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

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.

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.

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.

Acadia National Park » Fundy National Park, New Brunswick

2009-10-09: It would be a long drive to Fundy National Park. I was not sure what to expect in eastern Canada, but like everything I'd done so far, the only way to find out was to go. More than anything, I was not looking forward to the border crossing. Rural Maine proved to be beautiful as well as windswept and chilly. There was little but lakes and fields and forests between Acadia and the border.

As in British Columbia, I chose to be honest about the fact that I was still carrying bear spray, and I declared so at the border. The usual interview questions were put forth, and when the guard appeared to be becoming skeptical, I said that I'd been in BC a few months back and they were OK with it. This also let them know I had not caused any trouble last time I was in the country. They checked the facts and I was let through with little additional hassle.

I passed through St. John, and while it did not appear to have anything special about it, it was not unpleasant. Eventually the roads started looking very desolate and worn down. I arrived at Fundy just before a storm did, late that night. I had some Canadian currency left from last time, so that saved a little time. The clerk even discounted my fee since it was so late. I prepared to set up my tent, and then the rain began. I chose not to bother with the tent. I was a bit bored so I decided to check out the campground during a break in the rain. It wasn't crowded but it was teeming with activity. There was something like a common building full of people, some with guitars and other interesting things. I assumed they were part of a group of some sort, so I declined to check it out. I went back to my car, dried off, and crawled under my blankets and tried to warm up.

Acadia National Park, ME - Part II

2009-10-09: I began this day by walking down to the nearby cliffs over the Atlantic. The sea was much more calm on this day and was also calming to watch. The forest around the campground had a few unofficial paths through it, and while I was not expecting anything spectacular, it turned out to be very reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest, in that growing things, in particular, moss and lichen, were everywhere. There was a strange pool of water that had a prismatic refraction effect on its surface. I guessed this was caused by some substance from decaying plant matter.

The red squirrels in the area were extremely territorial, chattering loudly and angrily if you approached "their" territory. I was curious how brave they were, so I picked up a cone from one of the trees and flung it gently at one squirrel. It bounced off the animal which then continued to stare me down.

Before I left to head back into Canada, I stopped at a small garden in the park that offered an easy walk and a nice overview of the local plants. I knew there were a few other sites where I might stop, but I was quite tired from not sleeping well the previous night due to the cold.