Day 11 – Monday – rest and laundry

Today I’m visiting the local internet hotspot, posting the last few days of entries, and catching up on a little work. John and I will use Dot’s help to plan the next few days through Canada. We’ll do laundry, and hopefully little else. We’ve really played hard the last few days!

Day 10 – Sunday – Madeline Island

Dot roped Tom and I into singing a duet at her church this morning, which was easy, and it’s always great to sing in church (not least of all because you ALWAYS get told how nice it sounds). She plays the organ in an Episcopal church in Ashland, where she used to teach. Ashland is on Lake Superior, and after that, we drove north to Bayfield, and took the ferry to Madeline Island. We drove to the state park at the end of the island and met Dot’s friend Mark Eggleston, the head Ranger, at the entry booth. He lied to us about a good fishing spot, but John and I enjoyed the mile walk up a boardwalk between the bay and the lagoon to the alleged spot, then back along the beach, with the cool waters of Superior chilling our feet.

We cooked brats while John floated on the lake. I kidded him about not being as grown-up as he’s been acting – he was floating within a few feet of a bevy of very pretty girls, about 16 years old, and he was pretty much ignoring them. That will change. (no photos of the pretty girls included. after all, i wasn't interested either.)

Maggie and Sue -- couldn't resist (Brie & Savannah & Melissa too?) This shop is on Madeline Island in Lake Superior. I'm not exactly sure what it sells, but I guess her thought is that the third daughter had to fend for herself.

We also gained even more respect for John’s 6^th Grade language teacher, Ms. Burner. John asked Tom and Dot about whether Lake Superior seas can be rough, and Tom and I burst into a rendition of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” John groaned, and said he knew that song from the poetry lessons in language class. Thanks for teaching him the classics, Ms. Burner!

I also found a new source of supply for next July 4^th’s “Wurst Party of the Summer.” There’s a market in Ashland with a butcher shop that produces 20 different kind of brats. We had onion and garlic, which were delicious, but they also have onion and mustard, sauerkraut, pizza, salsa, mushroom, Swiss cheese, and “end of the day” brats (the latter being whatever is left in the grinder). Maybe they’ll ship some east for us.

I finally broke down and took a picture of John posing in front of something meaningless, some old propeller on Madeline Island. I think it's there to take pictures of while you're waiting for the ferry.

Day 9 – Saturday – Hiking the North Country Trail

John and I were dropped off along the North Country Trail and hiked back about 7 miles to a spot where the trail crosses US 63 a few miles from Dot’s house. The NCT is a collection of trails, supervised by the National Park Service. When it’s complete, it will run from North Dakota to New York, some 1000 miles longer than the Appalachian Trail. It’s beautiful and green, though buggy. We packed a fishing pole, since we passed about one lake each mile, but most of the lakes are extremely low, and overgrown along the shore, due to a dry winter last year, and the fishing wasn’t very good. John is a very able hiking buddy, and really showed his stuff the last two miles, after we’d given up on fishing and were exhausted.

We came home to a ham roasting outside, and John ate his largemouth bass that he caught on Thursday. It was excellent!

Day 8 – Friday – Running the Namekagon

Actually, this could be called “punting on the Namekagon” or even “walking the Namekagon.” The water level was pretty low. The Namekagon is a beautiful river that flows south, roughly paralleling US 63 south from Cable, Wisconsin. It’s the northernmost river in Wisconsin that flows south and ultimately into the Mississippi. Just past Dot’s house is the “Great Divide” – water north of there flows into Superior and into the Atlantic via the St. Lawrence River and Niagara Falls.

Today we rented a canoe for Tom and Dot. John and I each rented small kayaks and paddled alongside. My experience was a little more intense than the others – I tipped my kayak and swamped it. Fortunately John was there to help me empty it. On that occasion, the zip-lock bags held tight, but later in the day I let a little more water in, and the camera got wet. If it dries out, there are some great shots Dot took of us on the water.

We all returned exhausted and decided on a simple dinner – homemade pizza, with homemade sauce, and our own choices of pepper, onion, mushroom, pepperoni, and sausage.

Day 7 – Thursday Soaking of another sort

Tom McNurlin arrived today, with Buddy, his Yorkshire Terrier. After watching the thermometer rise (literally), we decided to head out for something cooler. We got licenses and went fishing near Drummond. John caught the only fish before the rain chased us home. We got a very welcome inch of rain which accompanied an even more welcome cold front. For dinner we enjoyed some venison steaks from a deer Tom shot last fall, along with cucumber dill salad a la Oma.

Day 6 – Wednesday - soaking at Owen Lake

Another day of strong sunshine encouraged us to head to a nearby lake (there are a few) where there is a small beach and park, and, most importantly, a cool offshore breeze. John spent about 6 hours in the water, kayaking, swimming, and entertaining all of the other kids that arrived by boat and car. Jean quilted but the heat took its toll and they left for the comfort of home in the early evening. John and I grilled chicken for the three of us.

At 7:45pm, Dot realized her dump would close in 15 minutes and not reopen until Saturday, so she promised us ice cream cones if we’d leave everything and scramble to collect recycling and trash. Kicking up a cloud of dust, we pulled into the dump driveway at 7:53 and found it already padlocked. She was about to turn around and leave when John and I persuaded her that we could walk around the gate and bring the recycling and trash to its containers. She was pretty squeamish, but we reassured her that it was the dump attendant’s fault, not ours, that it was locked already. On the way out, she said, “See? Look at that sign, it says the dump is open on Wednesdays in the summer until… oh, 6:00.” Obviously, we took no pictures of this so we can maintain plausible deniability if there’s ever an investigation.

Day 5 – Madison to Grand View

We finally caught up on some sleep and relaxation. When John woke up this morning, he rolled over, looked at the clock, and said, “Darn! I slept through breakfast!”

We hit the highway outside of Madison about 1100, and enjoyed the 5-1/2 hour drive northwest to Eau Claire, then north and northeast to Dot’s. For you map and compass geeks, we came within one degree of Longitude to the northern midpoint of the western hemisphere – we were at 45^oN, 91^oW when we passed Tipton, WI. We also stopped at a rest area that has this tribute to statewide law enforcement.

We think the designer probably watched “2001: A Space Odyssey” a few too many times.

We were treated to a very pleasant surprise – Jean and Steve just about followed us into Dot’s driveway! Dot’s county-famous garden is still in full bloom, despite a few weeks without substantial rain and today’s 90^o heat. John and I grilled two tenderloins of pork and we dined al fresco.

Dot’s “guest house” is finished enough for us including a bathroom (of sorts) and we’ve made ourselves quite at home here.

Day 4 (Monday) - Chicago

We woke up in Downers Grove IL, a western suburb, and drove downtown at the end of Rush Hour. John is a great navigator! We got to the Museum of Science & Industry just after it opened and we really hit the museum. We spent lots of time in their aviation exhibit, including a full Boeing 727 with cutaway jet engine and some navigational and operational exhibits inside. We also toured the U-505, the only WWII German U-boat ever captured (which happened 4 days before D-Day, and which was so secret no one heard of it until after the war). It was a very impressive display. It was personal to us -- John's grandfather Sorensen was a submariner (on the US side) in a very similar sub -- diesel-electric -- just a few years later, and my dad just might have taught radio operations to some of the men in the US Sub Hunter-Killer group who captured the sub! And he would have done it just blocks away at Navy Pier in Chicago.

No, Sue, I didn't take any photos of John kneeling beside a display. That's a family tradition we can let die.

We left after 3pm and got uptown for a tour of Mercy Home for Boys, a major Chicago area nonprofit who is a prospective client of NPA. We met some of the boys and saw where they live, eat and worship. John says he understands what it's like to be an abused boy, growing up in our home...

After Mercy Home, we headed north and west and are now outside Madison, Wisconsin. Tomorrow we head to Dot's, a mere 300 miles from here. So far we've done over 1500 miles, so we're looking forward to a short trip tomorrow and then a lot of walking.

Day 3 (Sunday) - Fort Leonard Wood

John slept in this morning. We went out carousing 'till the wee hours, so I don't blame him. He got so silly he even told our waiter the Roast Beef joke ("What's the difference between Roast Beef and Pea Soup? Anyone can roast beef...")

So I went to chapel by myself. It's a quaint old, New England style wood frame chapel on a hill.

It was billed as a standard-issue Army Protestant Service but it was led by an Evangelical Chaplain who did lots of preaching and praying. There was no liturgy, and the hymns were mostly contemporary songs. There were no bulletins. All the lyrics were typed into powerpoint and displayed on a screen. Yuck.









I was the only civilian in chapel. It was packed – 150 or so soldiers from her Brigade – all in Basic Training or MP school. I can see why they’d like it – after getting yelled at and told what to do for 6 days, 22 ½ hours, being built up and prayed over for 1-1/2 hours is just what they need. Lisa is a regular attendee at chapel and even asked me to bring a Bible of her own so she can read on her own.



We had lunch with her after chapel, off-post (“real food” she calls it) and then let her sleep for a few hours until she had to return. We then left for Chicago, and we’re outside Chicago now. Tomorrow we’ll visit Chicago and then head to She’s in pretty good health – a few bruises, but then she’s never worked so hard in her life. She’s had a few colds from the close quarters and hard work, but she’s not complaining.


Lisa's friend's name is pronounced with a hard "G", so it's "Christ and Gist" -- they take care of each other. I met a few of her male platoon mates too, and it seems everyone likes Lisa (though she complains about some of the other girls in her barracks -- says she misses living with Becca and Maggie!)

Day 2 - WV to MO - Saw Lisa

John and I made great time heading west today. I-64 is a breeze. We got to Fort Leonard Wood by 6pm CDT, early enough to see Lisa and Amanda Gist, her "battle buddy" (the friend she can't go anywhere without) for 30 minutes before she had to go back to barracks for formation. John and I will see her in church tomorrow, then spend the day with her.

We made one wrong turn today, and ended up in downtown St. Louis. Had a good tour past Edward Jones stadium where the Rams play, and Busch Stadium where the Cardinals play, and past the Purina headquarters too. John took what may be the only head-on picture of the Gateway Arch. I'm not sure if that's what did it or not, but at almost the same moment, some elevator in the Arch lost power and 200 people were stuck there for hours. Woo-oo-oo-oo.

Off to a great start - Huntington WV

Day 1 - New Market, VA to Huntington, WV: We left right on time Friday afternoon and headed west on US 33 from Harrisonburg. Right at the WV border the road started climbing and we enjoyed some of the wildest hairpin turns on the east coast. We crossed the Eastern Continental Divide and had dinner at Papa Johns in Elkins (which has BLUE fire apparatus - yuck!). Someone slipped a mushroom onto our meat lover's pizza, so our pledge to be veggie-free all vacation was short-lived. After Elkins, Rt. 33 picked up to 65 MPH, then we got onto I-79 and clipped along at more like 76! We ended up here in Huntington WV, the very western end of I-64 in WV.

Tomorrow we plan to make it the remaining 600 miles to Fort Leonard Wood, and visit with Lisa on Sunday. (see map at left).

Great weather today, and the same is predicted for tomorrow.

Heading on vacation

John and I are about to embark on a road trip around the upper midwest, and Ontario Canada.

You can see our itinerary here and we'll try to update you regularly with pictures and stories about the fish we catch, bears we see, rapids we canoe, etc. Take it all with a grain of salt.

Rick...