Sunday, October 25, 2020

Up North, Back East, Down South, Out West...

Describes our proposed itinerary for the next few months. We've visited all 50 of the States, but hardly all parts of all them, and one of our more significant omissions was the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We skirted it in 1970, on our first cross-country trip, staying in Canada--which we thought very exotic--but wanted to see the storied UP on this trip. Thus "up north." Back east are friends and family, chiefly younger daughter Rachel and her husband Will, with whom we'll stay a couple weeks. Then, we'll head a bit south (and west), to spend a few weeks in Knoxville with Vicki's sister Marie and her husband Norm (and Stacey and the boys). Then, depending on such things as weather, health, pandemic, etc., we'll venture further south for more friends. And then, again, depending, we'll head back west, arriving in time to enjoy the Saturnalia and other solsticial events with older daughter Rebecca and family. Depending....

We left Missoula October 5th, and had set an October 15th date for arriving in DC. First: the seemingly endless wastes of eastern Montana and western North Dakota. We didn't even stop for diesel in ND, the Covid situation there being so dire. Eastern ND looks and feels like Minnesota, green, with lots of lakes, continuing into a bit of Wisconsin, and finally landing in the UP. We were in something of a hurry that first thousand miles, and we didn't much stop nor take pix. It is also a land of rage, discouraging to the visitor, Trump signs adorning every shack, hovel, and compound. Our route took us over the upper tier of Trumpistan (even Jordan, Montana). We were happy to land, after two days' hard driving, in the UP, where we began seeing more than a sprinkling of Biden/Harris yard signs. But memories of our travels in the fall of 2016 linger....

Our one stop in ND was the Theodore Roosevelt National Park


Much of which is TR's former ranch

If you had a ranch on Mars, it might look pretty much like this

Welcome to Michigan

Camped at a free site on Lake Sunday; Wakefield, MI (the
vicar was not in)

Obligatory sunset view

Obligatory heritage tribute


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