Macdonalds' Maritime Trip

It Could Be Much Worse!

2008-06-12T21:27:00.002-04:00

Well, its not nice, but it could be much much worse. We had 2 1/2 - 3 feet of water, but it was mostly drained out on its own by the time we got home yesterday. It was not sewerage, as our next door neighbors had. We hired 2 young men to haul a lot of stuff out to the curb and it was miraculously gone with the regular garbage this morning. We have a lot of things to replace, but our furnace may be saved and none of the appliances or furniture was new. Some plastic boxes floated up on the tide and then back down without tipping! Someone just told me I should make an ad for Rubbermaid.

We hope to have the bedroom and TV room downstairs usable by the time Rachel and Ben get here about July 1. But they can use the upstairs guest room for a while if need be.

There is still a little water in the basement and the Emergency authorities are saying we shouldn't flush our toilet because it might back up, so we are being creative with strategic visits to friends, libraries, etc. Friends who live above a store downtown are away for 4 days now and we are taking care of their cat and showering there.

I don't have the heart to post any pictures.

Tonight Cedar Rapids is in big, big trouble with water inundating downtown and 4000 homes evacuated. Many other cities have bigger trouble than Decorah. We just need for the rain to stop!

Almost Home

2008-06-11T08:49:00.003-04:00

We are waking up in a motel in Davenport and will be home today. Decorah has had massive flooding since a 7 inch rain on Saturday night. The best photos are at http://theinspiredmedia.com

On Monday, our basement had 3 feet of water. It was going down yesterday. Our neighborhood was evacuated on Monday, but the mandatory order has now been lifted. And the streets that were closed are opened enough to let us get home. Our river was 2 or 3 feet higher than the previous record, set in 1941. We had a bitter 5 year fight to keep a Super WalMart from filling in flood plain just below Decorah. We lost and I'm thinking CIVIL SUIT for our friends right on the river. I'm quite certain that 4 friends of ours had overflow into their houses.

We have a lot of furniture and storage items in our basement. This is not going to be fun. The weather forecast is very bad - I hope it is wrong.

By popular demand, I'm going to keep this blog going a bit longer to report to our out-of-town friends on the situation.

Another Family Picture

2008-06-08T15:09:00.002-04:00

This is most of the family of Alan's brother, Barry.

Family Pictures for Lauren and Rachel

2008-06-07T21:41:00.003-04:00

The little one on the right here is Anna, our great-niece. I got to attend the end-of-the-school- year program at her nursery school. Anna sang with gusto!

Alan, the Big Sports Fan

2008-06-07T21:35:00.003-04:00

Alan is loyal to only one team, the Detroit Red Wings. We hadn't had a chance to watch, or even listen to, any of the Stanley Cup games. But for game 6, we found a sports bar in Kingston and got to see the Red Wings win the big cup. Here Alan does a high five with a sweet young college student from Detroit who wore her jersey to the bar. We had a great evening, even though we were twice as old as the next oldest person in this bar. AND even though they had music blasting on top of all the TVs.

We "Hit a Wall"

2008-06-07T21:29:00.002-04:00

After our big day in Quebec City, we sat down to plan the next day on the town. I don't remember which of us said, "or we could just head for Detroit?" Then the phrase "hit a wall" was uttered. Suddenly it all caught up with us and we were exhausted. We had had a fabulous trip. But we were tired of studying every night as though we were facing an exam the next day. Barb told us that we had twelve hours of driving to get to Detroit, so the next day we waited until she said we had six left and stopped for the night in Kingston, Ontario.

Big Year for Quebec!

2008-06-04T09:29:00.002-04:00

On July 3, Quebec (all of Canada?) will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of this city. I believe it was Cartier who landed here. This anniversary is big and the city is shiny bright with reminders of the big date everywhere.

Crêpe

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Mine had cheese with mushrooms. Yum!

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We were promised that we would think we were in Europe when we got to the old walled city of Quebec.

Happy Birthday, Rachel!!!

2008-06-04T08:15:00.004-04:00

Happy, happy, happy birthday to our dear Rachel. What a lot of changes coming in the next year! It won't be long until she and Ben have a little boy who will undoubtedly be as curious about the world as this one was.

Quebec City

2008-06-03T22:36:00.002-04:00

Blogger trouble and I've managed to post only a couple of pictures from today in Quebec City. Maybe I can try again in the morning.

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Today we shared the streets of Old Quebec with hundreds (probably thousands) of school trip kids. Here some of them are having a wonderful time interacting with a golden living statue.

Trompe-l'œil

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Gannets on Bonaventure Island

2008-06-03T09:22:00.002-04:00

This is a 19 second clip from You Tube of the gannet colony exactly where we saw them. We learned later that this is now the largest colony in the world. One in Scotland used to be larger, but it has no space to expand and this one is gradually getting larger.

Appreciation for a GREAT SHOWER!

2008-06-02T22:37:00.001-04:00

Tonight I wrote my friend Katy, "I just had the best shower I have ever had in a campground. I dread showers because the room is the temperature of the outside air AND there are always open windows that cannot be closed or some sort of vent that makes for a nasty wind-chill factor. This one was closed up tight, no coins needed, and lots of very hot water. Sublime!"

Setting Out for a Hike

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Its a NO HOCKEY night in Canada

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There seems to be no such thing as a sports bar in Quebec. We are watching the score of the Stanley Cup online. Go, Red Wings!

Huge Group of Black Scoters

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(I got things out of order a bit here.) On Sunday, we turned west as we came around the Gaspe Peninsula, so we are in a sense heading home. We waited out the fog until noon and had only a few patches where we could see nothing.

What is that Water?

2008-06-02T21:29:00.003-04:00

This is the view from our trailer window last night at Ste-Anne-des-Monts. We walked to a nearby restaurant where they found us a kind English-speaking waitress. I asked her, "Is that the ocean or the St. Lawrence River?" Our AAA map showed it clearly as the river, but I had never been almost blown off my feet by a wind off a river. The ensuing conversation was interesting. It is technically the river, but it is 100 KM across. They call it the ocean. It is salty as is the river all the way upstream to Quebec City.

One More Bird Shot from Saturday

2008-06-02T21:13:00.004-04:00

On Sunday, we talked to a man the the interpretive center for the national park. He helped us sort out what we had seen on Saturday. I had had my binoculars along, but was too excited about taking pictures to get them out. In this photos of the birds on the cliffs, there are gannets and little black and white birds that look like miniature penguins. (You might have to click on the picture to see the larger version.) Most of the those are Common Murres. There might have been a few Razonbills among them. We did not see any Puffins. We learned that there are only a few pairs on Bonaventure. They nest in burrows or deep crevices and must be well down the cliffs to avoid being prey for foxes. We learned that there was ice in 1990 which allowed foxes to cross over and there are now 4 in residence. A Gannet can fight off a fox with its beak but a puffin cannot.
We also saw lots of Black Guillemots. And Great Black-Backed Gulls. We were told that we would have seen Black-Legged Kittiwakes, but they just got mixed up with the gulls for us. Everywhere, we have seen cormorants.

A Big Day!

2008-06-01T09:13:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was wonderful. We had an adventure that will remain vivid in our memories forever. I had a fever Friday night and we were tempted to delay this outing for a day, but the weather forecast for Saturday was good and for the next few days bad. So I dragged my body out and felt so happy that I did. We took a boat from Percé out and around the Percé Rock, then out to Bonaventure Island. We went around the island and saw gannets and several other kinds of birds by the thousands, in the air and on ledges. (We need to work on identifying the birds a bit more - I'll let you know.) We then landed on the island and hiked up and over it to a place where we could be only a few feet away from a solid mass of gannets, nesting and getting ready to nest. We didn't see any eggs, but some looked as though they were already sitting on an egg. Others were busy bringing in materials for their minimalist nests. They are already paired. One of the mysteries is how they find each other.

We are sitting in a hotel dining room where we had breakfast and are using their internet. The Rock and Bonaventure Island are lost out there in the fog. We hope it will lift a bit for the rest of our scenic drive around the Gaspe. The photos I just uploaded continue on another page - follow the "older post" link at the bottom. Alan says the best ones are there.

Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé

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World's Largest Lobster

2008-05-30T07:49:00.001-04:00

Billed as 11 meters long.

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The light poles in this New Brunswick town proclaims it to be Acadian and French speaking. I've made a stab at figuring out some history, but it is very complicated. Here's a fact: New Brunswick is the only province of Canada that is officially bi-lingual. The country is bi-lingual, but not the provinces. I don't think we have seen a sign in English in Quebec.

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A sign that got my attention.

Bridge to PEI

2008-05-30T07:35:00.003-04:00

Confederation Bridge, from New Brunswick to PEI. I think it is 8 miles long. Completed in 1997. Difficult to photograph. There is also a ferry to PEI. The ferry and the bridge are both free going over. If you decide to leave, it costs $41 for the bridge and a bit more for the ferry. Clever marketing for tourism.

Can't Upload Photos Tonight

2008-05-29T19:15:00.007-04:00

I'm connected to the internet, but I can't make blogger accept any photos, so I will try a bit of text. In the last two days, we cut across a part of New Brunswick to get from PEI to Quebec. We entered Quebec this afternoon and have started a drive around the Gaspe (that should have an accent, I'm sure) Peninsula. If you look at a globe or a big map, follow the St. Lawrence Seaway all the way from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic. The Gaspe is the land to the south of the mouth of the Seaway. We have chosen to take a 500+ mile scenic drive around the tip, mainly because our AAA map put dots next to the road, indicating that it is especially scenic. When we were in Utah three years ago, we took a much longer route one day because of those dots and we still talk about the incredible scenery on that drive. We are on the south of the Gaspe Peninsula now, heading East.
The other positive thing I have to say about AAA is that in their tour books, they rate some attractions as "gems". Even though we are taking a 6 1/2 week trip, we can't do everything and we look at their gem listing as part of the study of upcoming places.

Trying to Keep up with Music

2008-05-27T20:20:00.002-04:00

Its a tight squeeze, but I can practice my recorders in the trailer, even the bass, seen here. I hope to play with my Dames' Rocket Recorder Consort on the opening night of ArtWalk and I'm always in danger of mixing up the fingerings of the two recorders I play. So, three or four times Alan has gotten lost for a while and let me play.

Charlottetown, PEI

2008-05-27T19:43:00.002-04:00

Today we took a walking tour of Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island. As capital cities go, it is very small, only 32,000 people. In fact, this whole province is amazingly small in all ways. Everywhere we go, we are surprised at how fast we arrive at our destination.
We aren't terribly far north, but the flowers and trees are at about the same stage here as they were in Albany three weeks ago.

Birthplace of Lucy Maud Montogomery

2008-05-26T22:02:00.003-04:00

I visited this nice little house. Some wonderful scrapbooks kept by L. M. were on display. I learned that L. M. Montgomery was not an orphan like her character, Anne Shirley, but her mother died (age 23) of TB when L. M. was only 21 months old. Her father left her with her maternal grandparents and took off for Saskatchewan. She lived with her grandparents until she was 37 when she married a Presbyterian pastor named Macdonald and moved to Ontario. There is evidence that she missed PEI very much.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's Typewriter

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Green Gables

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The house and farm used by Lucy Maud Montgomery as the setting for "Anne of Green Gables". In her childhood, some elderly relatives of hers lived on this farm. I have very happy memories of watching the Anne TV series with Lauren and Rachel when they were about 8 and 14. This site is part of a national park and is tastefully presented. But the size of the parking lot told me that I wouldn't want to be in "in season".
"Anne of Green Gables" was published in 1908, so this is a big year on PEI. The book was an immediate hit and tourists started coming to the Cavendish area. L. M.'s relatives who lived in this house rented out tourist rooms. I took a nice photo of the bedroom called "Anne's room" and accidentally deleted it tonight. I always wondered how people could do such a stupid thing. Now I know!

Especially for Lauren

2008-05-26T21:35:00.002-04:00

Lauren had a big crush on Gilbert when we watched the "Anne of Green Gables" TV series back in the 80s. He probably cured her of her crush on Dan Rather.

Beautiful Island

2008-05-26T21:24:00.003-04:00

PEI is strikingly different from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. "The Gentle Island" is the catch phrase of the tourism people. It is very agricultural and the soil is surprisingly red. Many beautiful vistas. As always, I am frustrated in not being able to capture it the way I want. No dramatic lighting today.

What is it?

2008-05-26T21:16:00.003-04:00

I saw big mounds of this stuff along a beach. It looked like finely shredded paper. I thought maybe it was Irish moss because I had read about it being collected after storms, but I looked at some pictures of it online and it didn't look like this.

Another Evening of Scottish Music

2008-05-26T17:45:00.002-04:00

We moved on to Prince Edward Island (PEI) yesterday. Last night we attended the MacKinnon Family Scottish Concert near Richmond. There were 5 other people there. Reading the description, we pictured some young children playing along with mom and dad. We had a wonderful evening, but nothing like what we expected. Dad died in 1988. Mom and the kids are barely hanging on, with numerous medical problems. Mother is on the right. Floyd is in the middle. He walks with a walker and plays his fiddle by supporting his left elbow on his knee. Cecilia is on the left. She was dynamite, playing piano, bagpipes, guitar, fiddle, penny whistle and singing very nicely. Alan said that if he had known what it was going to be like, he would not have gone, but he's really glad he went.

For Your Protection, Do Not Climb

2008-05-24T21:29:00.003-04:00

This is a wave statue, commemorating those who were killed by the tsunami generated by the explosion in 1917. I was amused by the sign in front saying "do not climb" and the man who was running up the side to join his children at the top.

Maritime Museum

2008-05-24T21:05:00.004-04:00

I went to the Maritime Museum in Halifax. There were many interesting displays. Survivors and bodies from the Titanic were brought into Halifax and the museum has many artifacts. The poster above is for "the voyage that never happened", the return to Europe of the Titanic. The other big event highlighted at the museum is the explosion in the harbor in 1917 when a fast moving ship collided with a French ship loaded with explosives. Until the atom bomb, that was the largest man-made explosion.

Harbour Hopper Tour

2008-05-24T20:58:00.003-04:00

We toured for an hour on this amphibious vehicle (built by the U.S. for the VietnamWar). 30 minutes on land and 30 minutes on the water. The narrator was so silly and his jokes were so bad. For organized travel, we think we should stick with Elderhostel.

Tall Ship from Mexico

2008-05-24T20:50:00.004-04:00

I will never forget watching on TV as the tall ships from around the world came into New York Harbor in 1976. Today we had a chance to walk around the deck of the Cuauhtémoc, the Mexican tall ship, docked in the harbor at Halifax. I wish Aida and Pablo could have been with us. They would have been proud!
Update: Lauren left a comment saying that Eduardo has been on this ship in 3 ports, Nagasaki, Ensenada and Acupulco.

Tug Boat Theodore

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Apparently, this tug is the star of a Canadian childrens' TV show.

Piper on the Harbor

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On the Halifax Harbour. In memory of Norwegians who were lost at sea or buried in Nova Scotia during the Second World War.

Seen at the Halifax Saturday Farmers' Market

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Macdonald with a small "d"

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The Challenge of Change

2008-05-24T20:25:00.003-04:00

I could hardly get the coin pocket on my wallet zipped shut. It turned out that I had accumulated almost $15 in coins!

The Big City, Halifax

2008-05-24T20:06:00.003-04:00

We arrived in Halifax on Friday afternoon. It is a city of over 350,000. Last night we went to another Ceilidh. In this photo, I attempt to show the movements of the Virginia Reel.

Porcupines

2008-05-23T14:50:00.003-04:00

(This image is stolen from Britannica online.) In 24 hours, we saw 5 porcupines. 4 were dead. My scientist husband says that this means 4 out of 5 porcupines in Nova Scotia are dead.

Another Beautiful Campsite

2008-05-23T14:40:00.004-04:00

While staying at campgrounds in Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, more that half the nights we have had a site right on the water. What would it cost to rent a room with a view like this? When toting up the pluses and minuses of this off-season trip, getting the primo sites on the water helps on the plus side.

Love that Fish!

2008-05-23T14:37:00.003-04:00

This haddock fish and chips dinner was so scrumptious that I was moved to take a photo well after I started eating.

Ferry Ride

2008-05-23T14:30:00.003-04:00

We spent most of the last two days driving along what is called the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. A very twisting road going from one beautiful view and quaint fishing village to the next. This ferry took us across here. Notice the cable to which the boat is apparently attached.

Quick Shot out the Window of a Moving Car

2008-05-23T14:20:00.002-04:00

Sometimes Alan reminds me that we don't need to have a photo of every single thing and that we COULD just enjoy a view. True, but then sometimes he hears me begin to whimper when we are zooming along on a very narrow road, he checks behind us and slows down as much as possible. Today we saw at least 4 places with "folk art" on display, but it was always too late to stop. Our little trailer is easy to pull, but making a U turn is often impossible.

Queensport Lighthouse

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Looks like a great price for gas, right? Wrong! This is for a litre. And we were told it was going up .03 tomorrow. Almost every time we fill up with gas, we break our previous record high. This fill was over $70 and we weren't even very low.

APOLOGY!

2008-05-21T21:28:00.001-04:00

I have the first good WiFi connection that I have had in a week or so and I just went kind of nuts posting pictures and telling about the last 3 days. I'm afraid it may go on for 2 or more pages.

Alexander Graham Bell

2008-05-21T21:22:00.002-04:00

I toured the Alexander Graham Bell Historic Site in Baddeck today. I thought it included his home there, but it did not. But there were lots of interesting things to see. I knew about his teaching the deaf, but I did not know about all the other inventions he worked on. There was a lot relating to flight. Incidentally, Baddeck was the only town we have seen on Cape Breton Island which seems to have a thriving tourist economy. All because of old Alec, I'm sure.

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In the 70s, in Ann Arbor, I knew a woman named Nancy Bell Bates who was the granddaughter of Alexander Graham Bell. This is a crop of a big family photo I saw today and from the dates, I think this is Nancy sitting on his lap.

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Working Boats

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We have seen hundreds of fishing boats. In Maine we saw a few pleasure boats, but up here it has been all business. These people must be very tough. Today it was cold and rainy and we saw fishing boats out being tossed around.

The Dickson Method

2008-05-21T20:59:00.003-04:00

We met the Dicksons on our trip to Peru. They taught us a slick method of converting Celsius to Farenheit which we have been using a lot. Double the Celsius number. Subtract 10% of that number. Add 32. That's it! The math hasn't been too difficult for us since we have been dealing with lots of single digits in Celsius when we listen to a forecast.

Another Panorama

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Layers

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Everywhere we go, people tell us how unusually cold it is. That is good for us to hear, because there have been times when we wonder what we were thinking when we planned a May trip like this.
We did pack layers as everyone advised. Here's what my layers looked like as I headed out for a walk a few days ago. I added some text to explain the layers. I'm happy to say that I have not put on the silk long underwear that I threw in at the last minute.

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Seen earlier at Port Hood. The shape of this sea weed reminded me of lasagna noodles.

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On an evening drive, when it was too dark for a good photo, we saw at least a dozen Great Blue Herons fishing in this spot. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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We spent much of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday looking at fabulous scenery along the coasts of Cape Breton Island on what is called the Cabot Trail. Today (Wed.) I didn't take pictures because it was raining too hard, but the vistas were still breathtaking, as long as we could see through the fog.

More Cabot Trail

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Cabot Trail

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For Lauren and Rachel

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On Monday, we talked to our dear friends from Nottingham, England, Kate and David Juggins. They are staying in our house in Decorah. At commencement on Sunday, the Juggins were awarded the Spirit of Luther Award for their years of service to the Nottingham program as next door neighbors to the directors. This is the only time in the last three weeks that we wished we were at home.

A Ceilidh

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On Sunday, we found what we had been hoping for. It helped that the woman at the Nova Scotia Tourist Information place called her mom to find out what was going on! This is a Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-lee, don't ask me why). Four hours of very hot fiddle music and dancing by people who knew what they were doing and had a very good time. We had been to one in Scotland in 1991. FABULOUS!!!

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The fiddler in the middle was the star of the show. The man on the right was playing spoons. He was also a terrific dancer. Alan later asked him how old he is. 74. So Alan said, "I bet you want to die doing this." He agreed heartily. The musicians sit down to play, but their feet are stomping and every part of the body is moving.

This was near the hometown of Natalie MacMaster, currently the best-known Cape Breton fiddler. Lauren and Rachel and I saw her live with Prairie Home Companion in San Diego in 2003. She stood up to play and danced at the same time - perhaps a modern variation. One older man told us that fiddlers play faster now than they used to. I wish the great fiddlers of Decorah could have been here with us.

Syttende Mai on Victoria Day Long Weekend

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On Saturday we used a rainy day to get from New Brunswick to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Alan wore the Norwegian flag pin given to him in 1989 by Lauren's Host Mom in Lillehammer, Rønnaug. She made me promise to get him to wear it every year on Syttende Mai, Norwegian Independence Day.

Up Close

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This was the third moose of our trip and the first one who hung around for a photo op. We had taken a hike just before this and I had taken pictures of moose scat (poop) and a footprint because I didn't think I would ever have a moose photo. But this guy (antler nubbins) stayed put while we made a U turn. A tattooed young man drove by, rolled down his window and said "moose".
There are other highlights of the last couple of days, but we are off to take advantage of some sunshine right now. We are at the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, near Cape Breton Highlands National Park. I guess if you go to a place that is billed as being a lot like Scotland, you shouldn't be surprised by cold, wet weather. It is truly beautiful and it hasn't rained all the time.

Happy Victoria Day

2008-05-19T09:09:00.002-04:00

This is supposedly the beginning of the summer season, but we still find lots of closed attractions. However, that is offset by the fact that we don't have many other tourists on the road with us. We have been without internet for a few days, but hope to have it tonight. We are pulled over at something that says "Public Internet Access" in front of a Visitor Information Centre (closed), but I think I'm just grabbing wireless from a neighbor here in Inverness. I'll write up our great day on Sunday the next time I have a chance. We are headed for the Cabot Trail around the northern reaches of Cape Breton Island. The promise is that it will be much like the Scottish Highlands. Stay turned...

Hopewell Rocks at Hopewell Cape

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Here I am standing on the ocean floor at low tide in front of the rocks that are the symbol of New Brunswick and sometimes all of Atlantic Canada. I think this is the one called Flower Pot Rock. We didn't stick around to watch the tide come in, but it would be up to the wider part of the rocks.

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We learned that during their fall migration from the Arctic to South America, sandpipers make one stop here and double their body weight eating "mud shrimp" from mud flats like this at low tide. Then they fly for 3 or 4 days with no stops.

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These plants cling like shaggy hair on the rocks exposed at low tide.

Lilacs

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I'm wondering how our lilacs on Mound St compare to these in New Brunswick.

Mary's Point Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve

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No birds, but it was a lovely walk.

A Little Geography Lesson

2008-05-16T18:02:00.002-04:00

Someone dear to us has confessed to thinking that perhaps New Brunswick is part of Nova Scotia. No, it is a province. We are visiting the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and perhaps Prince Edward Island which, along with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, make up the Maritimes. From the Portland, Maine area, we went "down East" along the Maine coast, then continued in the same basic Northeasterly direction which took us along the New Brunswick coast of the Bay of Fundy. Tomorrow we plan to go into Nova Scotia and head for Cape Breton Island, the NE part which you see jutting into the Cabot Strait. This area seems to be for people with Scottish ancestors what Decorah is for Norwegians. Alan and I each have Scottish grandparents, but they didn't come to this area. John Goodin has promised us old-time Scottish music, so off we go! (Map credit to Encarta)

Alan Explores Yet Another Beautiful Beach

2008-05-15T20:22:00.000-04:00

Just a Pretty Picture

2008-05-15T20:18:00.001-04:00

Loading up while the boat rises on the tide

2008-05-15T20:13:00.002-04:00

I watched these floats being thrown down (some are in the air here) onto this lobster boat in preparation for going out on the high tide. We learned that these boats go out on one high tide and stay out until the next one, 12 hours later.

2008-05-15T19:58:00.002-04:00

This is the brook referred to in the post about the rocky road. I tried to put the photos beside each other and this one ended up mostly covered by the other.

A Wild Ride

2008-05-15T19:45:00.005-04:00

This is the third long trip that we have done with the help of "Barb", our GPS. Today, she made the first serious blunder and put us on this road for an hour, pulling the trailer!!! And parts of it were worse than this. Somehow, the configuration option called "avoid dirt roads" had become unchecked. There was no place to turn around so we just kept going. The bumps (big rocks in the road) and potholes were so hard on our backs that we had to stop a few times to walk around. This lovely brook provided a nice break. We had no cell phone service and I fantasized about what would happen if we had a flat tire. I felt better when we met an ATV and a Jeep. Once one of us said, "If we see a moose, this will be worthwhile." And we DID! We had all of a 2 second look before she (or he, with no antlers) disappeared into the woods. After an afternoon of recovery, we decided that it all really was OK.

Washing Dishes with a View

2008-05-15T19:41:00.000-04:00