tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40646730466351137402024-02-19T13:45:19.088-08:00Northeast to Alaska - 2011 (OTR4)The blog is about part 1 (of three) of my 20,000+ mile, car-camping trip with my dogs from DC to Alaska via Labrador. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-39176097867686777992012-10-01T09:26:00.000-07:002014-06-27T11:41:28.377-07:00INDEX for trip postings, days 1-37<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://openroadcamp.blogspot.com/2014/04/notes-about-index-on-wwwopenroadblogs.html">CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THIS INDEX</a></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">PRE-DEPARTURE POSTINGS MAY BE FOUND IN THE RIGHT SIDE-BAR</span></strong><br />
<br />
INDEX FOR TRIP POSTINGS<br />
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-1-august-20-clayton-park-pa-285.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 1, Saturday, August 20,
Clayton Recreational Park, near Scranton, PA</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-2-august-21-wells-state-park-mass.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 2, Sunday, August 21, Wells State
Park, Massachusetts</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-3-monday-august-22-313-miles.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 3, Monday, August 22, Peaks Kenny
State Park, Maine</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-4-aug-23-329-miles.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 4, Tuesday, August 23, Mt
Carleton Provincial Park, New Brunswick, Canada</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-5-august-24-wednesday-197-miles.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 5, Wednesday, August 24, Camping
sur la Rivière, Matane, Quebec</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-6-august-25-lake-at-kilometer-post.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 6, Thursday, August 25, Lake ?
Reserve, on the road to Labrador City, Labrador</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-7-friday-aug-22-campsite-east-of.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 7, Friday, August 26, Grande
Hermine Camp, on the road from Labrador City to Churchill Falls, Labrador</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-8-saturday-aug-27-lake-somewhere-on.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 8, Saturday, Aug 27, a lake
somewhere on the road between Churchill Falls and Happy Valley/Goose Bay</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Day 9, August 28th....</span><br />
<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/ipad-internet-problem-solved.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">....Preliminary Posting; Internet
interruption problem solved</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/end-of-road-in-northeast.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">.....The end of the road in the
northeast</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-9-aug-28-top-of-sunday-hill-park.html">.....On the top of Sunday Hill
Park, Northwest River, Labrador, the end of the road in the northeast</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-10-aug-29-on-road-from-hvgb-to-port.html"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">Day 10, Aug 29, on the road from
Happy Valley/Goose Bay (HVGB) to Port Hope Simpson (PHS),<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/interim-posting-sept-1.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Days 11-12, Interim posting of Sept 1</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/Day%2011,%20Tuesday,%20Aug%2030,%20Tuesday,%20Pinsent%20Arm,%20Labrador"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 11, Tuesday, August 30, Pinsent
Arm, Labrador</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-12-wednesday-aug-31-red-bay.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 12, Wednesday, Aug 31, Red Bay,
Labrador, The end of the dirt and gravel road in Labrador</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/days-13-15thursday-saturdaysept-1-3.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Days 13-14, Thursday-Friday,
Sept 1-2, Pinware Provincial Park, Labrador</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/days-15-and-16-september-3-4-on-nordik.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Days 15 and 16, Saturday-Sunday,
September 3-4, on the Nordik Express from Blanc Sablon to Natashquan, Quebec</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-16-sunday-september-4-natasquan.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 16, Sunday, September 4,
Natashquan Municipal Park, Quebec</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-17-monday-september-5-mingan-quebec.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 17, Monday, September 5,
Camping Mingain, Quebec, on or near the St. Lawrence Seaway.</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-18-tuesday-september-6-camp-paradis.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 18, Tuesday, September 6,
Camp Paradis in Port Cartier, Quebec.</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-19-wednesday-september-7-campsite.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 19, Wednesday, September 7,
campsite de la mer, Pointe Lebel, Quebec</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-29-tadoussace-quebec-sept-8.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 20, Thursday, September 8,
Tadoussac, Quebec (Domaine des Dunes Camp)</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/days-21-22-friday-saturday-september-9.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Days 21-22, Friday-Saturday,
September 9-10, camp Val Jalbert, Lac St Jean, central Quebec</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-24-911.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 23, 9/11, St. Anne of the
Mountains camp, Beaupre, Quebec</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/poor-defender.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 24. September 12, Monday,
Disaster strikes the Defender</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/days-24-26-sept-12-14-respite-at-mt.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Days 24- 26, Sept 12-14,
Monday-Wednesday, Respite at Mt Tremblant, in the Laurentians, north of
Montreal, posting 1.</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/days-26-28-monday-evening-thursday.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Days 24-26, Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, September 12-15, guest of Andre Latour, Mt Tremblant (a.k.a.
St Jovite), Laurentians, Quebec, posting 2.</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/defender-repaired-and-ready-to-go.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 27, Thursday, September 16,
Defender all repaired and ready to get back on the road</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-27-septermer-15-thursday-algonquin.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 27, September 15, Thursday,
Algonquin Provincial Park, Brent Camp</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-28-friday-september17-kettle-lake.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 28, Friday, September 17, Kettle
Lake Provincial Park, near Timmins, Ontario</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-29-saturday-september-17-veilleux.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 29, Saturday, September 17.
Veilleux Camp, Hearst, Ontario</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-30-sunday-september-18-sleeping.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 30, Sunday, September 18,
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Thunder Bay, Otntario</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-31-monday-september-19-sgpp.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 31, Monday, September 19, SGPP
(Sleeping Giant Provincial Park), Thunder Bay, Ontario</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/1000-am-tuesday-september-20th-lake.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 32, 10:00 a.m., Tuesday,
September 20th, Lake Bukemiga, here we come.</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/t"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 32, Tuesday, Sept 20, Lake Bukemiga, at last!
Oops.</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-32-lake-bukemiga-end-of-road-for.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 32, Lake Bukemiga, the end of the
road for this trip. Time to turn around and folloTuw the geese south</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-33-wednesday-september-21-sgpp.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 33, Wednesday, September 21, SGPP
(Sleeping Giant Provincial Park), Thunder Bay, Ontario</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-34-thursday-september-22-agawa-baRy.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 34, Thursday, September 22, Agawa
Bay Camp, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-35-friday-september-23-straits.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 35, Friday, September 23, Straits
State Park, across from Mackinac Island, Michigan</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-36-saturday-september-24-journey.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 36, Saturday, September 24, the
journey home</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-36-at-koa.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 36, At rest at the KOA</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://northeasttoalaska.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-37-sunday-september-25-final.html"><span style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #888888; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Day 37, September 25, The final
stretch home; there's something about a road trip</span></a></span><br />
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<b><i></i></b><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-25637521809208212162012-09-04T18:09:00.000-07:002013-05-26T16:39:24.648-07:00September 4, 2012 - Part 2 is on!Last year, I set out to drive from DC to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, via Northwest River, Labrador, more than 16,600 miles, the first time apparently that anyone has ever done that. As it turned out, the first day out, a false reading on my Defender’s temperature gauge gave me the impression that it was overheating, so I decided to return home to fix it once and for all, which I eventually did. I lost two weeks taking care of that, meaning I would miss my ferry in Alaska six weeks hence, so I decided to restart to trip but do the newly constructed Labrador Loop, the northernmost roads in Quebec and Ontario, and then return home, which is what I did. In all, we were out for 10,000 and 35 days, camping every night at a new site except for the interesting two nights I spent on the open deck of a cargo ship with my dogs during a storm.<br />
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My plan this year was to pick up the trip where we left off last year and travel to Ontario and from there set out to Alaska, and then home again by way of San Francisco, as the three of us (Leben, Erde and I) did in 2001. Two weeks before the journey was to begin this year, though, I noticed that 11-year old Leben was cutting short his running. I took him to the vet and he recommended a neurologist, who sent me to get an MRI on Leben’s spine. Unfortunately, the MRI revealed two serious disc compressions resulting from earlier ruptures. Wanting to avoid the same sudden paralysis that happened to Sonntag, I decided to cancel or postpone the trip and get Leben the surgery, which took place on July 17th, hoping that with appropriate therapy he would recover in time for us to start some kind of a road trip in early September. I recognized, however, that there was a risk that Leben would come out of the operation paralyzed and unable to walk again, as happened with Montag. But that risk was worth it, I figured, because I already managed a paralyzed dog (Sonntag) and knew what it was all about and, without seeking to do so, became the world’s poster child for managing a big paralyzed dog. (I still get e-mails from people from around the world about the 2002 National Geographic article about Sonntag’s and my now-famous trip to Alaska, which was repeated and lengthened in the special issue on cats and dogs of the National Geographic in May 2012. Rebecca Asher-Walsh, the well-known, indefatigable correspondent for Entertainment Weekly, read the latest article, and is including a chapter about Sonntag in her soon-to-be-published book on extraordinary dogs.)<br />
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Leben emerged from the operation unable to walk without much assistance and in terrible condition, but after seven weeks of intensive therapy five days a week (swimming at the Animal Swim Center in Middleburg, underwater treadmill therapy in Baltimore, and acupuncture at South Paws in Fairfax, and thrice-daily therapy at home, he has sufficiently recovered from the operation (he is a 2.0 out of 3.0 on my 24-point evaluation scorecard) to take an extensive trip. But to make sure that his comfort is not compromised, a few custom adjustments had to be made to the Defender, which I just completed today. In addition, for camps where we will be required to hike more than a few hundred feet, I purchased a dog jogger (Defender Jr.) in which he will ride in comfort, while I get my daily exercise pushing him around. Those who know me knew that this trip was not going to be cancelled just because my dog could not walk, and they were right. So, as of tonight, September 4th, part 2 of the trip is on, starting on or about September 11th, once my satellite phone arrives.<br />
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Part 2 of the Journey to Alaska will be in four stages. The last stage is the journey home, which I will plan only when I make the decision to return home because I now have no idea at all where that will be. For stage 1, my intention is to get out of the states and that heat as quickly as I can, driving straight from Washington DC up Intestate 81 to cross over into Canada near Lansdowne, Ontario. Along the way, we will camp first at a Pennsylvania state park and then at the abandoned site of the old boy scout camp I attended when I was a kid, an experience that instilled in my life-long love of camping in the wild. Today, the abandoned camp, still recognizable on Google Earth, is part of a massive wild forest accessible only by foot and by 4WD vehicles. If my Defender cannot make it in there, no 4WD can. From there, we will sprint to the Canadian border, where the temperature drops to the low 70’s and stays there while Washington skewers in the September heat.<br />
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My plan at this point is make our way slowly from the south east of Ontario to its northwest, beyond Thunder Bay, camping along the way at often-remote and always extraordinary dog-friendly provincial parks, nine in all. Some I will stay in for two nights, some three and others more than that. Since I know from past experience (read my below blog) that each site will be difficult to leave, I decided to take nine books with me, and leave one camp and move only when a book is finished. At one of those camps, I will continue my tradition of picking one inviting road, paved, dirt or less, that heads way up north and travelling that road to its end. The one I have tentatively chosen far is the road from Ignace to Windigo Lake, 531 km with virtually no services along the way. Camping will have to be by bivouac on Crown Lands. (In Ontario, you can camp wherever you wish.)<br />
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As for stage 2 of the trip this year, I will make those plans during and at the end of stage 1. I may heed on to Banff and Jasper national parks in the Canadian Rockies, or decide something else. The same goes for stage 3. I may head up to the start of Alaskan-Canadian highway, which turns 70 this year, or I may head out to Vancouver Island and hang out there fore a few days. Time will tell. <br />
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This will be my fifth rather extensive road-camping trip, so I well aware of the risks for which I need to prepare. Few travelers, if any, are more prepared than I, although I cannot prepare for everything. Beyond the potential risks to the dogs and me, the next most important area of preparation is for the Defender. It is in great shape this year after the more than $15,000 worth of work I had done on it last year in preparation for that trip and the work I did to solve that false overheating problem (I replaced the entire cooling system, radiator included.) Fortunately, my alternator failed five months ago one block from home, and my starter failed on me two months ago, eight blocks from home, so I replaced both of those with no great inconvenience. Had they failed in the wild I would have been rather inconvenienced, to say the least. And also fortunately, my ignition key lock system showed early signs of a possible future failure this morning, so the Defender is going into the garage on Friday to have that replaced. If one is driving only locally, this is the kind of thing you wait until it fails, but not if you are planning to venture far from home and into remote areas where the closest service station is 250 miles distant, the closest land Rover repair shop more than 1000. <br />
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Beyond the mechanical things, I added an industrial strength emergency power supply for jump starting my Defender (among other things) to my extensive emergency planning inventory. I keep it in the console between the driver’s and passenger’s seats, and plan to plug it into the recharger once a day. I am also adding two more cigarette lighters to the console to recharge the power supply, cell phone, iPad, and satellite phone and cameras batteries. I already have one of those recharging devises that has three power outlets in it as well as a USB port, but I do not want to blow a fuse so I added the extra recharging outlets. <br />
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And speaking of recharging devices, the peskiest problem on last year’s trip involved the dogs in the front seat knocking out the recharger with their paws. I probably spent 10 hours on the trip last year trying to solve that problem. Well, I solved it one and for all. The cigarette lighter is mounted on a facia plate that has, from left to right, the warning lights flasher button, the clock (with no numbers, just hash marks) and the cigarette lighter. I removed that facia and rotated it 180 degrees, so now the recharged is eight more inches away from the dogs’ paws, making it more difficult for them to knock out the recharger. But to be sure, I got one of those large door stoppers and glued two simple hooks onto the back, and hang that on the ledge bordering the compartment in my dashboard. Now the dogs rest their chins on that instead of the recharger, which, of course, has been moved. <br />
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Another pesky problem I solved this year is where to place my coffee cup during drives. This may sound trivial, but it is not. Space is a premium in the Defender on these trips and every square inch is used. I had to remove the coffee cup holder mounted on the back of my console last year because they dogs would step on it to get to the front seat, ether spilling my coffee with their paws or getting their paws caught in the holder. I removed the holder and got a permanent coffee cup with a handle, which I now hang from the back of the foldable portable chair that now serves as the back of the dogs’ bed in the front seat and at other times my camp chair. If an item can serve two separate I am thrilled. But this chair now serves three.<br />
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When I give people a tour of the Defender to show all of the big improvements, little improvements and odds and ends, the most frequent comment I get is that I ought to market these ideas. I have to admit myself, , that some of them are fairly brilliant (e.g., the dog’s bed in the front seat and the sides from a dog cage that serve as my “windows”), but as I tell people, I have had the vehicle for 19 years so I have had a long time to work and improve on these ideas. (The second most frequent comment I get from people is, “What do you want for that rig?” The fact is, I have no intention of selling it and it is running perfectly as I maintain it well. But if I sell it, I will wait until the new Defender comes out for 2015. The new designs are so radically different that it will raise my asking price by at least $10,000 more to $35,000 or more.)<br />
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I have digressed. Back to the upcoming trip. I have six days remaining, probably three once I subtract out all of the therapy sessions I need to take Leben to. I will add more pre-trip postings as I think of them. And, of course, on the road I will post updates all along the way.<br />
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The blog for the 2012 trip can be found at <a href="http://www.ontheroad-2012.blogspot.com/">www.ontheroad-2012.blogspot.com</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-62292903140921016872012-04-25T16:43:00.003-07:002012-09-04T18:13:40.370-07:00I promised that I would put up the maps for my upcoming trip this year (2012) and the maps from my previous road trips. <a href="http://ontheroad-2012.blogspot.com/"> Here's the blog site for that (click here)</a><br />
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The good news is that that pesky two-year overheating problem I had last summer with my Defender has been solved. Hooray. The bad news is that the price of gas is still way up there, but that never stopped me before.<br />
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EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-10634643597901249262011-11-09T19:16:00.001-08:002012-04-25T16:40:39.232-07:00Important Notice<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I am still in the process of cleaning up this blog and adding some of the more than 800 photos I took on the journey. When I have substantially finished that, I will remove this posting.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>4/25/12 update...i promise to have this finished three weeks from now. I sure wish I could delegate this to someone. Sorry for the delay</b></span>.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">ED</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-12268259754777881552011-10-03T04:47:00.000-07:002011-10-03T15:49:11.278-07:00September 30, the journey over, here are the dogs resting up from tiring trip at home<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU67dQ8ASb1YLsyPfCjV1vGt5kuR1ThOB9vE1-uc2rgwNtZiu8JY84jcGaU6Pp6Thc_WnTyM7IjLxbu-Y1RPHYpEkJdKKrx4ePMkyN5wK92OhJIyMrEbcWOkcqjy4flzWOVf2KGpFHTOmJ/s1600/photo-796757.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU67dQ8ASb1YLsyPfCjV1vGt5kuR1ThOB9vE1-uc2rgwNtZiu8JY84jcGaU6Pp6Thc_WnTyM7IjLxbu-Y1RPHYpEkJdKKrx4ePMkyN5wK92OhJIyMrEbcWOkcqjy4flzWOVf2KGpFHTOmJ/s320/photo-796757.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659231432580261890" /></a></p><br />
I sure would like to know what they did on the trip that was so exhausting except have fun.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-60542344755794145092011-09-26T18:17:00.001-07:002011-09-27T08:13:06.580-07:00Day 37, Sunday, September 25: The final stretch home; There's something about a road/camping tripMy decision to stay in one of those cozy, Thoreau-sized KOA cabins paid off handsomely on Sunday morning when I was up and out within 30 minutes, by 7:30. The 350-mile ride home was unremarkable except for one thing. When we hit route 70, it was time for the dogs to have a breakmso we pulled into the next rest stop. When we got there, I thought it looked familiar, and then I remembered. I had stopped at this very same rest stop just a few days after 9/11/01, on my way back from Alaska. As I was getting ready to load Leben and Erde, then 4-month old pups, into the Defender, a family of two adults and five kids pulled into the rest stop and prepared to bed down for the night, in their car. After inquiring with them about their plight and destination (kentucky) and learning that they were homeless and the father jobless, I pulled my tent off the roof rack, the tent in the National Geographic photo of me and Sonntag, and gave it to them. I also gave them all my spare food, which I no longer needed. The 13-year old daughter, his oldest child, was more ecstatic over getting that tent than I bet any new occupant of one of those MacMansions ever was on moving into one of those monstrosities. <p>At about 4:15, 37 days and 7609 miles from when we set for this trip the second time, our trip to Labrador, and then on to world-famous (just kidding about the world-famous, of course) lake Bukemiga, had come to an end. Another end-of-road. <p>Over the course of the next several weeks, I hope t write a few epilogs about this trip here, but to all intents and purposes, this blog has reached the end of its own road, just as we reached several ends of roads over the previous 5 weeks, until Part II next year, that is. There is something about a road trip, especially like the one we just completed that inspires profound epilogs, so I will add then later. But I will make a few comments before I give my two iPad typing fingers a rest.<p>First, over the next several weeks I will also revise the postings to take out the iPad errors and supplement what I already wrote with additional writings, if I can recall them. I will also add lots of photos at last.<p>Second, this road trip was the shortest of the four I have taken over the last 11 years. The others ranged from 10,000 to 14,500 miles and from 45 to 50 days. But this one was more taxing for a variety of reasons I will think about and write up later.<p>Third, tbe 7,609 miles we drove were more miles than I drive in more than I drive on average in a year, although only half of what the average American driver drives in a year, so it's not as if I am exactly used to driving long distances. And the 7,609 was less than one percent more than I estimated before the trip, 7000 miles.<p>Fourth, to say that the trip was simlly extraordinary would be to reveal my limitations in the use of English. I will think of a better word later and add it to an epilog.<p>Fifth, to be sure, our days were filled with problems, obstacles and frustrations, but that is what these trips are all about. Only one problem became a blemish on the trip (the faulty satellite phone I rented, which could have turned not a disaster, but it did not). Despite 32 moves from place to place, I only lost two things, a spoon and that step stool that rolled of the back of the Defender. That impressed even me.<p>Sixth, despite the myriad problems and obstacles, we met every single daily destination in our plan, usually arriving at the planned campsites right on time, between 5-6.<p>Seventh, to be sure, this trip was about, first, my dogs, and then the road, the campsites, the views, the sunsets and sunrises, but it was also the chance to live inside a metaphor for five weeks.<p>Eighth, we did not meet a lot of people along the way for reasons that should be intuitively obvious, but all those we met were good, honest, positive people, most of whom shared my own admiration for nature.<p>Finally, a lot of people here in D.C. and on the road get a lot of credit for helping me prepare for the trip and carry it out, often when I was in a bind. At some point I will prepare a list of credits to acknowlegde tbe roles of those I can remember. But two deserve special mention right now, and they are my dogs, Leben and Erde, who were two terrific traveling companions. I only hope that they enjoyed the trip as much as I did with them. They were kind of shocked when we arrived home after resigning themselves to a nomadic life in a tent on the road, and I wish I had some way of telling them about Part II of the trip, but they'll just have to learn that for themselves next year. These trips give new meaning to the command, Let's go for a ride.<p>Ed from home in D.C.<p><br />
Sent from my iPadUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-66086555376021400862011-09-25T18:42:00.000-07:002011-09-25T18:43:26.326-07:00Day 36, At the KOA<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0LngkoWudjT_Oz8uVd6VimaXtFUbqHywzOy2Qkqh8iDlTlMmKpS1esLQDVqUgVKeB94GDD_2G-6uHlPFX2paH7sXg_xBtvrwYpVj2Dcm8GhGhzeK2N79w6g3aOB5VnOiV04Itg0Cw0RM/s1600/photo-706326.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0LngkoWudjT_Oz8uVd6VimaXtFUbqHywzOy2Qkqh8iDlTlMmKpS1esLQDVqUgVKeB94GDD_2G-6uHlPFX2paH7sXg_xBtvrwYpVj2Dcm8GhGhzeK2N79w6g3aOB5VnOiV04Itg0Cw0RM/s320/photo-706326.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656477973009403842" /></a></p>Leben and Erde resting peacefully in their bunk at the KOA, probably wondering what the heck is this guy (me) up to.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-90425766366882350832011-09-25T10:49:00.001-07:002011-09-27T09:22:44.284-07:00Day 36, Saturday, September 24, the journey homeOnce again, it rained on Friday night, but we are used to that routine. I think it rained at least some more than 50 percent of the time on this trip. What gives with all the rain this year? Rain or sun, though, it's all the same to me.<p>Because of a chore I had to do on Saturday morning, I got a later start than I wanted to get, 9:30, but I still hoped to reach my destination for the night, a KOA camp just off I-80 south of Cleveland, 520 miles distant. My plan was to do the 500+ miles on Saturday, more than I had done in one day on this trip, and pushing it for the poor dogs, and than I would have less than 350 to do on Sunday to get home, so I could arrive between 2:00 and 3:0 Even with a 9:30 departure, I still hoped to make it to the KOA by sundown, probably 7:00 that far south. <p>The only thing remarkable about the trip down on Saturday was the splendid display of fall for the first few hours, but then summer came roaring back in. There was not a speck of crimson, red, orange, yellow or brown in a single tree. But summer not only in the colors but in the heat, too. I dont think i have experienced a day over 70 degrees in four weeks. But today, the AC got turned on for the first time in weeks. I was ready to turn around and had 1000 miles north, from whence I had just come, and wait till fall invaded the Mason-Dixon line. But I could tolerate that. What I could not tolerate was the hallmarks of civilization displayed by the ugly props thrown up by humans once we hit Detroit and beyond. Boy, we really have screwed things up in places.<p>We pulled into the KOA at precisely 7:10, 10 minutes over my prediction, an achievement that even I am impressed with. Of course, as I roll along the highway, I can calculate my ETA and adjust my speed accordingly, so the achievement is really not that remarkable. The reason I chose the KOA was not because it was the only camp at the 500 mile point, or right off the interstate, but because they rent out these little bare bones cabins for the price of what I pay for my favorite hotel when I go to New York with the dogs, for two hours, that is. The last time I stayed in a KOA, the first time I ever rented one of their Thoreau-sized cabins, with with Leben and Erde. The date was 9/11/01. What struck me about the KOA when we pulled into it was the sharp contrast to what I had been experiencing the entire trip. Incongruous is the beet word. Instead of isolation, few people, and no kids, this was the weekend for their annual Halloween party. So, as I type these words and look out over the camp, there must be at least 100 kids running chaotically in as many directions dressed as witches, bears and wolves. In fact, there are more kids before my eyes now than I have ever seen gathered in DC since I lived there.<p>Enough for today.<p>Ed<p>Sent from my iPadUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-71217766814262336202011-09-23T17:27:00.001-07:002011-09-23T17:27:52.870-07:00Day 35, Friday, September 23, Straits State Park, across from Mackinac Island, Michigan<br>I am sitting outside typing for the first time on this journey. I am about 670 miles lower in latitude than just three days ago, and that makes a difference in the temperature, for sure. And it Is not raining, yet anyway.<br> <br>After an easy trip of 150 miles from Agawa, through some of the most beautiful fall scenes I have ever experienced, we made it across the border today and I sampled my first taste of the ugly side of people when I encountered the customs agent. Welcome home to America, the land of hospitable, pleasant people. We Americans can be proud of so much of what we have and are, but we still have a long way to go before we can claim to have arrived. The freedoms we gave up over these last 10 years.<br> <br>The setting at this camp is quite extraordinary. I have never before seen the colors that setting sun is throwing off. To the south of it is an enormous bridge, I guess to the lower peninsula, but for me it is the bridge to my former life. To the was of the bridge is Mackinac Island, which has zero meaning or interest to me, the tourist attraction and curiosity that it is. The only connection I have with it is that it was the setting for the movie, Somewhere in Tme, which features Rachmaninov's piano concerto number 2, one of my favorite pieces of music, and which I listened to every night on this trip just about, including right now.<br> <br>Wow, look at that sun now.<br><br>At first, I was going to take it easy getting back to DC, but I noticed tonight that Leben's skin infection has flared about again quite seriously, and so I plan to move as quickly toward home as I can, reaching Teledo, Ohio, or beyond tomorrow and then DC on Sunday. I hate putting the dogs through these long days in the car, but with stops every 2 hours it will be more palatable for them, as will the treats.<br> It is too early for me to reflect on this trip, perhaps I never will, but all four of the road trips I have taken have far exceeded any other kind of a trip I have taken, and I have taken a variety, never as a tourist though. And that was one of my aims for this trip, the be a traveler and not a tourist. I'll defer to the many locals I met along the way to judge whether I achieved that aim.<br> <br>The sun is almost gone and I need to wake the dogs from their deep slumber under a big apple tree right in the middle of this pleasant campsite overlooking the bridge I have to take tomorrow back home. How very symbolic.<br> <br>Ed<br><br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-38427691218492466642011-09-22T19:31:00.000-07:002011-10-03T12:20:30.207-07:00Day 34, Thursday, September 22, Agawa Bay Camp, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, CanadaDay 34, Thursday, September 22, Agawa Bay Camp, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada<br />
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Wow, if there is something known as the perfect day, or way, to end a journey, today was it for me. Although this journey has already had several endings, today is a big one because it is my last day in Canada, at least for a while.<br />
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The wind last night died down sometime during the night and it actually had a soporific affect instead of threatening my sleep. I actually slept quite well despite the wind and cold. Needless to say, the dogs did, too, and then had no wine as I did.<br />
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I had hoped to get an early start today because I knew my hoped-for destination, Lake Superior Provincial Park, was about 350 miles south down route 17, and I had no idea at all about the road conditions, weather, or other such things. After doing my laundry --- laundry is a major chore on these road trips which I try to time to coincide with other things, and the discovery that a campsite has a laundry, as well as hot showers and flush toilets, a cause for great celebration and joy --- I left SGPP about 11:00. My reliable impeccable math informed me that if it takes me an hour to get off the camp access road, I could probably do the remaining 330 or so miles in 7 hours, putting me in Agawa Bay between 7 and 7:30. With warning signs posted everywhere about the dangers of encountering moose on the highways, that would be pushing my limits, both for driving at night and wanting to have all the evenings chores done by 9:00.<br />
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The journey down route 17 was nothing short of extraordinary. Fall was in it's full splendor the entire route, even with the special effects of ominous clouds overhead, and was accompanied by extras playing the walk-on roles of mountains, lakes, and rivers. There were not more than two or three villages along the route and no traffic or stop lights. I was so distracted by the natural drama that I forget to gas up when I should have and when I pulled into Wawa to get gas, the dial was near the end of the red zone and I had three more miles. And with a bum satellite phone on board, I would have been faced with a predicament. Not to fear, though, I still had five gallons in a Jerry can on my roof.<br />
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The ominous weather than hung overhead all day, turned ugly at about 4:00 when the heavy started. As good fortune would have it, however, as soon as we came in sight of spectacular Lake Superior, bordered by beaches, mountains and cliffs, the weather turned for the better, as if right on queue.<br />
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As I drove down route 17 all day, my determination to make Agawa grew stronger as I discovered that there were virtually no campsites along the way, until I got to the vast Lake Superior Provincial Park. The only one I considered bivouacking in was one named Rabbit Blanket Lake, and the only reason I would have stayed there, forgoing my goal, would have been in deference to my friend Karen Hamrick, who would have been touched by the gesture. (Karen is the consummate rabbit lover.)<br />
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There have been many things during this journey about which I never ceased to me amazed at. One of those things is my ability to pick extraordinary camp sites and my ability to be precise in my timing. At precisely 7:30, right on schedule, we rolled into the gates of Agawa Bay Camp. Just when I thought that I had seen the best of all the camp sites I have stayed in, and there have been many, I could not believe my eyes when I rolled in Agawa. Wow, what a place. It is no wonder that there was only one camp site on the beach left, as if some guardian angel had reserved it for us. Although my priority when I get to a site is to set up camp and make dinner before anything else, I could not resist a walk on the beach with the dogs to luxuriate in a sunset the likes of which I had never seen before. In fact, there were two sunsets, the second a reflection on the water 70 degrees to the south of the setting sun.<br />
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Although I only pulled into my camp site at 7:50, all chores for the evening were over and done with by exactly 9:00, a record for me, and just 30 minutes after the usable daylight retired for the evening.<br />
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It's now 10:04. My dogs are asleep beside me. My wine is finished. The waves are pounding the beach. The sky is brilliant with stars. Benny Goodman is playing Goodbye on my iPad. Although I still have 96% battery left, I think it is time for me to play taps and turn in for the night, as the dogs already have after a busy day on the road. Tomorrow we cross the border into Michigan. I have no idea where I will stay tomorrow, but my goal from now on is to get home as fast as I can, but safely, either Sunday or Monday.<br />
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Ed Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-92072457568477749552011-09-22T10:44:00.001-07:002011-09-22T10:44:26.924-07:00Day 33, Wednesday, September 21, SGPP (Sleeping Giant Provincial Park), Thunder Bay, OntarioIt feels like I have been on the road forever. I have grown accustomed to the routine, as the dogs have. Their frame of reference about what is home is well entrenched now. It is either the tents or the Defender. I wonder if they believe that this is the way it shall be from now on. Soon that will change as we start our journey home, which I guess started this morning (Wednesday) as we pulled out of that trail from Lake Bukemiga.<p>I returned to SGPP for one last night here only to find it extremely windy and cold, and I mean cold. Here it is the first day of fall and the temperature here right now is in the low 40s, and with the wind blowing from the lake it feels much colder. I made a wise decision in paying for the campsite last night and leaving my larger tent uo so that it would be ready for us when we returned today. I also made a wise decision to weight it down with rocks, because otherwise I would not have found the tent when I returned, the wind is that strong. And there is no way one person could have put up my larger tent in this wind, and my smaller tent is soaking wet from the rain last night. As I sit in the tent now (10 pm), the wind is howling outside and flapping the tent in all directions, threatening a good night's sleep, but I'll deal with that later.<p>I still have a long way to go before we are home, 1200 or more miles, but there is a certain sense of regret to leave behind that endless gray (often brown) ribbon of highways and byways, roads and trails, about 6000 miles so far is my guess. Tomorrow's ride will be along Lake Superior, where i hope to camp at the provincial par of the same name, but then we get on the U.S. Interstate system, where I will start to morph from the life of a nomad back into the role of a city dweller. No more northern lights, no more nighttime skies filled with stars, no more empty highways, hospitable people everywhere, no more campfires, no more running free for the dogs , and the list goes on and on. The only thing I will be thrilled to see disappear will be the $5.30 per gallon gas bills, but maybe that's what gas is in the States now.<p>I have not read a paper or watched the news on TV or the Internet since I left. I have no idea what the stock r market is doing, and really do not care. Who is running for the Republican nomination is not something I kept up with on this trip, or before. What Obama is up to is something I discarded long before I left. My first order of business when I return will be to get a haircut, take the dogs to the vet, repair and clean all my gear and the Defender, organize the almost 700 photos I took, and assorted other tasks related to the trip. Then on October 1, I will return to life as I knew it before July 5th, when I made the decision to take this road trip with my dogs. My hope, though, is that the best of what I learned by this trip changes me in ways that surprise even me.<p>This trip far exceeded my expectations, despite the problems, obstacles, and frustrations that found us wherever we went. But that's what these road trips are all about. The only disappointment was the useless satellite phone I rented, but that's something I will deal with later.<p>I am cold and so I will play taps and go to bed now. Well, maybe not bed, sleeping bag is more accurate. The dogs are already sound asleep, as they are 80 percent of the time on this trip anyway. Great companions, when they are awake.<p>Ed, from Thunder Bay, Ontario, which most people in the states never heard of.<p>Sent from my iPadUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-88628644771095590362011-09-21T13:35:00.000-07:002011-09-21T14:30:18.874-07:00Day 32, Lake Bukemiga, the end of the road for this trip. Time to turn around and follow the geese south<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9pUYx-yiPMPgoBf-EI44h-o4j0sUm9SYV6wFiqaIIgXOK324Lu81FRA7eruojWKR1XUjhSfOfK8WmKqV7jWTgzjZXYSwi30qf47L3gqH-c7TSBxJ2H020w2LHK_iRBGhDmzD_Ob-Zvpl/s1600/photo-718875.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9pUYx-yiPMPgoBf-EI44h-o4j0sUm9SYV6wFiqaIIgXOK324Lu81FRA7eruojWKR1XUjhSfOfK8WmKqV7jWTgzjZXYSwi30qf47L3gqH-c7TSBxJ2H020w2LHK_iRBGhDmzD_Ob-Zvpl/s320/photo-718875.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654928407489270978" /></a></p>See below posting for details, lots of themUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-90012819410440864862011-09-21T13:08:00.005-07:002011-09-21T13:08:37.649-07:00Day 32, Tuesday, Sept 20, Lake Bukemiga, at last! Oops.Day 32, Tuesday, Sept 20, Lake Bukemiga, at last! Oops.<br />
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8:00 p.m., Tuesday <br />
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I had hoped to get an earlier start today than 11:00 because The world famous Lake Bukemiga was about 220 miles away, 24 miles from the camp, another 26 down route 11, another 157 directly route up route 527 to check out that output first, and then I figured another 16 miles back down 527 to Bukemiga. But I decided to watch the complete show of the sunrise just to the right of my camp, and the delay was more than worth it. How many times do we get the chance to watch a glorious sunset, and then 12 hours later, watch the sun's return in full splendor. Today was one of those days.<br />
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The trip up 527 was as magnificent as any on this trip, but for different reasons. The forest surrounding me on all sides on this empty two-lane highway was already in full fall fashion show of color. Tomorrow I hope to take some photos on my return as I wanted to bu sure to settle in at Bukemiga before nightfall, which is just. Happening now as I write this at 8:18 in my small tent, with my two loyal companions settled in for the night, a roaring fire burning outside the tent, and you can guess what plaing n my iPad (RPC2). <br />
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Before I go any further with this posting, I have a confession to make. Lake Bukemiga exists, for sure, but it is not world famous. Heck, the long-time locals working at the next gas stop down the road, 183 miles distant, never even heard of it. There is no casino here; the only bets people make here on on their lives against the bears, wolves and weather. Streisand never sang People here in any coliseum, not because there is no coliseum, though there is not, but because there are no people here. The only Newton the played here were the fig kind. The only evidence of lady gaga is the moose nuggets. Anna Bolena is most certainly not the opera here this week because there is no opera house. Besides, why does anyone have to worry about losing his or her head when you'd have to be out of your mind anyway to come here. No, Lake Bukemiga is nothing more than a place I saw and the map at the end of the road, looked it up on Google Earth and saw that there was some kind of an access road to it and no sign of civilization or cabins and chose that as my final destination on this trip before heading home. And so, that's where I am now, sitting in my tent, the dogs sound asleep next to me, the rain just starting to come down, typing away with two fingers, hoping the 46 percent battery remaining holds out for me to finish this.<br />
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Lake Bukemiga was, in a large sense, a metaphor for the way we all make decisions, about important items as well as the trivial ones. But more important, it was about setting a goal and meeting it, or what we can of it, come hail or high water. And beyond that, it was about the journey, in this case, of a man with his dogs. More on this in the epilogue.<br />
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Having introduced you now to Bukemiga and its meaning, just hours after I met it for the first time myself, let me tell you about how I spent my first few hours here so you can share in the adventure, or whatever this is.<br />
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As I drove up 527, I saw signs for all the other lakes in the region on the side of the road, but I got to Armstrong, the end of the road, without seeing any for Bukemiga. In June, when I called some small outfitter in Armstrong, the woman I spoke with told me just to turn left at some road that I thought started with a P. Simple enough, I thought. But I saw no streets starting with a P. In fact, there were no streets, just a bunch of narrow, unmarked dirt roads for the most part. I lost an hour on the way up driving down some of them and then having to spend time turning around on those narrow paths when I realized they could not be the road to Bekemiga<br />
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As soon as I pulled into Armstrong, a town of about 100 people, I decided that if I could not find Bekemiga soon, I would head back to SGPP while it was still daylight. You do not want to be driving on 527 at night with 7 foot tall moose around, and the signs all over remind you of that. As luck would have it, a local pulled up beside me and explained how to get to Bekemiga. Go down 52) 21 km, turn left at Bunga road, and before you get to the bridge at the foot of the hill, take the right turn and you'll be there in 10 minutes. But it's a rough road, he warned. <br />
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Well, I drove the 21 km and came across not Bunga road, but Obanga Road. This has to be it, I said. I turned right drove perhaps a mile down the dirt road and came to the bridge down the hill, but I saw no road that would lead to Bukemiga. I getting the hell out of here, I said, as I turned the Defender around and started heading back to SGPP, satisfied that I met my goal substantially. But then on the way back up the hill, I saw what would not pass for a road by anyone's definition, but a trail that some vehicles had gone down, so I decided to chance that. As I drove this path, it was so narrow that the trees and brushes were swiping the Defender on both sides and the top. At one point, I had to navigate over a fallen tree. After 10 minutes of this, I came to a dirt road so full and potholes and huge puddles that it made the worst if the Trans-Labrador Highway look like the Autobahn. Then, much to my delight and relief, there it was, Lake Bukemiga. I had made it, at last.<br />
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I will let the photos and videos I took tell the story about this setting when I have the chance to post them (maybe I'll add one to this posting if I can). I will say this, though. Although there is plenty of evidence here that others use this as their private getaway, it really is quite a splendid setting, a beach, the calm, peaceful lake, the hills surrounding it. And if I wanted to be alone here, I found the place. There is no one around for 26 miles to the north and 131 miles to the south. Thinking that I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this place and its isolation, instead of getting the hell out of here right away, I decided to get on my rented satellite phone and call my friend, Mike Lotus, who worries about things like this for a living, and ask him if he does not hear from me by noon tomorrow, to have the RCMP come in looking for me. Inam more concerned about he ogs han i am myself. And that's when the fun began. Any confidence of safety with that phone that I had prior to this was lost in the next ten minutes.<br />
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Three times before, I had rented a phone from the outfit, so I had confidence in them. When. Received this phone the day before I left, I noticed that the wire on the recharging unit was mended with electrical tape and splitting in other places. Instead of sending it back, I plugged it in to recharge the phone and the green recharging light came in, so I assumed it was recharging. When the green light went off later, I assumed it was fully recharged, so I put everything away and went on with my business of leaving. Then, in Labrador, when I needed the phone the most, I went to recharge it again, but discovered that one of the hooks that connects the recharging unit to the phone had broken off. No problem, I said, I'll just tape the two together, and sure enough, I did and the green light came on. When I noticed the light was off later, I put everything away confident I had a charged phone. I never tested the phone because I trusted that I was sent functioning equipment and I knew how to use the phone.<br />
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Which brings us to tonight. When I went to turn the phone on, the screen said the battery was low. That's odd, I thought, I just recharged it again a few days ago, or so I thought. As it turns out, the green light going off all along did not mean that phone was recharged, but that it was not recharging. When I squeezed the frayed wires in the center of the recharger, the green light would go on, but only for a few seconds at a time, not long to make a call or to recharge the battery. After 15 minutes of trying this about as many times, th green light never came on again. As I did not want to short circuit my electrical system in my car, I gave up and decided to take the risk of not having the phone, hoping that if I do not emerge from Bekemiga, someone would have read my blog and know where to send the RCMP to look for me. (if you are reading this posting, don't worry, made it out of here ok. The bottom line is that I paid almost $500 for a false sense of security, except that tonight I have no sense of security.<br />
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Not wanting this to spoil the last night of this trip before heading home, I set out on the evening's chores. The first chore was to create a huge bonfire to alert mischievous animals that people were here. Then I set up the small , recently mended tent, hoping the mend would hold, and it did. Then dinner for the dogs, and then for myself. All chores completed by 7:30, I had plenty of time to enjoy the peace, quiet and beauty of this place, along with my dogs, a small frog that curiously came to visit us, a loon giving us that same plaintive cry the one in Labrador gave us, a few geese who got left behind, and a flock of ptarmigan, who seemed not a bit fearful of the three of us. My hope is that in this land of bears and wolves, that's all we see.<br />
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In the event of something not to my liking happening tonight, the Defender is parked right next to us and ready to go on a moment's notice. I will be confident and assume for the best. But I am making as much noise as I cam, and sleeping with my dogs, as well as my pepper spray, hunting knife, whistle (the one I used in Kamchatka to ward off a bear attack in 1997), and flares from my car.<br />
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it's now 4:30. a.m., wednesday.<br />
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I have gotten very little sleep all night. The reason is that it has been raining hard since 8:00 and I am concerned about getting out of her tomorrow. I have no idea what condition I will find that road in when leave. It was already in terrible condition when I came in. And that path of trees I have to drive through? Who knows what I will find there. I am confident he Defender can get through a lot, it it starts that is. I just ot up to make sure water wasn't getting into the gas tank, as happened before. Of course, I can walk to the main road, a mile away, but Leben cannot, and I cannot leav him here.. And who knows when someone will come along. And what tow truck company will wan to come bto this hidden labyrinth?<br />
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I also got up because the tent is leaking and everything is getting wet, even my winter sleeping bag. <br />
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But these things are not what's worrying me. What concerns me is how I am going to drive 259 miles tomorrow on virtually no sleep. I do not do well behind the wheel with little sleep. Even though I have to be back at the camp at noon, I decided to take an Ambien now (they give me four hours of restful sleep) and risk being late. I did not take one earlier tonight because I wanted to be alert if something happened in this desolate, wet place.<br />
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Little of this is what I was hoping on my last night onthisvtip before heading home, which I have to do soon because skin problem is flaring up again and he is scratching himself al day, exacerbating the problem.<br />
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I will now try to get some sleep with help from St Ambien and Dvorak, his string serenade E major opus 22, which, withb the rain, I hope will help lull me to sleep. The music might also help keep the bears away. In the, meantime, I morning inwill deal these other problems one by one until they are all solved and I am back at SGPP with m dogs.<br />
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8:00 a.m. Wednesday<br />
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The rain kept up ball night but stopped sometime in the last or so, but there is a very slight drizzle now. My clothes from the tent are somewhat wet, but I can live with that. The Defender woke up this morning as soon as I turned it on, perhaps because I played reveille from my iPad first. Good Defender. The temperature dropped precipitously during the night and it is now about 35 outside. By the way, the temperature in the tent with one person is about 10 degrees warmer, a little more with one dog, and a little more than that with two. I should have rented a third dog, but there's no room left in my small tent. Time to make breakfast for the dogs and myself, and then get the hell out of here, or try. The dogs, in the meantime, are, as usual, enjoying themselves in this paradise.<br />
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9:45...all packed and loaded and ready to go. Now let's see if we can find our way out of this maze of dirt roads, pools of water, and narrow forest paths and head back to our palace at SGPP. If you are reading this posting, it means we did.<br />
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4:00 p.m, Wednesday<br />
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Well, we said our goodbyes to Bukemiga and made it out of that maze to get in and out of there. Despite the adverse conditions, it really was the best night of the trip, and now we're ready to head home. I am now back in Thunder Bay, restocked for the trip home, and ready to head back to one more night at the magnificent SGPP, where I will plot my course home. I may head back by way of Michigan, and then to NY where I may try to spend my final night of the trip at the Farm Sanctuary.<br />
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Ed, from Thunder Bay, Ontario, the end of the road for Part 1 of this trip.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-88761767550465907342011-09-20T08:23:00.001-07:002011-09-30T17:07:09.731-07:00Day 32, 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 20th, Lake Bukemiga, here we come.I am so excited. Today, in just a few short hours, we will be at world famous Lake Bukemiga, where the rich, famous, beautiful and powerful mingle and party. I am right now a the intersection of highways 11/17 and 527 ready to head north. Wow, I cannot believe it. Me, Eddie, at Lake Bukemiga. What more could I guy ask for, besides the long list I already enumerated elsewhere on this blog. I wonder if I should head into Thunder Bay to rent a tux for the casino, if they have one. Or perhaps a pair of opera glasses in case they have an opera house. (I sure hope Anna Bolena isn't playing as I will see that in NY in a few weeks.) if they have a coliseum, will it be Barbara Striesand, Wayne Newton, or lady gaga playing there?Or maybe I should get more cash or my credit card limit raised so I can go wild in the fancy boutiques there, if there are any. And perhaps I'll pick up so gourmet food here in the event there is no Whole Foods equivalent there. Wow, just think it it. I traveled all this distance just to come here, and then turn around and go home. I am even told that the Northern Lights are quite visible that far north, a the end of the road.<p>The sun rise rise here until long after 7:30 but it begins to preview it's debut before that, so I made sure I was up for it. If the show that the sun out on this morning was the only thing good about this trip, and it was not, the whole trip would have been worth if for that one display of colors, shapes and beauty, just as the 24 mile ride during the access road to SGPP was one beautifully display of autumn before it officially starts tomorrow.<p>Off to Bukemiga. Standby for my report tomorrow.<p>Ed<p>Sent from my iPadUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-44801429733316406162011-09-19T18:31:00.000-07:002011-09-19T18:51:19.872-07:00Day 31, Monday, September 19, SGPP (Sleeping Giant Provincial Park), Thunder Bay, Ontario<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbA6ecMRialwuI42YWw-BvC8bSIkC1sMh3A7Z32dSGtm5oDwb3LCcfBLlO0pPF-Sf662_reinHBuBJ5K2mw5LF-md0oTxnnhoaXLQBkmBd2FcKpDrPgAN8mg2tIkHlsNL1hMCngRE1utud/s1600/photo-797481.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbA6ecMRialwuI42YWw-BvC8bSIkC1sMh3A7Z32dSGtm5oDwb3LCcfBLlO0pPF-Sf662_reinHBuBJ5K2mw5LF-md0oTxnnhoaXLQBkmBd2FcKpDrPgAN8mg2tIkHlsNL1hMCngRE1utud/s320/photo-797481.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654248842892081346" /></a></p><br />
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A friend, in an early comment to this blog commented on how sublime the experience must be to watch so many sunsets in so many locations. He was absolutely correct, and I wish I had written that down as one of my goals for this trip. But to the sunsets I must add sun rises, wonderful scenes along the way, the weather when it is at its best, the wonderful people with whom I have such brief encounters, and simply the experience of moments with my dogs I shall cherish forever. Today was one those days when all these things came together. Perhaps it was because I decided to take the day off and stay in this wonderful park for another day or so, or perhaps it just happened. But to explain all this would take all night long, so i will leave it to the imagination of those who read this. I suspected all along that this park would ignite a feeling within me, and it has. I will remember it by the photo I hope to send with this posting, my dogs sitting by my side as the sun was setting behind the sleeping giant, the weather as gorgeous as I have ever experienced, no other campers around, and rachmaninov's piano concert #2 playing in the background. Wow, the almost 5000 miles I had to drive so far for this alone was worth it. Sublime is the precise word to use. <br />
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Tomorrow i hope to reach my penultimate destination, Lake Bukemiga, a drive straight north from here, at the end of the road north. I will camp on the beach there (I had to go into Thunder Bay today to get a crown land permit to do so) for the night, but keep my camp site here --- the best in this camp --- and return to it Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, the first full day of fall, I will head for my ultimate destination, home, safely.<br />
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EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-78638478283456486092011-09-19T14:42:00.001-07:002011-09-19T14:42:57.862-07:00Day 30, Sunday, September 18, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Thunder Bay, Ontario, 326 miles todayDay 30, Sunday, September 18, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Thunder Bay, Ontario, 326 miles today<br />
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Well, we made it. Here's the story for today.<br />
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We got off to a later start than I wanted to this morning, 9:30, because there was no usable daylight until after 7:00. Our goal today was to make Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, nearThunder Bay, more than 300 miles away, by 5:00 p.m., a tall order for the three of us, but I was still confident we could make it if the road was like we experienced these last few days on highway 11. Along the way I found one spot about 50 miles up the road where we could have camped overnight, a real nice picnic area with a secluded parking area and tent spot, but I was thrilled with my decision to do what I did.<br />
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The road was absolutely wonderful. Vehicles were the exception rather than the rule, except that we could have done without the trucks coming at us in both directions. The scenery was out of this world, even going 70, which was easy to do on this road. I recognized none of it from my journey along this same route 11 years ago with Sonntag, perhaps because we were going in the opposite direction. The dogs got their promised stops every 100 miles, always at unbelievably beautiful picnic areas, courtesy of Ontario government.<br />
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Surprising even me, we turned onto the acces road to Sleeping Giant at precisely 5:01, one minute behind our target. Considering that we travelled 326 miles, that was remarkable. The narrow access road, 26 miles, took us only another 30 minutes, and so we met our goal. More than that, although we day started off beautifully, the rain came and followed us right to the gate of the park, but then stopped, continuing my almost perfect record. I picked the best site in the park, #140, on the water, and equidistant between my site Sonntag in 2000 and my sitecwith Leben and Erde in 2001. This site is so nice, with a direct view of the sleeping giant on the other side of the lake, i decided to stay at least one extra day here before heading north to world famous Lake Bukemiga, 157 miles to the north, where the rich, famous and powerful hang out. I hope they have a casino, maybe even an opera house there, as I am ready for both, after I take a sower, of course.<br />
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Incidentally, when I went to unload the Defender and let the dogs out, I discovered that the step stool that was double strapped to the platform step in my receiver hitch on my rear bumper, there for Leben to jump into and out of the vehicle so he does not have to rely on me to help, had fallen off during the last hundred miles of our journey today. Fortunately, I have a spare at home and a back-up plan for the road in the event this happened.<br />
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When I got to my campsite, I was told by a fellow camper that the camp had to be evacuated recently because a pack of lynx moved in here. They're gone now, but can still be heard howling at night near the camp. I was more concerned, though, about the skunk that came right up to my tent in 2000 here, but he does not seem to be here, yet anyway.<br />
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The dogs are sleeping soundly now, and it is raining quite hard outside the tent. The rain doesn't concern me, especially since I will stay put tomorrow. Whatcwill concern me, though, is my malfunctioning winter sleeping bag, but I'll figure out a solution to that problem, too, short of just buying a ne one.<br />
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Taps just sounded on my iPad telling me it's time to retire or the night, and so I have to end this here. Soon, after our journey to Armstrong and Bukemigs, we will be heading home, by which route I do not yet know, but we'll decide that soon.<br />
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EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-84201179760191774652011-09-18T07:27:00.001-07:002011-09-18T07:27:24.889-07:00Day 29, Saturday, September 17. Veilleux Camp, Hearst, OntarioDay 29, Saturday, September 17. Veilleux Camp, Hearst, Ontario<br />
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My plan for the day was to drive from Kettle Lakes camp near Timmins, Ontario, to the Fushimi Provincial Park near Hearst, which, from what I learned, is actually the farthest north one can drive to in Ontario. I stayed at Fushimi in 2000 on my way home from Alaska with Sonntag and remembered what a pleasant place it was. I checked Woodall's Camping Directory and it reported that Fushimi was open to late September, and I recall staying there in mid-September before. No one answered the phone when I called to check, but the message said that it opens in mid-May and said nothing about its being closed, so Fushimi was my destination for the night.<br />
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The drive to Fushimi was only 200 miles or so, so I slowed down my pace a bit to enjoy the drive on route 11. The road was virtually empty and for the most part in excellent condition, so I could adjust my speed to whatever was needed to make it to Fushimi by 5:00. I even stopped to let the dogs out a few extra times since I was confident of making my deadline. My only fear was that Fushimi was booked up for the weekend, which would have been a problem since the only other camp listed in Woodall's was essentially an RV pitstop on the highway, not some place I wanted to camp. The next campsite beyond Fushimi was five hours away. <br />
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I recall that Fushimi was located six miles up a dirt and gravel road from the main highway. When I finally reached the turnoff, I saw the sign for Fushimi, but then my worst fear was worsened. At the bottom of the sign were the words Closed-Ferme. What? It can't be closed, I thought. This has to be a mistake. Maybe they put the sign up for tomorrow. Or if it is closed, maybe it is not gated and I can still camp there. Instead of just accepting the obvious, I turned onto the dirt and gravel access road to Fushimi and made tracks for it, forgetting that my back window was rolled up, meaning that I collected a ton of dust in my Defender. When I finally reached the entrance to Fushimi, my even-worsened worst fear was worsened further. The road to Fushimi was gated, with a huge STOP sign right in he middle of it. I looked for a way to drive around the gate, but it was clear others had the same idea, so Mr. Fushimi had driven several immovable iron rods between the gate and the impassable tundra beyond. Not ready to give up, I took out my iPad to access Google Earth to see how long this last stretch to Fushimi was so I could possibly walk the final distance with Leben (he cannot walk more than a mile or so), but there was no 3G service there. So I decided to hike up the road to see how far it was, but after a mile gave up and headed back to the Defender. (I since learned it is 6 kilometers, which Leben could not have done.). I then thought about using my bolt cutters to cut the lock on the chain holding the lock, but decided against that, too. <br />
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Back at route 11, I pulled out my cell phone and called the next campsite towards Thunder Bay, my destination tomorrow. Yes, they were open, and yes, they welcome dogs. Problem was that they were five hours away. Since you cannot camp on Crown (public) lands without a permit, and since there really were no interesting places along this long road to pull over and bivouac or he night, asked the woman on he phone if she knew of any places near Hearst where I could camp. She gave me the number for he Vieuxville camp, about 30 miles back in the direction I had just come from. I called Vieuxville and the woman who answered said that they took dogs, but they were closed for the season. However, she said, sinc they had not yet turned off the electricity or water, I was welcome to stay there, so off I flew to the camp.<br />
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By the way, in addition to Woodalls, I also join KOA and carry a list of their camps, always a last resort, but the closest KOA was six hours away, not an option. I also join the ANNR and carry with me a list of their camps after an experience I had on my first road trip when a ANNR camp was the only camp around for miles late one stormy night when I discovered that the bridge to my preferred camp had washed out in the storm and I would have had to detour for 100 miles to get to it. But I knew they'd be no ANNR camps this far north (too cold for that), so I did not consult my list of those camps. <br />
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Well, what had the potential to turn into my worst camping night on this trip by far, turned out to be the best. What a delightful camp Veilleux turned out to be. Set on a wonderful little lake in a tundra setting, it gave me the most wonderful sun setting I have seen in a long time. The dogs took to the lake like fish to water and could not get enough of the other animal smells all around. And to make matters even better, a group of other campers, all residents of Hearst celebrating the season's end, invited me to join them in their final meal of the season, which was more food than I had this past week, and much, much better. What wonderful hospitality! What a surprise! I never cease to be amazed at how a potential disappointment can be turned into the exact opposite. <br />
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After I set up camp, I discovered in back of our tent in a peaceful setting a small wooden cross with "Hercul, 1999-2010" inscribed on it. I later asked Jocelyn, the camp owner, if that was his dog. It was, a golden retriever named Hercules. My first thought was that when I drove by Hearst 11 years ago with Sonntag, Hercul was only a one-year old pup, and now he was gone. Life passes quickly. I then left on his grave a dog treat, the way we leave flowers on graves of those we loved. (Lebem found the treat the next mrning but I made him return it.)<br />
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On the repair note, it seems I have another one to tend to. It seems that the zipper on my winter sleeping bag becomes separated during the night, just when I need that bag the most. I was wondering why I have been freezing in it these last few nights. I'll figure out some solution, even perhaps adding some of the Velcro I brought.<br />
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Tomorrow I will set out for Thunder Bay and Sleeping Giant Park, which I know is open, and then not world-famous Lake Bukemiga. The weather here is very cold (the high today was 62F, and it snowed twice this week here), but we can handle that, I hope. (What I cannot handle are parks that close early because it is too cold.). And then I will declare this trip ended and head for home, arriving in about 10 days, hopefully after the oppressive DC heat has disappeared.<br />
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EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-65306521147207052832011-09-17T08:40:00.003-07:002011-09-17T08:42:07.351-07:00Day 28, Friday, September17, Kettle Lake Provincial Park, near Timmns, OntarioDay 28, Friday, September17, Kettle Lake Provincial Park, near Timmins,, Ontario<br />
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Oh, how I hated to leave that wonderful campsite #2 at Brent Camp (Algonquin Park), despite the freezing temperature, morning frost and howling wolves during he night, but the road beckoned. But it is not so much the road that beckons these days. It's the campsites and places unknown getting there. We got a late start today (11:00) and suspected we would hav some difficulty making our next destination, Kettle Lake camp, 300 miles away, but my goal was to reach it by 6:15 if all worked in our favor.<br />
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It took us almost an hour to navigate the 24 mile dirt road out of Brent, but the remaining 274 miles were on a paved essentially two-LAN highway with few cars, and two traffic lights, and lots of interesting views. I was constantly watching the sun lowering in the sky and computing my estimated time of arrival so that I did not end up having to bivouac in some boring RV campsite. Fortunately, all the cars do at least 70mph around here with no fear of being stopped, si I joined in the local tradition and pulled into Kettle camp at precisely 6:30, 15 minutes behind my target, and had daylight until 8:15, plenty of time for my evening chores. The dogs had time for their chores, too, i,e., sniffing all the new smells, looking for food someone might have dropped before, rolling around in some weird stuff they found on the ground. The campsite itself was quite nice, overlooking a small lake in a heavily wooded area, with plenty of fallen wood to build a good fire.<br />
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Tomorrow, Saturday, we have. 200 mike drive to Fushimi Park, a wonderful setting where Sonntag and I camped 11 years ago. From there, we travel 300 to Thunder Bau (Sleeping Giant Park) and then 157 miles onto world-famous Lake Bukemige, which is at the end of the road north in Ontario. After a few days there, we head for home, about 1300 miles southeast.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-71259371827538258552011-09-16T11:16:00.000-07:002011-09-16T18:38:08.326-07:00Day 27, September 15, Thursday, Algonquin Provincial Park, Brent CampBrent Camp<br />
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It was sad to have to leave my friends in St Jovie, but th road beckoned.<br />
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We took highway 323 to Montebello and then route 148 before cutting over to Ontario and highway 17. The 290 mile drive was quite pleasant. I got a late start and was worried about whether we would reach our planned destination, Brent camp in Ontario's splendid Algonquin Park. As luck would have it, we rolled up to the registration cabin at 5:55, just five minutes shy of the window closing on my goal to be at a campsite between 5 and 6. But after leaving the highway, we had to travel down a narrow windy dirt road through a wonderful forest for 41 mm, and that took almost an hour. I never met another car the whole route. It rained on and off the entire drive, but the rain stopped just as we found the camp. And what a camp it was. Just when I thought I had seen the best of the campsites on this trip, another one pops up. We had a site right on the lake. Leben and Erde were almost out of control with joy. Their first order of business was to head straight for the water. Then, Erde started to bait Leben to chase her, and ran around the site in ever increasing circles. At one point, she ran straight into the tent which in was trying to set up, dismantling the poles I had put together in the process.<br />
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The camp site was empty except or two guys from New York who have been coming to this same camp for a week each year for 30 years. I broke my routine of getting to bed early and traded travel stories with he two of them.The temperature dropped to about 28 degrees Farenheit at night and it was cold and wet in the tent. The dogs had a better sleep than I did. For a while, I could hear the howling of wolves from across the lake in front of us, but Leben and Erde slept right through it.<br />
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My goal for Friday is to make it to Kettle Lake Provide Park , 300 miles north, but I may not have enough time. Then on Saturday, the goal is to make it to Fushimi Provincial Park, 262 miles to the north. The trees up here are already taking on their autumn colors, which makes these drives all the more pleasant. <br />
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EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-56662222364980515122011-09-15T06:54:00.001-07:002011-09-29T09:07:24.756-07:00Day 27, Defender all repaired and ready to go<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhH0WMhz0Yy5QG3VIvb7ymbM2YHy6Uw2RTB4IbYSZiBXmnKThHlTVHEEJKCzkQX4QPGIAtNkn_naaaKsAi58bCgd-kkrO-Ihhk8XWBEjDkga1C-ev4N1O0LfWb9hL_XOVDx5F_6TaNV6f/s1600/photo-766144.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhH0WMhz0Yy5QG3VIvb7ymbM2YHy6Uw2RTB4IbYSZiBXmnKThHlTVHEEJKCzkQX4QPGIAtNkn_naaaKsAi58bCgd-kkrO-Ihhk8XWBEjDkga1C-ev4N1O0LfWb9hL_XOVDx5F_6TaNV6f/s320/photo-766144.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652584413396658274" /></a></p>I just picked up the Defender. Marcel, the mechanic, did an absolutely terrific job, even rehabbing the lights and light protectors so I don't have to replace them. I just need to paint the repaired part when i get home. He also discovered that the wires to the right rear light were crossed and fusing, which would have shorted out at some point, leaving me stranded somewhere. In addition, he repaired my hand brake which four garages along the way said they could not repair without new parts. Marcel apologized that he could not make the brake perfect, but it is better than it has ever been, even when new. And for all this he wanted $220. I gave him $300. Try getting that deal where you live.<p>EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-7202240275921979242011-09-14T14:55:00.001-07:002011-09-29T17:05:04.315-07:00Days 24-26, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, September 12-14, guest of Andre Latour, Mt Tremblant (a.k.a. St Jovite), Laurentians, Quebec, posting 2.For the first time in almost four weeks, nine weeks, really, when you count the weeks of preparing for this trip, I am taking it easy, if you call getting the Defender repaired, repairing things like my tents, washing and grooming the dogs, researching campsites for the next two weeks, restocking, organizing my supplies, etc., taking it easy. This morning, I should have the Defender back and on the road again by 10:00, heading toward Algonquin National Park in Ontario, where we will spend the night on beautiful Cedar Lake. From there, it will be on to a Provincial Park in the Iroquois Falls area, then on to Fushimi Provincial Park, where Sonntag and I spent one absolutrly glorious evening on our way back from Alaska in 2000, then Sleeping Giant Provincial Park near Thunder Bay, and finally Lake Bukemiga at the end of the road as far north as one can drive in Ontario. After a day or so there, we will point the Defender in the same direction as the geese we have seen have been heading, and follow them to DC, where we will settle in for the long cold winter. (Some of those poor geese will not be as fortunate.)<br />
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These few days at Mt Tremblant have been a marvelous walk in the past for me, somewhere in time. I first came here in 1973, just months after I got my first dog, Montag, and my first four-wheel drive, an International Harvester Scout II. They were followed respectively by Sonntag and Kessie, and Leben and Erde, and a Jeep CJ-7 and the Defender 90, all of whom/which made it up here one time or another. The mountain here remained pretty much the same until 1995, when Invawest bought the resort and transformed it into a world-class resort that rivals anything else in the world. In the little village of St Jovite, where my host, Andre Latour, lives, the stores here rival anything we have in DC, especially the grocery and hardware stores, the cafes and restaurants, and the speciality boutiques.I forewent the chance to go to the unbelievable Swedish spa here, which I visited before, so as not to leave the dogs, rule #2.<br />
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Andre suggested that I stay for a few days more, but the lure of the road is pulling me back onto it, and I suspect we will leave this morning (Thursday) if all is well with the Defender when i pick it up in an hour. If I am certain of one thing as I leave, however, it is that had I not lost those early two weeks, we would have been on our way to Alaska now. But all things considered, things turned out for the best after all, so far anyway. But we'll see.<br />
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EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-86484607686164470882011-09-13T15:13:00.000-07:002011-09-29T17:02:26.344-07:00Days 24- 26, Sept 12-14, Monday-Wednesday, Respite at Mt Tremblant, in the Laurentians, north of Montreal, posting 1.Disaster strikes the Defender<br />
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I decided to make it as far towards Quebec City as I could Monday, and finally settled on a camp near Beaupre called St. Anne of the Mountains. The brief description in the camping books I had read sounded interesting. As it turns out, it was quite an upscale place, the best near Quebec City I was to learn. The tenting area where I stayed, a distance from the RV sites, was completely empty except for us. The rest facility for the tenting area had a section for Femmes (women), Hommes (men), and even a big red fire hydrant that, considering that the only structure around was the small rest facility, i swear must have been put there for the upscale chiens (dogs) camping there.<br />
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After I broke camp in the morning, I did my usual inspection of the campsite to make sure I did not leave anything behind there and was leaving the place in at least as good condition as I found it. I then picked up my bathroom kit from the picnic table, got into the Defender, and headed for the rest room to shower, navigating carefully around the the chien's fire hydrant before parking. Twenty minutes later, as I readied to set off again, I realized that that the nylon bag for my wet washcloth was missing, probably dropped as I picked up my bathroom kit from the picnic table at my campsite. More concerned about leaving the campsite with litter than about the bag, instead of driving forward out f the camp, I put the car in reverse and started to back up to go back to my campsite, not remembering the fire hydrant. CRUNCH. Unfortunately, the arm of the hydrant was the height of my rear right lights and it took a toll on the Defender. (See phoyo elsewhere.) This was the first dent ever in the Defender, now 18 years old, and my first car damage in 33 years. However, this was my own fault, and it could have been much worse, much worse. The damage just missed the fuel lines and left the light bulbs still functional. Also, the hydrant was undamaged. At a NAPA store 20 miles down the road I was able to buy a red light cover and so I don't have to worry about not having a rear right brake light for the trip home. (On Tuesday, I found a local garage that is fixing the damage to the body.)<br />
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After my interim repair job, I was on my way again. After navigating through traffic from Quebec City to Montreal, I arrived at St Jovite, 60 miles northwest of Montreal, at 7:00, only to find that it no longer existed. Since my last visit here in 2003, th picturesque little village merged with Mont Tremblant, the huge ski resort nearby. (This is where Natasha Richardson died several years ago.). I first came to Mt Tremblant in 1973, and returned every year 1990-1999 with my dogs I have nothing but fond memories of the place, as it was as a small sleepy ski place in 1973 and as a major, world-class resort sine 1995. I just wanted to stop here for a few days and bask in the fond memories before continuing my trip. And so, that's where I am now, with my friend Andre Latour and his friend Francine, and francine's brother Daniel, all consummate dog lovers.<br />
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I will get my Defender back from the shop on Wednesday, when I will drop the dogs off at a groomer for a bath. I will spend the day organizing for the next and last leg of this trip, to the wilds of Ontario and Thunder Bay. There is a road north from there that goes as far north in Ontario as on can drive,to Armstrong Station, and so we will take it. After a few days at Lake Bukemiga near there, we will point the Defender in the direction of DC and head southeast. It is hoped that the temperature there will be 20 degrees less than when we left in August.<br />
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So, last night, tonight and tomorrow night, we are enjoying a well-deserved respite from the road at Mt Tremblant. I could not have thought of a better place to take uch a break from the road. But I am anxious to get back on the road again.<br />
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EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-20671514374529337172011-09-13T04:27:00.000-07:002011-10-03T09:02:46.780-07:00Day 24. September 12, Monday, Disaster strikes the defender<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTJ2tXxS8ca4hEA-EqZZrNFmdE9Vgirvzrp6bjG_1NO94oEL7IA7rH5z9RnvmPt2c0da1MknVvt5ySJ6cSpjQcUqGzaEjUE56H_VximhZvIgP8rGhEnQAHbId94R3U398GO0TvzbXV1OL/s1600/photo-755357.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTJ2tXxS8ca4hEA-EqZZrNFmdE9Vgirvzrp6bjG_1NO94oEL7IA7rH5z9RnvmPt2c0da1MknVvt5ySJ6cSpjQcUqGzaEjUE56H_VximhZvIgP8rGhEnQAHbId94R3U398GO0TvzbXV1OL/s320/photo-755357.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651820718230526802" /></a></p><br />
Details coming in the next posting.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-19870355356172604862011-09-11T16:11:00.000-07:002011-09-11T17:05:54.092-07:00Day 23, 9/11, St. Anne of the Mountains camp, Beaupre, QuebecNext update will be in a few days when I am in St Jovite, near Mont Tremblant, north of Montreal. Tonight we drove down from Lac St Jean through the Laurentides and are now alone, completely alone in the tenting area of a wonderful camp north of Quebec City in the mountains near Beaupre called St Anne of the mountains. I needed to something religious on this trip anyway. A little pricy here, though, $30 a night, more than I like to pay for good hotel in New York. I find it hard to believe that this part of our trip has ended.<br />
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EdUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064673046635113740.post-45594349057745898362011-09-10T17:41:00.001-07:002011-09-29T17:41:39.760-07:00Days 21-22, Friday-Saturday, September 9-10, camp Val Jalbert, Lac St Jean, central Quebec (250 miles over two days)How sad it was to leave that delightful campsite, Domaine des Dunes, but the road beckoned, and so on we went. Before we left that storybook little town, we grabbed some coffe and treats for both me and my traveling companions, and took a ride on the ferry across the Saguenary River hoping to see some whales, but none surfaced long enough for us to see those magnificent creatures. As soon as we got to the other shore, we turned around, took the ferry back over the river, found to Lac St Jean (LSJ), some 130 miles distant, where I planned to spend the night, and headed straight there, or as straight as one can drive there.<br />
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Since we arrived at Natashquan on Sunday, I decided to slow my pace down to about 125 miles a day, instead of the forced-march-250 we had been doing before that. The views were too fantastic to speed by, not to mention the twists and turns and 12 percent grades of the highway. The route to LSJ was no different. And what a route it was - river after river of salmon runs twisting and turning and falling in ways I had never imagined possible. Mountain and after mountain, stream after steam, on a road that was virtually empty of other vehicles until well into the trip. I changed the time interval for dog walks from no more than four hours to no more than one, sometimes left. No stronger-willed person could have done better. At one magnificent stop, I met two young women from Belgium who suggested Pointe Taillon National Park for camping, and so that's where I decided to go, although in late July, when I did some research on campsites in the area, one named Historique Village de Val Jaubert looked interesting, too.<br />
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En route to LSJ we took a detour and stopped off at a picturesque village where you can see the fiords on the banks of the river, and what a sight that was. However, in all fairness, the sight reminded me precisely of the view from my bedroom window in Cornwall, New York, where I (and our current CIA director) grew up. After a long visit, and the requisite treat for the dogs, on our way we went, father and farther north until we finally got to LSJ and the national park at 4:45, 15 minutes before my window of 5-6 to find a site opened.<br />
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And then my worst fears came true. As I pulled into the park kiosk, I asked for a tent site for the night on the water. The attendant, who reminded me of the female attendant in the female POW camp in Stalag 17 (great movie if you have not seen it), Frau Bbrunehilde Von Nichtenstein, looked over my shoulder and saw Erde snoozing away in the front site. She uttered I something like Hundes verboten, but in French. (that means dogs forbidden.) I asked her to make an exception and she barked, Nein, but in French. I told her my poor dog was injured (that worked for Sonntag), but she still barked Nein, but in French. I told her back in my country people in her position make exceptions based on circumstances (e.g., the camp was empty here), lying of course, and she barked even louder, Nein, but in French. I asked where how to get to Val Jaubert, and she pointed to the exacte opposite side of the lake, 35 km across and told me that it would take me two hours to get there and that they don't take dogs either. I politely thanked her for help (lying of course) turned the Defender around, pointed it in the direction of Val Jaubert, and gunned the engine for the first time on the road. This was the first time on the trip I wished that George Bush was still president and would declare was on Canada based on some fallacious reason Cheney concocted, but then I realized it was probably the policy of the interior secretary up here. If he or she was anything like his/her US counterpart (obama's man Ken Salazar, who has declared was on all wolves) the guy up here probably considers dogs wolves. But actually, I felt myself lucky, because if the national policy on harp seal pup "hunting" here extended to dogs, that border guard would have exterminated my dogs at the border simply for licking his face.<br />
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(PS...Brunhilde really wasn't the woman's name, and she actually was polite and apologetic, and it was my own fault for not planning ahead, but the outcome was the same, and quite nice I should add.)<br />
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Until now, I usually drove at the speed limit or less, a rare thing up here, even with the rare policeman around, and I pulled over to the shoulder to let every car pass me. But not at this trip, I said to myself, not when I do not want to miss my 5-6 window. And so we flew. Only three cars passed me the entire time, as we drove through terrain that sometimes resembled Kansas, sometimes resembled Rockville Pike, and at times resembled Times Square. I saw no campsites worth bivouacing in, and god forbid that i should just pitch my tent anywhere as in Labrador. I even passed a place named FolioSex.com and wondered if they had a nice place I could camp for the night, but dismissed that thought for the dogs' sake. I cursed myself a dozen times for not looking at Google Earth to see if any people lived here. I swore I would pack and leave the next day and head somewhere where there where no people. What I thought would be a pleasant mostly-uninhabited lake turned out to look like Metropolis North. Mon Dieu (that means My God in French) I thought, quelle un mistake (I don't know what the word is in French for mistake).<br />
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Despite the odds, at precisely 5:55, we rolled into the Val Jaubert entrance and I could not believe my eyes. The dogs could not either. Contrary to what Brunhilda at the park told me, they did take dogs here, although although I parked the Defender and with it the dogs out of sight of the registration kiosk just in case. The site chose was magnificent, four stars, in a heavily wooded area not far from the historic village (more on that later). Seperating us from the fast running river in front of us was a huge slab of flat granite bordering the water that could have been the stage for a Wagner opera. And what What a sight to sleep by, the water rushing down chute after chute, eventually to find its way to LSJ. The site, and the camp's amenities were so wonderful, I decided to break my routine and stay here an extra day. I am starting to write this posting on that extra day, on the shores of LSJ, in wonderful little park in Mashteuiatsh overlooking the lake, and no one, I mean no one, is around. Even though the town is not small, there are no people. In DC, it would be impossible to see nothing but people on. Saturday afternoon, in the parks, in the malls, and at MacDonalds. I spent most of today just driving around the shore, stopping at every park, and enjoying the peace and quite and contemplating bigger questions.<br />
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I purposely made the end of my circumnavigation of the lake the turnoff to route 167, the road north to Chibagamu, where I was hoping to go on my way to Thunder Bay, Ontario. But I decide instead to spend na few days with my friend, Andre Latour in St Jovite near Mt Tremblant, where a spent a number of winter vacations with my dogs. From there I will set out to Thunder Bay. Next year I will start Part II of this adventure at route 167.<br />
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I'll write more about the historic village I visited today when my battery, now at 7 percent is recharged, or I can find the web site and link it here. I was at first hesitant to visit it, but it was a real treat. In the meantime, look it up on the Internet. What a treat it was to visit. Here is the web site for the village http://www.valjalbert.com/. Please note the correct spelling. By the way, this was the only time during the journey that I violated my rule not to leave the dogs, in this case for one hour. But it was a good tradeoff, and the dogs slept the whole time in the Defender.<br />
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Needless to say, I am glad I dropped my plan to head out of town today. But not only for the pleasant surprise that LSJ finally gave me. I also need to carefully plan my journey to Quebec City because I had intended to stay in two different national parks on the way, and I suspect that their policy against dogs in similar to the park here. The provincal parks are much more dog friendly, so I will aim for them.<br />
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It's really odd stopping in places I never knew existed before and finding such pleasant things about them, especially the people. How friendly and hospitable they are to strangers from far away. What a lesson this has been. But it is like the movie, Brigadoon. When I leave, they will disappear for another hundred years. How sad. And I am getting used to having everyone in every town stare at us as we drive by. In fact, if they don't, I ask myself, What's wrong with them?<br />
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It is now 8:00 pm and dark out. It is also very cold. The husband of the camp registrar brought me some wood for a fire tonight. It is the first time on all my road trips that I made a fire, but it will not be my last. And this fire is huge. No faux logs here. I am finishing this posting sitting outside amidst this wonderful setting, dressed for winter but feeling the heat from the fire, my dogs snuggled inside the tent looking at me with wondering eyes, all of us listening to Rachmoninov's piano concerto number two on my iPad, and (me) drinking sone Marquis de Chassee 2008 Bordeaux unpicked up today, the only other visible light coming from the moon and a nearby site occupied by a couple from France, and the water fusing past us as if to compete with Rachmoninov. What more could someone ask for?<br />
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That last sentence does raise a point about these tenting road trips. I was hoping it would give me a chance to think about some bigger questions. But instead of the question of the existence of God, I am more concerned about the existence of a good solution to prevent the dogs from knocking out my recharging device in my cigarette lighter in the Defender. Instead of having time to think about the meaning of life, I am reduced to thinking about the meaning of some of the directions I hear in French. Instead of being able to ponder the destiny of the human race, I have to ponder the destiny of my poor tent, which is showing more tiring than thee rest of us. And while it would be nice to give some quality time to my priorities in my remaining 34 years on this planet, I have to think about the priorities for using the rest of my iPad's battery, which is now down to 10 percent. But aren't these all the same questions as the bigger ones?<br />
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Tomorrow we head south toward Quebec city, which we will teach in two days, and then to St Jovite. (Jacques , Natasha and Edie, if you are reading this, let me know where you are in St Saveur and I will stop by for coffee and let Jacques take my defender for a spin.). After a two day respite there, it is off to Thunder Bay, if the dogs say so, and than more of the road.<br />
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On that note, it is time to post this update and turn in for the night. It looks like tonight is going to be a three-dog night, but I'll settle for two.<br />
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Ed, from Camp Val Jaubert, on Lac St Jean, Quebec, Canada.<br />
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