- Barb asked me how I felt about the trip winding down, and the word that came to mind was "Denouement."
de·noue·mentˌdāno͞oˈmäN/noun
the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
But I'm not so sure I am able to draw the strands together at this point…I've been thinking about it the last few days, and its seeming like the trip carries a theme of water, and flow… the flow of water, the lack of water in so much of the early part of the trip, the beautiful bodies of water I've enjoyed, the flow of images, the flow of ideas and creativity, even the flow of traffic (!), and the flow of life… Think I'll play around with that and see what comes up. And of course that leads to one of my favorite Zen quotes:
Don't push the river, it flows by itself.
So, if everything goes as planned I will be back at "my" river tomorrow. I look forward to seeing my mom, friends & family and Crosswinds. I wonder how Theo will react. He probably thinks his life now consists of living in Mac. Think he'll be pretty excited to get home.
But I don't want to skip over the last couple days of the trip. They've been good! We took our time leaving Scioto Trail in Ohio yesterday - got a mile walk in and Theo got an early morning moment of Zen.
Theo's moment of Zen early am at Caldwell Lake
I love how he feels he needs to shake when he's standing in ankle-deep water…
We followed the "3-hour rule" and drove that amount of time to one of my favorite campgrounds - at Camp Creek West Virginia. Middle of the week and lots of empty spots. It was forecast to be rainy, so we decided to take a spot with electricity on higher ground.
We love empty campgrounds!
Camp Creek is a nice spot - near the highway but just around a small mountain so no highway noise, well-maintained, clean and friendly folks. I love the river and falls that flow through it, but the water was a little low at the end of the summer. Theo and I got out for a walk this morning before we headed out.
Soft green mountains at Camp Creek
Theo shaking in ankle-deep water again! Happy dog.
I half thought of pushing on through home today, but our three hours of driving time is actually 5 hours with our stops, so we were ready to stop. Why break the "three-hour rule" now? But we made it to North Carolina soil!
Beautiful view from the WV TurnpikeWill get home tomorrow… going with the flow.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Denouement
Monday, August 17, 2015
Scioto Trail State Park, Ohio
I am so disappointed I missed the 1,000 foot snake effigy built by prehistoric people near here… I arrived in Scioto Trail State Park about 1pm, and THEN I read about the Serpent Mound… but it would have been pretty far out of my way… I'm just saying…sigh.
Anyhoo, Theo and I were up at our usual early hour and enjoyed a lovely sunrise over the Maumee River.
We needed some exercise and it was still cool out, so we headed out on the "nature trail." It seems as though the trail had taken a beating - not sure if from tornado or flood, but it looked a little droopy… Here was the first sign:
…and here's a close-up of the first sign:
Man, they weren't kidding - it was everywhere, and very healthy!
Felt like it was going to reach out and grab me! Well, between that and the chomping mosquitoes, we decided it might be a good morning to get an early start on the road. We pulled out at 8 am.
Set the maps program to "no highways" and started due south through Ohio farm land. Ya know, there's a lot of corn fields in Ohio.
I won't post more pictures - just multiply that one by about five hundred… It was a nice day though, blue skies and bright sun, but with interesting clouds in the distance.
Theo would've loved it, except that we kept coming to stop signs. Any change in momentum and he has to sit up and see what's going on…so he didn't get much sleep. He's Konked out now, waiting for his dinner.
So we landed at Scioto Trail State Park about 1pm and found a nice shady spot with electricity. Few other campers on a Monday of course, so its nice and quiet. Here's our spot:
This is a nice little park. Its a relief to have some hills and lakes after all the flatness, and people obviously take pride in their park here, its well maintained. It's "nestled in a beautiful 9,000 acre State Forest" according to the brochure, which is:
Theo likes it too, and gave the lake his seal of approval.
Its now 4:45 eastern time. Amazing how quickly Theo adapted to eastern time. He's ready for his 5pm dinner. Well ok then! Let's eat!
Anyhoo, Theo and I were up at our usual early hour and enjoyed a lovely sunrise over the Maumee River.
We needed some exercise and it was still cool out, so we headed out on the "nature trail." It seems as though the trail had taken a beating - not sure if from tornado or flood, but it looked a little droopy… Here was the first sign:
…and here's a close-up of the first sign:
Man, they weren't kidding - it was everywhere, and very healthy!
Felt like it was going to reach out and grab me! Well, between that and the chomping mosquitoes, we decided it might be a good morning to get an early start on the road. We pulled out at 8 am.
Set the maps program to "no highways" and started due south through Ohio farm land. Ya know, there's a lot of corn fields in Ohio.
I won't post more pictures - just multiply that one by about five hundred… It was a nice day though, blue skies and bright sun, but with interesting clouds in the distance.
Theo would've loved it, except that we kept coming to stop signs. Any change in momentum and he has to sit up and see what's going on…so he didn't get much sleep. He's Konked out now, waiting for his dinner.
So we landed at Scioto Trail State Park about 1pm and found a nice shady spot with electricity. Few other campers on a Monday of course, so its nice and quiet. Here's our spot:
This is a nice little park. Its a relief to have some hills and lakes after all the flatness, and people obviously take pride in their park here, its well maintained. It's "nestled in a beautiful 9,000 acre State Forest" according to the brochure, which is:
...densely forested hill country reminiscent of the southern Appalachians supporting a magnificent stand of oak and hickory…the forest floor displays woodland wildflowers including spring beauties, Dutchman's breeches, wild blue phlox and wild geranium…Mushroom hunters delight in the abundance of the delicious morel mushroom.Dang, I wish it was Morel season…
Theo likes it too, and gave the lake his seal of approval.
T's moment of Zen at Scioto Trail's Caldwell Lake.
Its now 4:45 eastern time. Amazing how quickly Theo adapted to eastern time. He's ready for his 5pm dinner. Well ok then! Let's eat!
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Grand Rapids to Grand Rapids
Michigan to Ohio, that is… but let me back up.
Barb and Theo and I were throughly pampered by our friends Sandy and Kraig in Grand Rapids. I actually now have clean sheets for the final leg of the trip thanks to their offer of washer and dryer, and Theo enjoyed being invited into the air conditioning to stretch out on the new carpet. Ahhhh…
He really did NOT want to leave this morning… but we did. We bid adieu to friends and began the last leg of the journey home. Email reports from my mom of beautiful weather adding to the enticement to get on home.
I really had to think about which route to take from Grand Rapids (MI) home. I could go by way of the turnpike towards the lower part of Lake Erie. The Lake was enticing but the turnpike and traffic was not… so then I was planning to go down to Great Lake St. Mary's State Park, but then read that the lake had a huge algae bloom.
At the last minute this morning I decided to check out the Mary Jane Thurston State Park in Ohio. It was about 3 hour's drive and on a river and there are so few parks named after women I thought it seemed like a good choice. Turns out its in Grand Rapids, Ohio. Go figure! Here's some of what the state's web page had to say about it
The photo's a little blurry because I didn't want to stop! I was afraid that was the park, but thankfully it was a commercial RV park. Phew! Went past several more of those before finding the state park, which thankfully was NOT like that… They had about 25 sites of which 5 down by the river had electricity… I liked the looks of the shady non-electric sites at the entrance, but was kinda pleased when one of the electric sites down by the river was available. We grabbed it.
This was the first time I've had to use the air conditioning in Mac on the trip home. I took Theo out for a walk and he actually pulled on the leash (he's usually FAR too polite to do so) to get back into the van's coolness! Now the sun has gone down I've turned it off, but it was nice for a couple hours… now its time to turn in. Theo's snoring. Nite nite.
Barb and Theo and I were throughly pampered by our friends Sandy and Kraig in Grand Rapids. I actually now have clean sheets for the final leg of the trip thanks to their offer of washer and dryer, and Theo enjoyed being invited into the air conditioning to stretch out on the new carpet. Ahhhh…
T before the belly rub...
T after the belly rub...
He really did NOT want to leave this morning… but we did. We bid adieu to friends and began the last leg of the journey home. Email reports from my mom of beautiful weather adding to the enticement to get on home.
I really had to think about which route to take from Grand Rapids (MI) home. I could go by way of the turnpike towards the lower part of Lake Erie. The Lake was enticing but the turnpike and traffic was not… so then I was planning to go down to Great Lake St. Mary's State Park, but then read that the lake had a huge algae bloom.
At the last minute this morning I decided to check out the Mary Jane Thurston State Park in Ohio. It was about 3 hour's drive and on a river and there are so few parks named after women I thought it seemed like a good choice. Turns out its in Grand Rapids, Ohio. Go figure! Here's some of what the state's web page had to say about it
In 1928, Mary Jane Thurston, a Grand Rapids schoolteacher bequeathed fourteen acres of land to be used as a park. After several transfers and leases, Mary Jane Thurston State Park was dedicated in 1968.So we headed out about 10 am, stopped and got some groceries and got on the highway. The Sunday traffic was terrible! I guess everyone was heading home from week-end getaways. After about an hour we dove onto a back country road and then had quite a lovely drive through the farm lands of lower Michigan into Ohio… As we neared the park, we crossed the Maumee River on which the park is located and I was encouraged… but then I came around a bend in the road and saw this:
Campers lined up like sardines in Ohio
The photo's a little blurry because I didn't want to stop! I was afraid that was the park, but thankfully it was a commercial RV park. Phew! Went past several more of those before finding the state park, which thankfully was NOT like that… They had about 25 sites of which 5 down by the river had electricity… I liked the looks of the shady non-electric sites at the entrance, but was kinda pleased when one of the electric sites down by the river was available. We grabbed it.
View of the Maumee River from the campground
This was the first time I've had to use the air conditioning in Mac on the trip home. I took Theo out for a walk and he actually pulled on the leash (he's usually FAR too polite to do so) to get back into the van's coolness! Now the sun has gone down I've turned it off, but it was nice for a couple hours… now its time to turn in. Theo's snoring. Nite nite.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Civilization!
…well, for a day…
Barb and I are relaxing at a mutual friend's house in Grand Rapids. So nice to have the comforts of civilization for a day. Being totally pampered…
We stayed at Hartwick Pine State Park last night. We decided to take our chances on a Saturday because there were lots of parks and if all else failed we could keep driving to Grand Rapids. I stopped at the "contact station" and walked up to register. We got the last spot! Yay! We drove in to the campground and our spirits drooped, no shade, and it was a hot day.
…so we were so happy to find that our spot, #87, was in the shade ! Yay! Score! We were glad that our last night camping would be a good one.
The forecast was for rain, but we watched the radar and everything south of us was nasty red on the radar, but it stayed south of us. So glad we stopped there for the night.
So this morning we decided to take our time and get some exercise. Saw some beautiful old growth pine forests… then came back and packed up.
..not so sure he wants to get back in the van… but he's a good sport.
Barb and I are relaxing at a mutual friend's house in Grand Rapids. So nice to have the comforts of civilization for a day. Being totally pampered…
We stayed at Hartwick Pine State Park last night. We decided to take our chances on a Saturday because there were lots of parks and if all else failed we could keep driving to Grand Rapids. I stopped at the "contact station" and walked up to register. We got the last spot! Yay! We drove in to the campground and our spirits drooped, no shade, and it was a hot day.
…so we were so happy to find that our spot, #87, was in the shade ! Yay! Score! We were glad that our last night camping would be a good one.
The forecast was for rain, but we watched the radar and everything south of us was nasty red on the radar, but it stayed south of us. So glad we stopped there for the night.
Storm clouds south of us...
So this morning we decided to take our time and get some exercise. Saw some beautiful old growth pine forests… then came back and packed up.
Theo watching us pack up…
Friday, August 14, 2015
45th Parallel
Hi there !
Today Barb, Theo and I crossed the 45th parallel - halfway between the north and south poles. Why do I find those kind of things kinda cool? Dunno, but I do…
Really enjoyed the U.P. (upper peninsula) of Michigan. I remember going there as a child camping and staying in a cabin with childhood friends. The water is just delicious for swimming (when its hot out).
Got a nice dip at a rest stop (!) in the U.P. yesterday. I went in for a swim in crystal clear Lake Superior waters while Barb took T for a walk/wade.
So refreshing.
We didn't make reservations, so just headed on down the highway and tested our luck. It was a Thursday so we thought we'd be ok. We landed at Lake Michigan State Park and scored a nice spot. The park is between the highway and Lake Michigan, but we were pleased to find that the traffic almost stopped at night. Quite quiet. And our campsite was just behind a dune from a nice beach on Lake Michigan.
Despite a forecast for rain, we were treated to a lovely sunset, which we viewed from the dune between our campsite and Lake Michigan.
Ok, so now I have to ask you about Pasties. There are all sorts of UP jokes about them… they are a delicious but very heavy sort of meat pie thingy. Evidently the miners in the old days in the UP took these with them into the mines to give them energy to get the work done. I can believe it! I needed to plow through about a thousand calories after eating one… buy, hey, when in Rome…
But you have to be VERY careful how you pronounce the name of this delectable…
Today Barb, Theo and I crossed the 45th parallel - halfway between the north and south poles. Why do I find those kind of things kinda cool? Dunno, but I do…
Really enjoyed the U.P. (upper peninsula) of Michigan. I remember going there as a child camping and staying in a cabin with childhood friends. The water is just delicious for swimming (when its hot out).
Got a nice dip at a rest stop (!) in the U.P. yesterday. I went in for a swim in crystal clear Lake Superior waters while Barb took T for a walk/wade.
So refreshing.
We didn't make reservations, so just headed on down the highway and tested our luck. It was a Thursday so we thought we'd be ok. We landed at Lake Michigan State Park and scored a nice spot. The park is between the highway and Lake Michigan, but we were pleased to find that the traffic almost stopped at night. Quite quiet. And our campsite was just behind a dune from a nice beach on Lake Michigan.
Despite a forecast for rain, we were treated to a lovely sunset, which we viewed from the dune between our campsite and Lake Michigan.
Campsite # 5, just beyond the dune is Lake Michigan
Sunset from Lake Michigan Campground
Ok, so now I have to ask you about Pasties. There are all sorts of UP jokes about them… they are a delicious but very heavy sort of meat pie thingy. Evidently the miners in the old days in the UP took these with them into the mines to give them energy to get the work done. I can believe it! I needed to plow through about a thousand calories after eating one… buy, hey, when in Rome…
delicious Pasty filled with meat, potatoes, rutabaga, yummies...
But you have to be VERY careful how you pronounce the name of this delectable…
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Marquette, Michigan
Back on Eastern time! Must be getting closer to home. Barb and I kept looking at our phones yesterday to see when it switched, but we didn't have good phone reception so it didn't happen. Too silly.
We arrived in Marquette yesterday. Ahhhhh, how nice to be connected to the Internet again, but awwww kinda sorry to leave the beauty of the un-connected wilderness area. Always a trade off. Barb found us a nicely wooded campground run by the city of Marquette. We got a great spot with some privacy and electric. Unfortunately, everyone decided to have a campfire last night and the air was thick with smoke…Lots of noisy people too. Oh well! I didn't hear them in Mac, but Barb didn't get much sleep out in the tent.
We are only a half mile from Lake Superior so we followed a nice bike trail up there yesterday afternoon. The water is so beautiful. I finally got my dip (it was 80 degrees here - a little easier to face that cold water). T got his moment of Zen too.
Pretty pebbles in the clear Lake Superior waters.
I was reminded of a bumper sticker I saw in the Olympic Peninsula:
"The great lakes - salt free and no sharks"
They should also say crystal clear and cold . Scrumptious!
Would you really want to go straight?
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness area
Beautiful area - the campground was up on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior. Lots of Steps down, so couldn't take T to the beach, but Barb and I took turns going down. Just a little too chilly for me to get my dip, but I knew I'd get another chance…
On the way out we drove partway up to the summit, and then hiked a ways…until we came to some stairs…way too many for Theo, so Barb went ahead to scope it out. When she came back, she watched T while I went up. It wasn't far. Here's the view over the wilderness to Lake Superior:
Lots of steps to Porcupine Mountain summit
Barb hanging out with the old dog...
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