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Lighthouses

Snapshots: Minnesota's North Shore and the Gunflint Trail

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Snapshots: Minnesota's North Shore and the Gunflint Trail

Minnesota’s North Shore stretches along Lake Superior from Duluth all the way to the Canadian border. This region was at the top of all of my Minnesotan friends’ must-see lists and after five days of exploring, I certainly understand why. There are eight beautiful state parks along this stretch, as well as Grand Portage National Monument which is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. This park tells the story of the early fur traders, voyageurs and Native Americans who came together on the western shore of Lake Superior. Waterfalls abound along the North Shore, including Minnesota’s tallest - High Falls in Grand Portage State Park. I also found lighthouses, cute little lakeside towns and breathtaking views out over Lake Superior. Also in this region is the wonderful Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway which stretches 40 miles, from Grand Marais to Gull Lake, and offers wonderful lodging and recreation activities in the state’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area. While not technically on the North Shore, I’ve included some of my favorite shots from my two days along this beautiful road as well. I so enjoyed watching the sun set and then rise again in the morning over Gunflint Lake, and the stars at night were simply amazing. I will echo my friends’ recommendation - if you’re coming to Minnesota, the North Shore is definitely a place you must see. For such a compact area, it’s one of the most beautiful regions I’ve seen in my travels anywhere in the country. I hope you enjoy these photos from Minnesota’s North Shore and the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway.

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In Focus: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

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In Focus: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a beautiful park which stretches along Wisconsin’s Lake Superior coastline. The park extends over 21 of the 22 islands in the area with only Madeline Island being outside its boundary. In addition to the islands themselves, the park extends to the historic fishing area at Little Sand Bay and the beautiful coastline and sea caves at Myers Beach. Nobody is quite sure who gave the islands their names, but French maps referred to them as the Apostle Islands as early as the 1700s. The National Lakeshore was established in 1970, having been proposed by Wisconsin’s Senator Gaylord Nelson who is also considered the founder of Earth Day.

During my time in the park, I enjoyed a scenic cruise around the islands with Apostle Island Cruises. Our 2.5 hour journey took us around most of the islands with special attention paid to the beautiful, outer Devil’s Island and the historic lighthouse at Raspberry Island. Unfortunately, the islands were closed to camping during my stay so I wasn’t able to spend the night out there which I really would have enjoyed. Beyond the cruise, I spent some time learning about the history of the area at the outdoor museum at Little Sand Bay (which was also a wonderful place to watch the sunset). There were also recorded stories from rangers, historians and Native Americans in this section to listen to. On my last morning in the park I visited the Myers Beach section to hike the Lakeshore Trail to The Bowl to view the amazing sea caves and beautiful coastline. I was also pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of mushrooms I experienced along this trail. I had a wonderful visit to the Apostle Islands and hope you enjoy these photos from my stay.

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This Week on the Road - July 22nd-29th

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This Week on the Road - July 22nd-29th

Hello Everyone! How are y’all doing out there? I hope everyone’s summer is going well and you’re getting out and having adventures of your own out there. I can’t believe it’s almost August and I know it’s going to be cooling down here in the north in just a few more weeks so I’m trying to soak up the sun and enjoy the summer while it lasts. Even Lake Superior is pleasant to swim in this time of year up here, so I’m swimming every day I can. It’s been a busy week here in Michigan as I’ve finally crossed over into the Upper Peninsula. It’s definitely different here from what I was finding “down south” – the towns are smaller and less polished, but the people are friendly and very passionate about their region. These “Yoopers”, as they call themselves, weren’t connected to the rest of Michigan until the completion of the Mackinac Bridge in 1959, so they’ve developed independently of the rest of the state. It’s interesting to see. I’ve had a great week of lighthouses (surprise!), history and some really beautiful sights and I can’t wait to share with you what I’ve been up to this week, so here we go:

When I finished writing last week I headed out of Petoskey and hopped on Michigan 119, the Tunnel of Trees Scenic Byway. It was a beautiful road, barely two lanes wide, which bobbed and weaved up the coast through some cute little towns and beautiful scenery. I imagine it would be quite spectacular in the fall when all those deciduous trees have changed colors. The Scenic Byway ended in tiny Cross Village which is home to the Legs Inn, one of the more well-known off-the-beaten-path restaurants in the state. The Legs Inn was built by Polish immigrant Stan Smolak almost a hundred years ago and it’s still owned and run by his family today. It gets its name from the old stove legs which run the length of the building’s roof. The rest of the place is a work of art in its own right having been carved out of whatever wood or other materials Stan and his mostly Odawa Indian friends could come up with at the time. A lot of the tables are two tree stumps with a plank between them (cleaned, sanded, stained, varnished and looking really good, though). The food is from his native Poland and in a regular summer they would bring Polish students over to work at the inn. My server was from Poland, here on a student visa since before the pandemic. I had a taste plate which included a cabbage roll, hunter’s stew and pierogis, and I washed it down with a refreshing Polish beer. My lunch was very good and the atmosphere was great and it was definitely well worth the stop.

From Cross Village, I headed clear across the state to Cheboygan on the banks of Lake Huron. I went out to the State Park for a quick swim and then came back to town in the late afternoon. I visited the old Crib Lighthouse, which was very cool and made for some good black and white photos, and then just wandered around downtown for a while. Although there is definitely tourism there thanks to nearby Mackinac Island and the lake itself, Cheboygan felt more like just a regular town than most I have been in on my way up the Lake Michigan coast. To be honest, I found it quite refreshing. In my time in the Deep South and Appalachia I felt like regular towns were the norm and touristy places were the exception. Here in Michigan I’ve felt quite the opposite. That being said, there was some great public art on display including a wonderful mural of the town’s history. I stopped in the Cheboygan Brewing Company for a quick beer and they had a great fire pit outside which made conversation with strangers quite easy. From there, I had to make a quick stop into Pub 27 up the road because they had a great neon sign outside and it looked like a regular people’s bar in a regular people’s town. I was sure glad that I stopped in. The bartender, Taryn, is a 3rd generation Cheboyganer and the bar is owned by her parents who own several other business ventures in town as well. Her boyfriend, Alex, was very friendly as well and they were interested to hear about my travels and what I thought of Michigan. I enjoyed chatting with them, but I had an early start the next morning, so I called it an early night.

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This Week on the Road - July 8th-14th

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This Week on the Road - July 8th-14th

Hello Everyone! Well I’m a day late and a dollar short, but what else is new? It’s been an amazing week out here on the west coast of Michigan, probably the best so far. I just got back from a wonderful 3 day, 2 night stay on lovely South Manitou Island in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and was hoping I would have time to get my newsletter done last night, but I was simply too tired and couldn’t get to it until today. Better late than never, though, and it was definitely worth the delay! It’s been such a busy week that it’s hard to imagine it all happened in one week, but that’s how it is sometimes. Before I get into the details of the week though, I’ve had some things come into my head this week and thought I’d share them here.

The first came from an old college friend from Penn State this week. He is on vacation with his family and wrote on Facebook about an 850+ mile day they had driving across several states. I simply can’t imagine doing that on a vacation – I’ve done it in my professional life as a tour bus driver, but never with passengers on board – and it was never a good time. I know I have another college friend and his family who are on a 14 day trip from New Orleans to California which is a little more reasonable but still a lot of miles for a family to cover. As you know, I’m obviously a fan of slow travel and smaller destinations, but I bring these up for a couple of reasons. First, because Americans put up with way too little vacation time, forcing these ridiculous cross-country sprints to try and make the most of what little time people have. I don’t know if people have any idea that much of the developed world has a minimum (by law) of 6 weeks’ paid vacation. Americans work too much and I wish they had more time off to enjoy this wonderful country and all it has to offer. With the decline of unions and our politicians in the back pockets of big businesses on whom they depend for campaign dollars, nobody is advocating for workers in the U.S. right now. My hope is that the current scramble for employees might turn that trend, even just a little bit. 10 days off a year is simply not enough to recharge your batteries, especially if you want to go see something during your time off. I wish this situation was different.

The second came from an old high school friend of mine, but was along a similar line. He posted something vague and somewhat worrisome this week about reaching the end of his rope. As I always try to do when it seems like someone is calling into the darkness for help, I sent him a private message with my phone number in case he really had nobody to talk to. We haven’t been in touch much since graduating from high school, now over 25 years ago, but he’s still a friend and someone I share a common past with. After I reached out, he sent me a message saying he wanted to come ride around with me for a while. I told him to come on up to Michigan and we’d go have some fun and catch up and he could get out of town for a while and clear his head. I don’t think he’s going to come, of course (although he’d be welcomed if he did), but it’s nice that I can give him something else to think about – an escape from the demons in his head right now. He was basically telling me he was overworked and underpaid and the day-in and day-out of it was really starting to wear on him. Again, I think if he had some time to get away and clear his head at some point during the year, he might not be in the mental state he is in now. I know in this country we hear about how “America is the greatest country in the world” all the time, but the people that shout that the loudest are usually those who haven’t spent a lot of time outside of the U.S. I love this country and most of the people in it for many reasons, but how our companies treat their workers isn’t one of them. When people ask me when I’m going to get a “real job”, I often tell them when I am offered a decent salary and a month’s vacation and I’m not kidding about that. I know a lot of people have to work these hours in these jobs and have families to support, and I definitely understand, but I’m still incredibly sympathetic as to how hard it is to work and do anything else. From watching your health to enjoying a hobby or taking a real vacation somewhere, it’s incredibly difficult to do when you’re overwhelmed by work all the time. We may have a tremendous GDP, but the quality of life of the average American could definitely be improved upon. Okay, enough of that…

When I left off last week, I was in Holland, Michigan and headed north. I made my way out to Grand Rapids for two days, but was very unimpressed by it. I tried. I tried really hard to find what the big deal is about it. After 2 days, I decided it wasn’t there to be found and I took off. I did run a permanent orienteering course about 20 minutes out of town at Siedman Park which I enjoyed. The mosquitoes ate me alive, but I loved exploring the park with my map and compass and tracking down the markers in the woods. I also enjoyed visiting the Founders Brewery while I was in Grand Rapids as well. It was the first big brewery I’ve been to in a while and definitely one of Michigan’s most widely known. I didn’t get into the brewery itself, although I could see it through the windows and smell it from the vents, but they had a nice taproom on the premises which was great. I love visiting breweries which I know and trying the beers that don’t make it out to the mass market. I can definitely report that those guys know what they’re doing and their small-batch brews are as good as their mass-produced ones, or better. Another highlight of my time in Grand Rapids was a little tiki bar called Max’s South Seas Hideaway which was an authentic tiki bar and very well put together. The atmosphere was perfect, the staff was great and their cocktails were pretty spot-on. I finished my month in Hawaii two years ago this week, so it was nice to sit at Max’s and think about those wonderful days in the South Pacific. Beyond those wonderful spots, I found Grand Rapids drab and lifeless and desperately in need of some beautification. The region it is in is amazing, and as a base of operations to work from, I can see the appeal. As a city though, it was less than impressive.

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This Week on the Road - September 23rd-30th

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This Week on the Road - September 23rd-30th

Hello Everyone! Wow, it has been six months since I last published This Week on the Road. I can’t describe how great it was just to type those words. I wish I had been able to leave this week and just keep going, but alas it was just for this week. My folks and I drove up to New Hampshire last Wednesday to visit my brother and his family. The fall colors are coming in beautifully in New England and we had a wonderful visit. We got out and did a lot, and I was very happy to be checking out new places and taking photos in unfamiliar surroundings. It was a wonderful week on the road in New Hampshire.

Our decision to go was not made lightly. We’ve been keeping close to home and keeping our interactions to a minimum, maintaining our distance and wearing our masks. My folks aren’t as young as they once were and with my diabetes we’re all at heightened risk, not to mention the fact that I’m spending my days with a child who I simply cannot get sick. While my brother and his girlfriend are doing what they’re supposed to do as well, seeing them would bring more people into our safety web. But with winter and a second wave coming, New Hampshire being a state with things relatively in control and the looming election we decided that if we wanted to see them this year, this was probably the time. The fall colors and the ability to take some photos of somewhere further from home helped to seal the deal. We packed a lunch and made it a direct journey in both directions, followed best practices while we were there and hopefully managed to keep everyone safe and healthy. I’m glad we went.

The trip did help me see how difficult it would be to continue my actual long-term journey at this point in time. Many things remain closed or on limited hours, and while people in New Hampshire seemed generally compliant with safety standards I know that’s not the case for much of the country. While this week definitely tugged at my heart strings and whispered go in my ear, many of the things I would want to see remain closed and the thought of getting really sick while on the road and far from home doesn’t seem like a great idea. So for now I will have to be content with my week away and settle in here in D.C. for the winter. The short days and cold nights of winter on the road are pretty brutal anyway, and without a warm safe pub to tuck into, it would probably be a bit much.

We left on Wednesday and made good time, arriving at my brother’s house at around 3:30 in the afternoon. He and his girlfriend, Errin, have a wonderful home on a windy back road with a nice chunk of land and some room to breathe. I know maintaining it takes a lot of hard work, but they’ve really made a nice home for themselves and their family. After the long ride, we were happy to just settle in, have a few cold beers and catch up a little bit. It feels like a long time since we were there in December, but it all seemed very familiar as well.

Thursday we went for a visit to Bedrock Gardens in Lee, New Hampshire. It is a beautiful 20 acre garden full of interesting sculptures and beautiful plants and flowers. It took quite a while to meander through the many paths that wound around the property. Bedrock Gardens was quite a unique and special place and is probably phenomenal in spring when all the flowers are starting to bloom. It was very cool.

On Friday, we loaded my brother’s boat onto the trailer and set off for Lake Winnipesaukee in the central part of the state. Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in New Hampshire and is just over an hour north of my brother’s house.

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Snapshots: South Texas - Desert, Beaches and Battlefields

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Snapshots: South Texas - Desert, Beaches and Battlefields

South Texas was the end of the road for me on this leg of my journey. I set out to make it across the country to the Pacific Ocean and back over the next 16 months or so, but the coronavirus put an end to all of that. When things started going from bad to worse further north, I made my way all the way south to South Padre Island and Port Isabel, stopping off at Palo Alto National Historical Park along the way. The battlefield was awesome to see and I had it almost entirely to myself. I learned a lot about the first battle of the Mexican-American War, and the two future presidents (Ulysses S. Grant and Zachary Taylor) who fought in it. The prickly pears were just starting to bloom, and the day was just on the verge of being too hot to be out in the sun. It was a beautiful and fascinating place. From there I headed to the coast and hunkered down for almost a week. While everything was pretty much shut down, I enjoyed the beach, sand art, peace and quiet and beautiful sunsets on the bay. When Shelter-In-Place orders came down for the beach communities, I knew it was time for me to head home, making this the end of the road for now. I was glad I saw it and had the chance to spend some time in this tiny, far out corner of America.

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