No more driving

I got to my dads house last night and am now enjoying my morning coffee and watching hummingbirds and clear blue sky.

I spent the past couple of days poking around in Lake Superior provincial park, on the east side of the lake, visiting some beautiful places still vivid in my mind from 34 years ago. White sand beaches, smooth granite headlands to climb on and sit in the sun. Crashing clear waves like aquamarine gemstones.

Camped right on the shores of Gitcheegumee Friday night, where I listened to those big waves crash all night. In the morning I woke up to a brisk 35 degrees and decided it was time to head south.

You really should have Lake Superior on your bucket list. Approximately the size of South Carolina, It's the largest freshwater lake in the world. Wikipedia says it contains enough water to cover the enitire landmass of both north and south America with foot of water. Waves of 20 to 30 feet arent unusual. It's big.

Once across the locks at sault ste marie (this is where lake superior drops 21 feet into lake huron), I was back in the US. A quick 40 miles across the U.P. brought me to the graceful Mackinaw bridge (where lakes michigan and huron meet) and into the lower peninsula of michigan.

Yesterday afternoon I stopped at Hartwick Pines state park, one of the places from my childhood that I've wanted to revisit. There is a grove of old growth white pine there, one of the few anywhere. Not as impressive to me now that I've seen the pacific northwest, but still quite beautiful. The grove has almost no undergrowth, just a sunspotted, rust colored floor of pine needles, tall white pines and hemlocks, and silence. This forest once covered most of michigan. How I wish I could've seen it.

although I've reached my destination, my adventure is not over. Stay tuned...

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