New Concord Inn Minocqua

... won.

Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula were wet and cold most of the time but the fall colours are beautiful. After a couple weeks of luxury in the pop-up, I am now heading back to Toronto to get the van fixed (or perhaps written off if I’m lucky).

Tidbits:

- Bumper sticker: Recession 101 - Self-worth beats net-worth.
- US motels are more reasonably priced than Canadian equivalents.

... a Dandelion, espied on 2009 05 15 which is well behind Whitestone Lake at the same Latitude; a few snowflakes appeared on 2009 05 16 - I'm sure glad we have lots of sleeping bags. Bogie is currently a bit gimpy on his right hind leg but we are still getting him out for walks at a more sedate pace; I still love the circular route through State land for a morning ...

The weather in northern Wisconsin is turning cool - most mornings there is ice on the water bucket, all the leaves have hit the ground, the Tamerack trees have turned yellow while shedding their old needles and most birds have migrated south except for one stubborn Loon. The Vee's of Canada Geese have also snuck past US immigration on their flight to warmer climes; followed by me, soon. However, nothing can compare to camping on a crisp quiet night under a full harvest moon ...

... Beaver dams to visit Beaver, Dunn, Morton and Sanborn lakes and trekked along many of the local hiking trails. Bogie gets a good long hike before breakfast most mornings but has not learned to carry his own pack yet. The Presque Isle River, which starts near Morton Lake, actually meanders slowly into Lake Superior... Had a couple of evenings with violent storms -- great light-shows with hail but many trees, especially Aspens, bit the dust. I'm currently ...

Candlelight ski - flickering candles in the cold, Ice chambers, pour out the water after rim freezes, Candles inside make an icy glow, just what we need, To match the icy feel of the tour thru the woods. A mile of candles, a mile of set track, a string of us, Absorbing the surroundings, with its flickering shadows. Magical trees taking shape in the gloom, Setting a mood that glorified the evening. Then a day with sled dogs ...

Skiing in the Deep Freeze What have we gotten into? Yes, we wanted more snow, Did we have to take sub-zero temps, To get the better snow depth? Snow ice cream - a northern treat, First ingredient - a responsible person to collect the snow. Hope he doesn't have lack of yellow sensitivity color blindness, A bit crunchy, but plenty of sugar makes it great. We had plenty of warning, maybe too much, Leaders huddled over Internet, getting ...

Finally enough snow for skiing / snowshoeing Trees for Tomorrow, originally a center for reforesting, Now a teaching center for ecology. Some buildings from CCC era, now updated a bit. Most important - kitchen is fully modern. We are here to both play and learn, Skiing and snowshoeing, nature viewing, ID of trees, Will the play outwit the learn? They seem to have a reasonable plan for us. Cross country ski lessons: why do I need that? I've skied for almost ...

So Duluth is home to Beach Way Motel, which is home to a little man named Skip. Skip is a cool guy if you've ever met one, though he can talk a mans ear off, but i'm not complaining, i could listen to him talk all day. Oh just about the normal stuff, like how he has two metal knees, or how he owns another hotel on the other side of lake superior, or about anything that ...

Hi everybody Greetings from Minnesota. Having a fantastic summer in tropical Minnesota. We have been catching up with all our friends in Minneapolis after surviving the long flight across the Pacific and mainland USA. We arrived at 7:30 pm on Friday night after leaving at 10:30 Friday morning. We were 19 hours in the air out of ...

I had reached the edge of country and was ready to step over the line into FOREIGN soil. I wanted to grab some cash and get it switched over, so that I wouldn't have to worry about that when I arrived in South Korea. At the airport I found a booth that exchanges currency, and thought that 150,000 won sounded like more than enough (the exchange is approx. 1 US dollar = 1,000 won). After that I grabbed a quick bite to eat, wrote a couple e-mails, and I was on my way to Japan!!