Find a Brewery in Niagara. I had one in mind and as luck would have it, it also came recommended by the front desk agent at my hotel (Remember -- Lesson 2: Always talk to strangers). Taps on Queen : tasty beer, good pub food, amusing regulars. I ended up sitting near PhilandMike (I don't know which was who), two guys who razzed the bartenders and another guy just passing through. It also happened to be (more or less) walking distance from my hotel, a fantastic perk after a couple long days ...

It was Day 4 when I crossed into new territory. The weekend had been excellent, and that Sunday I made a pitstop in Wausau to have lunch with Neubs before heading north to the UP. Just in case I have an unfamiliar reader, the Upper Peninsula is the northern arm of Michigan, connected to Wisconsin but otherwise surrounded by Great Lakes (hence "peninsula"). To the north, Lake Superior. To the south Lake Michigan. And off the east end, Lake Huron. The view of Lake Michigamme from the main lodge. Until this point, my Michigan experience was limited to driving into the UP and driving right back out, mostly so I could say I'd done it. Now, I entered at Land O' Lakes on the southwestern edge on Highway 45, headed north and eventually east toward Marquette. After a night at Camp Michigamme [note: if you're in the area next summer, check 'em out!]  followed by breakfast and a tour with Director Renee, I headed east once again. One of my objectives: see ea...

So! Here we go. Highs & lows are a campfire tradition around these parts where you go around the circle and state the best and worst parts of your day or week. I started doing it here when I realized my (almost) daily blogging needed at least one planned easy one. Plus it's fun. As I spent two of the last three weeks on the road, you can probably guess at some of my highs. But since it's been awhile I thought I'd give it a shot on a random Sunday anyway. Here it is -- the highs and lows of the last 17 days. But in the reverse order. Lows: Snow the day I left on my trip. (Which actually makes that a literal low, since it was also really cold.) That danged Packers/Lions game. Two out of five Great Lakes trying to off me. Highs: Basically everything about my trip besides the attempted lake homicide. Visiting E, the Admiral, Neubs, Mia Sorella, Miss M, my Summer Shadow, and Ashli. Definitely  Director Renee, PhilandMike, Northern Paul, and the Root & B...

Until this last trip, I wasn't fully aware of how easily I can find almost-abandoned roadway. Just me, my car, and some local who just realized a SoDak plate went by.   Minnesota (I think) ... ... to Pennsylvania. I like my almost-empty roads. Clearly.

The first morning on the road, I woke up in a strange town in strange living room on a strange couch. It was awesome. I didn't realize that morning that I would start a trend by hitting the road sometime around 10:00, but as it turned out, 10:00 was my hour. Not for lack of trying, or because I slept in -- it just seemed to happen that way. It worked, though, and before long I realized I had a mantra going through my head: "It's okay. You don't have a schedule. Don't hurry. Don't rush. Just enjoy." And so it was -- Lesson One. Take your time. After a stop for coffee, lunch, some general lollygagging (a word that would come to describe a lot of my trip), and a geocache, I found myself pulling up to the Admiral's door in Minneapolis. Well, almost. There was a work truck in the way. And after greeting the Admiral, I discovered the missing back wall of his kitchen. Now, given that he was about to host a dinner party for his birthday, he was ...

I want to have something profound to say. Or at least relevant. But tonight, I'm just ... tired. After 3,500(ish) miles, I rolled into my driveway last night sometime after 8:30. Today was, of course, a full day of work, including a fair bit of random catch-up. Tomorrow, the buffalo roundup ... which means we leave camp before 6AM. And furthermore, it hit 90 degrees today and likely will again tomorrow. Because Mother Nature is abnormally cruel this year. I want to move on to additional trip stories because I have some really good ones. After that kind of mileage, it's pretty much a requirement. Heck, just the people I met could fuel pages and pages of stories. (I'll try to tone it down a bit. R&Bs -- that story is too good to pass up and you will feature prominently. Stay tuned.) But tonight? I need to sleep. An old photo from the very first trip I took with Sophie.  

I have always leaned west. From a rather young age, I went west with every chance I got. College. Vacations. West, to me, meant mountains, great expanses of wilderness and the fascinating unknown. East meant flat land and more people than I was comfortable with. As such, it was a strange choice for me to move to Wisconsin right away out of college. It felt backwards -- or at least out of sync and uncomfortable, a feeling that would rear its ugly head periodically right up until the day I moved back west. But in limiting myself to westward motion, I was cutting a large chunk of history out of my experience and ignoring people I happened to adore. So it was that this year, I decided east was it. As I set out, I couldn't help but remember the last time I'd gone this way -- the incredible familiarity of I-90, the hay fields and sunflowers shining. That day had been crystal clear until I crossed the Missouri River; after that I'd watched clouds slowly build on the hor...

It's the first day of fall. It's the first day of fall and the highs in RC are projected to be around 90 the rest of the week. A tad perplexing, since the day I drove away I had to knock five inches of snow off Sophie. It's also a year ago today that I emerged from a Moab valley and found out the Gaslight had burned down . Thankfully, the new Gaslight is still standing. No surprises this time. (.... Right, guys?) I've got a day to catch up with some old friends and get some repacking done before I head west once more and sleep in my own bed. Some time to stretch out a little and rest my sore body. (I've ached since Michigan and limped since Niagara. Oy.) And maybe I can end a trip feeling refreshed. What a novel idea.

I'm ... kind of exhausted.   And achy all over.   But the last two days? Totally worth it.   Of course, about every other time one of those camera flashes went off, I thought of this.   That's right. It's another xkcd cheater as I head east  west [where am I?! Sheesh, I should be able to keep this one straight]  once again.   Have a good day, all!  

Thanks, xkcd, for having a comic for everything . Because ... yeah. Canada's been fun.    

So I had a genuine freakout that went something like ... OMGOMGOMGTHERE'SAVLOGBROTHERS/RANDALLMUNROEJOINTVIDEO!!! It's over an hour long. If you'd like, you can just go here and watch it on Youtube. It might be easier. Or hit play below and watch ... however much you can manage.

Today, an xkcd that I love .  

Back when I started to consider this trip and I hashed out a rough budget (that's everyone's first step ... right?), it became pretty clear that I could have flown somewhere. Gone on a cruise. Taken a train ... somewhere. Somehow, the drive still won out. Don't get me wrong. I like anything that lets me see the world, particularly the parts I haven't seen yet. I even enjoy airports. [Well, not O'Hare, but that's normal.] But it's probably clear to most of you that I have a supreme weakness for road trips. I love open highway, roadside diners, even drive-thru coffee. (Okay. I accept drive-thru coffee.) There's more to it than that, though -- I like the process of getting somewhere, the real feeling of arriving that is denied by strapping yourself into a time machine/commercial airliner. I like the opportunity to stop and see what's around me instead of just passing obliviously over. And above all, when I start down the highway I love the feelin...

Today, a video from John Green that rocked my world the first time I saw it. Have you had a minute of quiet today? And more importantly ... was it actually quiet? Take a deep breath, slow down and enjoy.

We are a country that loves what we do. Well, that's almost accurate. We love to define ourselves by what we do. It's the first question at a party, the first thing we mention as an introduction at lunches and meetings and Bible studies, the first thing mentioned when you're brought home to Meet The Parents. Before long, these descriptions take on a life of their own -- they become an explanation of your life, of how you spend your time, and most of the time they get dressed up. We do what we can to make our jobs sounds more interesting and important, despite the fact that they are, for the most part, pretty interesting and/or important all by themselves. Since it's a definition of you, though, it needs a little bit more emphasis, and we find ways to do just that. It is no surprise that this focus means we also spend a lot of time doing those jobs. In the US, it's not just a matter of a paycheck; the more time you invest, the more on-paper benefits you accrue. ...

So ... I'm on the road right now. This is it. This is the big trip I've been waiting for. As such, I might disappear for a few days from here. I may also talk about completely unrelated things and take the chance to have really lazy posts (which might not be indistinguishable from the usual). For those who care, I promise to eventually post vacation stories. But it might be awhile. Have a good week, all!

So! Here we go. Highs & lows are a campfire tradition around these parts where you go around the circle and state the best and worst parts of your day or week. I started doing it here when I realized my (almost) daily blogging needed at least one planned easy one. Plus it's fun. This week can be summarized with just one low and one high. Lows: The NFL season opener. Blah. That was ridiculous. Highs: I'm leaving on vacation soon. You may have noticed how excited I am about it. With that, I'm off to help with breakfast. Have a good week, all!

If there's one thing I lack in the morning, it's patience with the world. Until I've had a couple cups of coffee. If there's one thing I lack in the afternoon, it's focus. That one I just have to wait out. But in the evening? I can manage just about anything. ... Unless, of course, I was dumb enough to start a book the night before. No matter how interesting or pointless or scary it might be, I just have to keep going. Which is annoying when I should really be getting something accomplished.

In preparation for this trip, I managed to empty my car this evening. All that's left in there are my emergency kit, some random stuff that needs to make it to my parents' house, and a couple pounds of sand and pine needles. In related news, I made about ten bucks in the process (plus two free car wash tokens and a free round at Pirate's Cove in Rapid). I can't quite stress how big this is for me. Sophie hasn't been empty since the day I brought her home. And yes, now I'm going to turn around and reload her with all of my trip stuff ... but it'll be clean and organized and stuff. Next step: laundry.

.... That can't be right.

My house? Mostly a mess. My bank account? Maybe a little low. My energy levels? Oh dear. You know that chunk of time right before you leave on vacation -- the chunk where you need to get everything ready so you can pause real life for a little bit without having something explode/evaporate while you're gone? I'm at that point, and ... eesh. I mean, hey, vacation! But right now I need to focus on more important things ... and it's getting difficult. Egads.

So with this upcoming trip, I have a lot ahead of me. I feel like I'm setting myself up for utter exhaustion ... but that's okay. It'll be fantastic. Among the awesomeness is one major bucket list item. Cedar Point. Home to 19 roller coasters, 11 of which qualify as "aggressive thrill," Cedar Point made the must-see list the very first time I heard of its existence. When I mapped out my potential route, I didn't realize that I would be going right past Sandusky ... but when that became clear, I started pulling whatever strings I could to make it work. Lo and behold, things fell into place. And now I'm all set for a weekend there. Even better, it's during HalloWeekends , a fall festival where haunted houses, mazes, and shows get added to the park's repertoire. "Excited" doesn't quite begin to cover it. This stop may surpass Niagara Falls. Maybe. We'll see.

Seems like just yesterday I did last week's gimme ... probably because it was a day late. And I took a 4-day timeout from real life. So! Here we go. Highs & lows are a campfire tradition around these parts where you go around the circle and state the best and worst parts of your day or week. I started doing it here when I realized my (now almost) daily blogging needed at least one planned easy one. Plus it's fun. Here are my highs and lows this week, although in the reverse order. Lows: We had a few surprise guests this weekend. Generally I don't mind surprises ... but when they keep happening it gets kind of old and exhausting. [PS: Guests, always plan and call  ahead! If this had happened this next week, there would be no room at the inn.] Highs: Fantastic weather. Even as it starts to feel all fall-ish. Harney! A few days mostly off that allowed for a solid drive (and a couple of audiobooks). Now I just gotta get everything in order for next we...

The first time I climbed Harney I was roughly 10. (...I think.) The only thing I really remember about that day was the fact that the last half-mile was entirely in the clouds, so I never got to see the view Mom and Dad had talked about. Luckily, to a 10-year-old brain, getting to run through the clouds is possibly even cooler than getting to see into Wyoming. The next time, it was a huge obstacle. I was 12, I was carrying a backpack and therefore way more weight than my tiny body was used to (that's right, at one point I was tiny) and it was the longest walk of my life. Almost literally -- it took hours. [Yes, if some of this is familiar -- I have talked about it before .] Now, two decades after my first trip, it's a wander in the woods. An hour and a half-ish walk to a gorgeous stone tower at South Dakota's highest point. It's solid exercise but not the challenge I remember, even though now I carry all that additional weight on a more permanent basis than I di...

Today's view: corn, sunflowers, and so many haystacks.   I-90 isn't interesting ... but it's not ugly, either.