Toni's Tribute to All Countries, But Mostly America

I awoke this morning to cracks of deafening thunder and sheets of torrential rain as well as a miserably ill husband. Needless to say, we did not go paddling today. Instead, Aaron hibernated and I nursed. The very last thing this sodden flooded environment needs is more water. But it came in droves anyway. We moved Bambi yesterday nearer to Lake Kabetogama where we can launch from our campsite if and when the weather clears. Wasn’t hard to find an open spot in this wee campground because everyone else cancelled due to the rain. The road in was partly underwater already, and Aaron worries that we may not be able to navigate our way out in a few days. I can think of worse places to be marooned for a while. The lake and the thick woods are stunning, the cacophony of  birdsong mesmerizing, the most endearing of which is the honk of the nearby trumpeter swans. Bambi is a cozy enclave from which to watch the lightning storms while sipping cocoa. I read and perused the news while Aaron sl...

To visit Voyageur's National Park, one must seek it out and travel some distance; one doesn't simply stumble upon it.  Voyageur's, named after the French-Canadian trappers/traders who plied these waters in birch canoes trading beaver pelts, is exquisitely beautiful and also rather remote.  The vast majority of visitors are fishermen in small private boats on any number of lakes dotting the area.  A mixture of conifers and deciduous trees comprise what is not water; the trees are not yet quite out in full leaf and the ice-bound lakes have just now fully thawed.  Record flooding has caused quite a bit of damage and prevented us from getting into the campground I reserved months ago.  But even though it is Memorial Day weekend, I was able to scramble and find another spot for Bambi because so few people travel to Voyageur's.  In fact, the visitors centers opened for the season just today; we were their first customers.  Voyageur's sits in extreme northern...

Years ago, a friend of mine planned a surprise trip for his wife, her first to Hawaii. He was so excited to spring it on her. I said nothing to him at the time, but I did ponder how half the fun of experiencing an adventure is in the planning and anticipation of it. I spent the better part of three months last fall drawing up plans for this trip across America. The logistics required great forethought, including times out for our kids’ graduations, closures of temples for cleaning, and the opening of parks and concessionaires.  One such hurdle involved the upcoming graduation of Aaron’s grandson in eastern Oregon next weekend and the opening of the two parks in the far north. To fit the puzzle pieces together required a long drive today, one of over 620 miles which we accomplished in one long day.  Just yesterday, someone asked how many miles we typically have to drive in a day. That’s an interesting question as it doesn’t feel like I spend hour upon hour in the car just getti...

 Three amazing things: #1- The Indiana Dunes along the southern edge of Lake Michigan, unlike the Oregon Dunes which are mountains of pure sand, are vegetated, sometimes quite thickly.  Seems there’s a thin layer of soil atop the dunes which provides nutrients for greenery, and they are quite stunning. We took the 3-Dune Challenge hike through sand and forest to the top of, well…three dunes to overlook the lake. One of many treasures on this US trip is the finding of new friends such as the two totally delightful and lovey ladies we kept crossing paths with today. Full of helpful information and friendly chat, these good folk bless and delight us along our journey.   Did you know that Lake Superior alone is so large as to contains 10% of the earths fresh water supply? #2- Lake Michigan is vast. We see downtown Chicago miles away along the shore as well as a steel mill one direction and a nuclear plant in the other.  There are no tides and only very mild wave action a...