I did manage to spend some time outdoors, and here are the results. Admittedly, there is nothing particularly special to be seen here, but I think these photos illustrate a typical Midwestern summer's day.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
A Summer Spent Lost
I still had not been able to match up with the usual modes of living. I thought that perhaps I needed a proper challenge to feel like I was accomplishing anything at all, so I began working at a foundry. The hellish heat and the dust were tolerable after I adjusted, but the lack of safety was not, and I went back to the confusion of trying to make my "traveling" rhythm work with anything else.
I did manage to spend some time outdoors, and here are the results. Admittedly, there is nothing particularly special to be seen here, but I think these photos illustrate a typical Midwestern summer's day.
I did manage to spend some time outdoors, and here are the results. Admittedly, there is nothing particularly special to be seen here, but I think these photos illustrate a typical Midwestern summer's day.
On the Verge of Spring: Moraine Hills State Park, IL
2010-03-10: After a long, sleepless winter, I anticipated the promise of more exploration. I went out as the snow began to melt, and I stepped into a wet, silent, fog shrouded dreamworld. Occasionally, the raucous calls of a pair of Sandhill Cranes could be heard, making this icy marsh even more eerie.
Frigid Solitude: McHenry County, IL
2010-02-25: The cold darkness of a winter morning was something with which I was obsessed as I struggled to integrate what I had just experienced into a normal pattern of life. Here, I tried to capture its essence.
Drawing a Line
This post will mark the boundary between my odyssey and my more conventional travels.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tahquamenon Falls State Park » Home
2009-10-13: I had driven the UP several times before, since I used to go to college there. I recognized many landmarks of which I had fond memories. I stopped near Au Train to get some photos of Lake Superior. The wind coming off the lake was absolutely fierce, and felt like it could blow me over if I was careless. I passed through Houghton and saw that a place like that changes little, even in nearly a decade.
Whereas I...I had changed profoundly. This odyssey I'd been on was the absolute proof that I could now do anything. I was confident, cool under pressure, and above all, ready for whatever came my way. This epic journey would be the crowning touch of all I had done for self-improvement...for now. Everything was now in perspective as well. I knew the scale of the world and the things in it.
When I finally pulled up into my driveway, weary from the road, I smiled and started my attempt to integrate all of this into normal life. I thought, "If I am to do that, then I will have a lot of work to do."
May this be an inspiration to every one of you to make a journey of your own.
-Kevin
Whereas I...I had changed profoundly. This odyssey I'd been on was the absolute proof that I could now do anything. I was confident, cool under pressure, and above all, ready for whatever came my way. This epic journey would be the crowning touch of all I had done for self-improvement...for now. Everything was now in perspective as well. I knew the scale of the world and the things in it.
When I finally pulled up into my driveway, weary from the road, I smiled and started my attempt to integrate all of this into normal life. I thought, "If I am to do that, then I will have a lot of work to do."
May this be an inspiration to every one of you to make a journey of your own.
-Kevin
Tahquamenon Falls State Park
2009-10-13: This was it - the last day! Nothing is ever easy to finish when you don't want it to end, but I thought I'd had one extraordinary trip that I would always remember, and there was always time for more of these. I was ready to go back and sort through all of it, mentally and otherwise. I woke up with the sun and took a walk through the morning forest. The cool misty air, the scent of snow and dew on the trees, and the rush of the waterfall were a wonderful thing to experience on this morning. The falls had a strange brown tint from all the plants matter that decayed in the river. There was a strange cloud hovering just over the river due to the weather. I watched the scene for a long time.
Ontario » Tahquamenon Falls State Park, MI
2009-10-12: At dawn, I realized I had probably got as much sleep as I was going to get, and I got ready and was back on the road in a very short time. I decided I would now be heading home for certain. I was closer than I had been for a long time.
Getting back into my own country was a horrible experience. At Sault Ste. Maire, I was selected "randomly" to have my car searched. It had taken almost two hours to cross the bridge. I was very angry. As so often happens, this operation was being managed by a short fat man who loved showing his authority. He told his underling, right in front of me, "He's got something. You find it. Your earn your pay. You will find something. I don't care what.". I was angrier than I had been in a long time. I sat in the chair and glared at him, with rage on my face. When I told him I did not have my wallet on me (it hurts to sit on it for hours), he started getting very accusatory, implying that I was lying about being on vacation. Then he started asking me bizarre things such as what my living arrangements were, and what my parents did for work. I refused to answer and I stated that I did not see how it was relevant, and I demanded to know why I'd been singled out. He informed me that I "fit a profile" because of my age, gender, and even haircut. I was now livid. Eventually his lackey came around and said he couldn't find anything. They reluctantly let me go, and I snatched my keys, and left without a word, slamming the door behind me. When I got back to my car, it was a wreck. My bags had been essentially turned inside out. They had even gone so far as to dump out some of my food, and they just left it. I was thoroughly disgusted with these people, and with the country I lived in.
It was late afternoon when I arrived at Tahquamenon Falls State Park. It was raining and cold, so I chose not to put the tent up. I took the time to clean up my car and salvage what food they hadn't ruined. I fell asleep once it got dark and spent the night trying to keep warm.
Getting back into my own country was a horrible experience. At Sault Ste. Maire, I was selected "randomly" to have my car searched. It had taken almost two hours to cross the bridge. I was very angry. As so often happens, this operation was being managed by a short fat man who loved showing his authority. He told his underling, right in front of me, "He's got something. You find it. Your earn your pay. You will find something. I don't care what.". I was angrier than I had been in a long time. I sat in the chair and glared at him, with rage on my face. When I told him I did not have my wallet on me (it hurts to sit on it for hours), he started getting very accusatory, implying that I was lying about being on vacation. Then he started asking me bizarre things such as what my living arrangements were, and what my parents did for work. I refused to answer and I stated that I did not see how it was relevant, and I demanded to know why I'd been singled out. He informed me that I "fit a profile" because of my age, gender, and even haircut. I was now livid. Eventually his lackey came around and said he couldn't find anything. They reluctantly let me go, and I snatched my keys, and left without a word, slamming the door behind me. When I got back to my car, it was a wreck. My bags had been essentially turned inside out. They had even gone so far as to dump out some of my food, and they just left it. I was thoroughly disgusted with these people, and with the country I lived in.
It was late afternoon when I arrived at Tahquamenon Falls State Park. It was raining and cold, so I chose not to put the tent up. I took the time to clean up my car and salvage what food they hadn't ruined. I fell asleep once it got dark and spent the night trying to keep warm.
Mexico » Greater Sudbury, ON
2009-10-11: I decided that I was not enjoying myself with the cold weather, and that it was time to make this last part of my trip go a little more quickly. There were some long distances involved according to my plan even before making that decision. I committed to traveling west on the Trans-Canada Highway for as long as I could manage.
In Maine, I decided to take time to enjoy the back roads. I had been a little disappointed that I had not seen a moose, until suddenly I saw one just off the road! I hit the brakes hard and grabbed my camera. Unfortunately I had to change lenses. I hoped I had time to capture it. I also hoped that an aggressive mate or relative would not be waiting nearby. I also had no shoulder on the roadside to work with so I had to be cautious about that as well. I did manage to capture it and I was quite pleased.
The road took me into New Hampshire and through Dixville Notch, famous for its midnight elections. There I saw The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, which had an amazing location and pretty architecture.
I dreaded the border crossing as always. This one seemed friendlier because it was small and no one else was there. I explained the same things as before. As normal, the guards wanted to search my car, and I consented. They conversed in French and one of them called someone and got approval to let me through. I was getting ready to deal with the mess they left of my things, but it turned out that they had been put back in far better order than they were when I arrived! Now I was in French speaking Canada, and it was actually very easy to get around. Most things are the same and common sense is enough to figure out most words.
I looked for a bank in a few of the small towns across the border since I needed more Canadian currency. When I did find one, I discovered that it was Sunday. I would have to conserve what I had until I got to a larger city, which by my route would be Montreal.
Driving along the Trans-Canada highway was easy and fun, at least for highway driving. Quebec had mostly rolling hills and distant mountains. Much of it was scenic farmland.
Eventually I did arrive in Montreal, and I did find a currency exchange on my map. Parking was a bit difficult to find. I spent the last of my Canadian money for some time at a meter and hustled to the currency exchange. Everyone in the city seemed upbeat and polite. I looked around where I could, and I liked what I saw. Montreal seemed to be a very pleasing mixture of old and modern things. When I got to the currency exchange, the woman who did the exchanging started chatting with me, which I thought to be unusual. She was downright friendly, also unusual. She wanted to hear about my travels when I hinted at the scale of my trip. I gave her a brief summary. I felt happy that someone at a currency exchange would be so nice.
From there, I moved west, stopping for nothing but fuel (and the occasional photo). I came into Ontario, which was nice, if boring. I understand that is the reputation is has among Canadians. Night fell, and I kept driving on and on. I checked to see what would be the closest big city, so I could find somewhere to stop. That ended up being the Sudbury area. I was exhausted when I exited the highway and found a shopping centre that looked a decent place to park and sleep. The temperature dropped below freezing and it was not a restful night. All together, I had driven something like 600 miles in 11 hours.
In Maine, I decided to take time to enjoy the back roads. I had been a little disappointed that I had not seen a moose, until suddenly I saw one just off the road! I hit the brakes hard and grabbed my camera. Unfortunately I had to change lenses. I hoped I had time to capture it. I also hoped that an aggressive mate or relative would not be waiting nearby. I also had no shoulder on the roadside to work with so I had to be cautious about that as well. I did manage to capture it and I was quite pleased.
The road took me into New Hampshire and through Dixville Notch, famous for its midnight elections. There I saw The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, which had an amazing location and pretty architecture.
I dreaded the border crossing as always. This one seemed friendlier because it was small and no one else was there. I explained the same things as before. As normal, the guards wanted to search my car, and I consented. They conversed in French and one of them called someone and got approval to let me through. I was getting ready to deal with the mess they left of my things, but it turned out that they had been put back in far better order than they were when I arrived! Now I was in French speaking Canada, and it was actually very easy to get around. Most things are the same and common sense is enough to figure out most words.
I looked for a bank in a few of the small towns across the border since I needed more Canadian currency. When I did find one, I discovered that it was Sunday. I would have to conserve what I had until I got to a larger city, which by my route would be Montreal.
Driving along the Trans-Canada highway was easy and fun, at least for highway driving. Quebec had mostly rolling hills and distant mountains. Much of it was scenic farmland.
Eventually I did arrive in Montreal, and I did find a currency exchange on my map. Parking was a bit difficult to find. I spent the last of my Canadian money for some time at a meter and hustled to the currency exchange. Everyone in the city seemed upbeat and polite. I looked around where I could, and I liked what I saw. Montreal seemed to be a very pleasing mixture of old and modern things. When I got to the currency exchange, the woman who did the exchanging started chatting with me, which I thought to be unusual. She was downright friendly, also unusual. She wanted to hear about my travels when I hinted at the scale of my trip. I gave her a brief summary. I felt happy that someone at a currency exchange would be so nice.
From there, I moved west, stopping for nothing but fuel (and the occasional photo). I came into Ontario, which was nice, if boring. I understand that is the reputation is has among Canadians. Night fell, and I kept driving on and on. I checked to see what would be the closest big city, so I could find somewhere to stop. That ended up being the Sudbury area. I was exhausted when I exited the highway and found a shopping centre that looked a decent place to park and sleep. The temperature dropped below freezing and it was not a restful night. All together, I had driven something like 600 miles in 11 hours.
Travel Notes: Fundy » Mexico, ME
Crossing back into the US was no trouble this time, thankfully. But finding Mount Blue State Park seemed very difficult. My GPS unit did not have the area around Weld, ME correctly mapped. The paper maps I had weren't much help either. Eventually I deduced where the entrance was, but when I arrived it was closed off. Some vehicles were parked on this remote mountain road in front of the gate. I was tired and cold and I did not want to bother with it. I went back around and into the town of Weld, to the only shop that was open, a general store, and asked if I had found the right place, which I had. They had closed the park in this way after a certain date, which I supposed made sense. I started going toward Quebec again, but I was tired, so once again I stopped for the night at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Mexico, ME.
Fundy National Park
2009-10-10: I traveled around Fundy primarily by vehicle due to the temperature being in the 40s again. The forests were green and misty, and the grey mountains were close to one another. Everything seemed more wild and overgrown than in New England. I saw one other group of people out early, and I learned that in this part of Canada, one greets strangers by saying "bonjour-hello".
Eventually, I was satisfied and ready to move along, but the cold, and lack of sleep it caused, were making me impatient. I had considered making Nova Scotia my next stop. I eventually decided that it was too far to the places I wanted to visit, and too cold. It was an unpleasant decision to make, but it was practical. Like southern California, I figured I'd go there at some point. I planned instead to cut over to Quebec, through Maine and New Hampshire.
Eventually, I was satisfied and ready to move along, but the cold, and lack of sleep it caused, were making me impatient. I had considered making Nova Scotia my next stop. I eventually decided that it was too far to the places I wanted to visit, and too cold. It was an unpleasant decision to make, but it was practical. Like southern California, I figured I'd go there at some point. I planned instead to cut over to Quebec, through Maine and New Hampshire.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)